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.
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2026 Winners!
NatGen celebrates the current GEBA winners, honor books, and recommended reading. 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 an excellence in writing, and 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 2026 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.
GEBA Celebration for 2025 Winners
On October 16, 2025, NatGen held its annual Green Earth Book Award Celebration, where we officially presented the 2025 GEBA-winning authors and illustrators with their awards. Each author and illustrator spoke about their specific books and illustrative process. There was also a fascinating keynote from science writer and palentologist, Riley Black.
Watch the event here.
SAVE THE DATE: October 15, 2026, for the 2026 GEBA Celebration. Join our mailing list and get reminded.
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WINNERS
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HONOR
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RECOMMENDED READING
Meet the 2026 Judges
The 2026 Green Earth Book Award judges are literary, educational, and environmental professionals who volunteer their time to review the books. In 2026, our judges reviewed over 100 books in six categories! Many judges serve on more than one panel and review in multiple categories. Every year, we have a mix of new judges and those who have served on panels 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.
The 2026 judges listed below.
Patty Dean, Panel Chair, Professor Emeritus, Education, Salisbury University
Deanna Antonio, Reading Specialist and Environmentalist, Retired
Darby Bade, Principal GDIT
Tish Blessing, Pre-K Teacher, National Board Certified
Niya Brown, Clinical Faculty, Salisbury University
Ellen Claussen, Educator, Retired
Henry Cole, Author
Cathrene Connery, Elementary Educator, Advocate, Author
Jennifer Crooks, Administrative Assistant, Bellevue-Santa Fe Charter School
Paula Dillon, Librarian, Loudoun County, VA
Karen Fitzsimmons, Librarian, Retired
Stephen Ford, Curriculum Resource Center Director, Salisbury University
Doris Gebel, Children’s Literature Consultant
Sarah Mulhern Gross, High School English Teacher/Emphasis on Science and Literacy
Dr. Yuan He, Assistant Professor, Education Studies, Stephen F. Austin State University
Leah Hill, Kindergarten Teacher
Jiah Johnson, 6th Grade Science Teacher
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
Isaac Larison, Associate Professor, Literacy Education, Marshall University
Renee’ Critcher Lyons, Professor, East Tennessee State University; 2019 YALSA Nonfiction Award
Magic Mapp, Middle School Science Teacher
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
Lisa Morgan, Assistant Principal, Churchland Elementary School, Portsmouth, VA
Jennifer Noonan, Children’s Librarian, Lewes Public Library
Maren Ostergard, Early Literacy/Outreach Librarian, King County Library System
Hannah Seward,
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, Distinguished Professor, Central Washington University
Olivia Walton, Educator, Writer, Ecologist
Past Winners
View a list of previous GEBA winners.
Submission Period for the 2027 GEBA Will Open in the Fall
Submissions for the 2027 Green Earth Book Award will be accepted October through December 15. 2026. Books published in 2026 are eligible to submit. Please join our mailing list to be kept up to date.
Submission Criteria
SIX AWARD CATEGORIES:
Picture Book Primary
young readers up to age 8
Picture Book Intermediate
young readers ages 9-12
Children’s Fiction
young readers ages 8-12
Children’s Non-Fiction
young readers ages 8-12
Young Adult Fiction
readers ages 13-21
Young Adult Non-Fiction
readers ages 13-21