Green Earth Book Awards
About the Green Earth Book Award
Each Earth Day since 2004, The Nature Generation has bestowed this coveted award to children’s and young adult literature that best convey the message of environmental stewardship. We celebrate the winning authors and illustrators and applaud all authors who continue to tell the stories about the environmental challenges we all face in a way that resonates with children and young adults. We also recognize the publishers who continue to bring these stories to fruition.
2025 Winners Announced!
NatGen is excited to share this year’s GEBA results. From powerful storytelling to compelling non-fiction that brings environmental issues and information to young people in relatable ways, these books offer a unique and vital perspective to the conversation around our planet’s future.
This year’s winners represent not only excellence in writing, but a deep commitment to environmental awareness, advocacy, and action. Their work reminds us that books are more than just stories or studies—they can be catalysts for change.
Congratulations to all the authors, illustrators, and publishers who bring these stories to life. Listed below are the Winners, Honor Books, and Recommended Reading for the 2025 Green Earth Book Award.
Now, it’s your turn. Read these extraordinary books. Share them. Discuss them. Let them spark conversations in classrooms, libraries, and communities.
2025
WINNERS
2025
HONOR
2025
RECOMMENDED READING
Meet the 2025 Judges
The 2025 Green Earth Book Award judges are literary, environmental, and educational professionals who volunteer their time to review the books. In 2025, our judges reviewed over 130 books in six categories! Several judges serve on more than one panel and review in multiple categories. Many have served on our panel for years.
The caliber of our judges’ professional experience benefits the Green Earth Book Award. Our vetted panel comprises university professors of children’s literature and teacher education, high school teachers, environmental educators, and authors. We have several librarians who work in county and school libraries. NatGen judges work in the information technology sector and several who support the federal government in environmental management and consulting. We also have multiple judges who work in science fields and for the National Wildlife Federation, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. We believe the mix of experience, education, and participation on our panels enhances the overall review process.
Judges review books using an established set of award criteria per category. The criteria capture a book’s environmental concepts such as environmental stewardship, the celebration of nature, defending the environment, as well as awareness and inspiration.
Patty Dean, Panel Chair, Associate Professor in Teacher Education, Salisbury University
Deanna Antonio, Reading Specialist and Environmentalist, Retired
Darby Bade, Principal GDIT
Tish Blessing, Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
Niya Brown, Clinical Faculty, Salisbury University
Ellen Claussen
Cathrene Connery, Associate Professor of Literacy and Children’s Literature, Salisbury University
Paula Dillon, Librarian, Loudoun County, VA
Karen Fitzsimmons, Librarian, Retired
Stephen Ford, Curriculum Resource Center Director, Salisbury University
Doris Gebel, Children’s Literature Consultant
Debra Wolf Goldstein, Executive Director, One Little Earth
Sarah Mulhern Gross, High School English Teacher/Emphasis on Science and Literacy
Grace Hao, 12th Grade High School Student
Dr. Yuan He, Assistant Professor, Education Studies, Stephen F. Austin State University
Leah Hill, Kindergarten Teacher
Jen Cullerton Johnson, Author
Ian Kline, President and CEO, The Cadmus Group
Lydia Kline, Science Policy Analyst, National Institutes of Health
Louisa Koch, Education Director, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Adriane Lam, Assistant Professor, Binghamton University Department of Earth Science
Isaac Larison, Associate Professor, Literacy Education, Marshall University
Renee’ Critcher Lyons, Professor, East Tennessee State University; 2019 YALSA Nonfiction Award
Jennifer McColl, Contract Management Specialist
Cynthia McDermott, Literary Professor, Retired
Gretchen McRoberts, Artist/Naturalist
Terry McTigue, NOAA, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
Margy Meeks, Librarian, Retired
Elizabeth Myers, 1st Grade Teacher, Talbot County, MD
Char Moffit, Assistant Professor of Education, California State University Chico
Jennifer Noonan, Children’s Librarian, Lewes Public Library
Cindy Olson, Art Director for Ranger Rick Magazines National Wildlife Federation
Maren Ostergard, Early Literacy/Outreach Librarian, King County Library System
Sharon Sheridan, GFWC Education Community Service Program Chairman; Retired Librarian
Chris Schmidt, Retired Librarian
Autumn Smith, Reading Specialist, Patapsco Middle School
Tamara Teaff, Retired Librarian, Virginia Reader’s Choice Committee
Sharryn Larsen Walker, 2023 CWU Distinguished Professor for Service, Professor, Central Washington University
Cindy Woodruff, Retired Librarian
Past Winners
View a list of previous GEBA winners.
Submission Period for the 2026 GEBA is now OPEN
The submission period for the 2026 Green Earth Book Award opened October 1.
Submissions will be accepted through December 15. 2025. Books will be vetted and judged by our experienced panel of judges. The Long List will be released in April, and the winners, honor books, and recommended reading announced on Earth Day 2026. Detailed information on how to submit is linked below. Submit today!
Submission Criteria
SIX AWARD CATEGORIES:
Picture Book Primary
for young readers up to age 5
Picture Book Intermediate
for young readers ages 5-8
Children’s Fiction
for young readers up to age 12
Children’s Non-Fiction
for young readers up to age 12
Young Adult Fiction
for readers from ages 13-21
Young Adult Non-Fiction
for readers from ages 13-21