The Wainwright Prize recognises the power of words to shape a greener future, celebrating the books that help us see the natural world, and our place within it, more clearly.
Take a look at these books shortlisted for the 2026 Children’s Non-Fiction prize, now available to borrow with your library card.
Want more suggested books? Take a look at our recommendations.
An Anthology of Remarkable Bugs
Jess French
Zoom in on the miniature world of insects with Dr Jess French and discover some of the most amazing bugs on our planet.
From the perfectly camouflaged leaf insect that sways in the breeze to the ogre-faced spider that catches its prey in a net, this stunning collection showcases more than 90 of the world’s most remarkable bugs.
Detailed photography is paired with storybook descriptions that will captivate young readers, whether it’s finding out about bees and beetles or stick insects and spiders.
A Wild Child’s Guide to Nature at Night
Dara McAnulty and Barry Falls
Prepare to embark on a night-time adventure, learning how to use all your senses to experience the wonders that unfold at night.
Journey through five different habitats in Britain and Ireland – meet hedgehogs and moths in the garden; bats, owls, foxes and badgers in the woodland; corncrakes and dormice in the countryside; pine martens, glow-worms and mountain hares in the heathlands; and the animals that live as constellations in our sky.
Full of fantastic facts about nocturnal animals, activities on how to spot them and ways that we can protect the natural world around us. Once you understand just how amazing our beautiful planet is, you will want to do everything you can to protect it.
Letters From Wonderland
Josie George and Becky Thorns
In this illustrated collection of letters, Josie George, well-being guru, shows readers that the world is full of magic and mystery if you only look hard enough.
Because Wonderland exists outside of stories – it’s in the cracks between the pavement, in neglected urban spaces, in overgrown gardens, in weeds and upturned flower pots. It’s the wonder we all experience as very small children but that we grow out of as time goes on.
Reading it is to feel bewitched – and transported to a happier place. She gives readers the tools they need to navigate through life and retain an inner peace and joy.
Otherlands: An Illustrated Journey Through Earth’s Lost Worlds
Thomas Halliday and Gavin Scott
Travel millions of years into the past, and explore worlds you might only have dreamt of, but that actually existed.
From woolly mammoths to early humans, find out how plants and trees and creatures great and small shared a world very different from our own. Uncover the footprints they left behind.
Starting with the last ice age and ending when the very first animals started to swim and hunt, this illustrated journey back through time is adapted from the bestselling ‘Otherlands’ by Thomas Halliday.
Shapes of Nature: A Kaleidoscope of the Natural World
Ben Hoare
Taking inspiration from the world around us, we have arranged iridescent beetles, eye-popping tree frogs, knobbly sea shells, glistening crystals, fabulous fungi, and exquisite feathers into stunning artistic arrangements that are full of colour and packed with detail.
These clever designs shine a light on nature’s variety with amazing clarity, they invite you to observe the differences between objects that look similar at first sight, and they reveal the intricate features that we normally overlook.
Choose Your Own Evolution
Jules Howard and Gordy Wright
Think of an animal, any animal at all. It could be a shark, a squid, a snail, or even a human like you!
Every single animal has a secret history. It is a death-defying adventure that has happened across millions of years, called evolution. On every page, you will discover a new animal with its own exciting story to tell.
It’s up to YOU to make the decisions that will lead to their next evolutionary step. Can you survive to the present-day or will you face extinction along the way?
The Cave Explorer
Kate Winter
Have you ever wondered what life was like for the human beings who lived hundreds of thousands of years ago? What stories did they tell one another? What stories would they want to tell us?
Explore the prehistoric cave paintings of Lascaux and the story of the boy and his dog who rediscovered them in this stunningly illustrated fact-filled book for curious young readers.
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