The Boy at the Window wins Peters Children's Book of the Year

School librarians, teachers and public libraries across the UK have voted The Boy at the Window by Lucy Strange (Barrington Stoke) winner of the Peters Children's Book of the Year Award for 2026, with Peters' team describing it as the 'perfect ghost story,'

The Boy at the Window was voted both Junior Fiction category winner and overall winner from the strong shortlist.  More about The Boy at the Window

The Peters judges praised the book for its eerie writing, and great plot twist. Published by award-winning, dyslexia-friendly publisher Barrington Stoke, the judges added that as well as being 'thoroughly atmospheric', it's also an inclusive book that will attract a wide range of readers.

Winners have also been announced in the Picture Book, Teen Fiction and Non-Fiction categories. Neil Sharpson and Dan Santat's 'laugh-out-loud' Don't Trust Fish was voted Picture Book winner, while Tamsin Winter's I Dare You, a modern-day cautionary tale, scoops the win in the Teen Fiction category. In Non-Fiction, the book with the most votes was Kate Winter's The Cave Explorer, a 'fascinating' retelling of the discovery of the Lascaux cave paintings in 1940's France.

Each category winner receives a commemorative trophy, and as overall winner Lucy Strange will also receive £1000 worth of books from Peters to donate to a school or public library of her choice.

Awarded annually to celebrate the best of children's fiction and non-fiction published in the UK, Peters' Children's Book of the Year Awards celebrate and champion the power of books to inspire children to read for pleasure.

ReadingZone review of The Boy at the Window:  "From the very first page this book had me hooked. As the story develops so does the sense of alarm until the final twist."