Junior Juries' Programme
The KPMG Children's Books Ireland Awards Junior Juries' Programme is a unique activity for schools, libraries and book clubs, designed to encourage children and young people to read widely and to engage with reading in an innovative and exciting way. Young readers ‘shadow’ the adult judges of the book awards panel in reading, discussing and assessing the shortlisted books each year.
Participating groups make their own selection of suitable titles from the books shortlisted for the KPMG Children's Books Ireland Awards in February using a specially devised activity pack to guide them in their reading.
At the end of this process each group is asked to collectively vote for their favourite book. Children's Books Ireland then invites some of our Junior Juries to attend the official winners' ceremony in May and to announce the Junior Juries' Award.
The KPMG Children's Books Ireland Awards Junior Juries' Programme is ideal for class groups, book clubs or reading groups and even groups of friends.
The programme commences on Wednesday 4th February 2026 with the announcement of the KPMG Children's Books Ireland Awards Shortlist.
Some lucky Junior Juries will receive free copies of the shortlisted titles or even an event with a shortlisted author or illustrator!
Frequently Asked Questions
Junior Juries are a unique programme for schools, libraries and book clubs, designed to encourage reading for pleasure and appreciation for a wide variety of books. Participating classes and book clubs make their own selection of suitable titles from the KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards shortlist, which is announced on Wednesday 4th February 2026. Using a specially devised activity pack, each group can engage with their chosen books by taking part in quizzes, debates, discussions, research projects, creative writing and visual art activities which will enhance their reading experience. At the end of the process each group is asked to collectively score the books they have read. Children’s Books Ireland collates these scores to determine the winner of the Junior Juries’ Award, which is presented at the official prize-giving ceremony, which will be held on Monday 18th May 2026 as part of International Literature Festival Dublin.
The Junior Juries are suitable for all ages from 0–18. The books featured on the shortlist can range from picture books to young adult novels. However, given the ‘pick-and-mix’ structure of the scheme, it is possible to select a range of titles to suit your students’ or book club members’ age, linguistic ability and reading level. We have had baby and toddler book clubs take part, and on the upper end, groups of older teenagers through school or local book clubs. There is no need for a group to read every book on the shortlist, unless they wish to do so.
Participation in Junior Juries is completely free and includes a digital activity pack, bookmarks, a poster and phone/email support from Children’s Books Ireland. Groups will need to source the books themselves; many groups involved in the scheme work in partnership with their local public library service and borrow the books. 30% discount is available for Junior Juries when purchasing from International Education Services. Schools in need which meet certain criteria can apply to receive the shortlisted books and an event with a shortlisted artist (see 'Opportunities for Support' below).
Children’s Books Ireland cannot provide all juries with the shortlisted books. We suggest getting in touch with your local library to see which of the books you can borrow (ebooks, audiobooks and physical books), or sharing reading copies within the group. However, with thanks to the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and KPMG, we do have funding to purchase books for a limited number of schools across the island who demonstrate a need. Please indicate this on the registration form. Please note that this is not a cash grant and there are limited numbers of books available.
No, you do not have to read all the books on the shortlist. Not every book will be suitable for all age groups, and we recognise that there is limited time between the announcement of the shortlist and the deadline for Junior Juries’ votes. We will provide guidelines in the free Junior Juries’ activity pack in relation to any issues that may be raised in books for older children and teenagers, but we do recommend reading the book yourself if you have any concern about sharing it. We do encourage all groups to read the picturebooks that may feature on the shortlist: these are not just for toddlers; older readers can get a lot out of them, too! One of the goals of the Junior Juries is for children and young people to develop their critical thinking and debating skills, so even if a book seems ‘too young’, it can be read by an older child or teenager.
There are lots of different methods to choose from. The method you choose should reflect what will work best for your group:
• Prescriptive – Facilitator chooses all the books
• Child-led – Each participant has a turn to choose a book for the group to read
• Popular vote – The facilitator chooses a number of suitable titles and the group makes the final selection from these
The shortlist will be announced on Wednesday 4th February 2026. All Junior Juries are emailed the list of shortlisted titles following the announcement, and the activity packs will also be delivered after that.
No, any group can take part. Many juries are school-based, and these can be whole classes, smaller book clubs or reading groups, or paired reading groups i.e. older children facilitating younger children. Other groups include book clubs based in bookshops or libraries, or hosted by parents/guardians in their own homes. There is no minimum or maximum number of readers for a Junior Jury.
A scoring or ballot sheet is included in your Junior Juries pack. It is helpful to make a copy of this for every juror in the group so they can score the books they read as they go along. We ask for each juror to score each book they’ve read out of 100. The group leader then collates the scores, finds the average score for each book read and sends these back to Children’s Books Ireland in time for the Awards ceremony. The deadline vote for the Junior Juries' Award is on Tuesday 12th May 2026.
Opportunities for support and ways to engage with the Junior Juries’ scheme:
1: Shortlisted author or illustrator events and books:
Would your group like to apply for a virtual or in-person event with a shortlisted author or illustrator? Schools and groups can access Children’s Books Ireland event guidelines, to follow best practice.
Thanks to ongoing support from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, all schools in Northern Ireland can apply for a virtual or in-person event with a shortlisted author or illustrator and a set of age-appropriate shortlisted books. Successful schools will receive an artist event, and books will be allocated based on need, with successful groups receiving at least ten books.
Thanks to the generosity of KPMG, all schools island-wide can apply for an event with a shortlisted author or illustrator and a set of age-appropriate shortlisted books.
2: Junior Juries video:
The voices of our Junior Jurors are so important! On the registration form let us know if your group would like to take part in our Junior Juries’ video, showcased as part of the awards ceremony as part of International Literature Festival Dublin. You can see the young readers who took part in previous years digital awards ceremony here. You can view Children’s Books Ireland’s Child Safeguarding Statement and our Child Protection Policy and Procedures here.
3: Shortlist announcement event:
Junior Juries and young readers all over the island can tune into the shortlist announcement live and learn about the shortlisted titles in real time! The event will be shared online on Wednesday 4th February 2026. Keep an eye on our social media and your emails with more information about tuning in.
4: Awards announcement ceremony:
Junior Juries and young readers all over the island can also tune into the awards ceremony, shared live online as part of International Literature Festival Dublin. You can watch last year’s ceremony here. We want to see as many Junior Juries as possible celebrating the award winners in real time. Keep an eye on our social media and your emails with more information about tuning in!
5: KPMG Reading Hero Award:
As a group leader, would you like to nominate a young reader taking part in this scheme? All over the island of Ireland are extraordinary individuals whose interest in books and reading outside of the awards is remarkable. They may be voracious readers, or may have completed their first book, overcoming learning or language difficulties to do so. The KPMG Reading Hero may have inspired their peers to get involved or may have made extraordinary efforts to engage with the activities set by their group leader. They may not be the best student or the fastest reader, but their efforts will merit reward, and we want to hear, and share, their story. Nominations for this Award will open on Monday 16th February 2026 with applications closing on Tuesday 28th April 2026.
