State Awards
Award Highlights
Maizy Chen's Last Chance
Lisa Yee
Twelve year-old Maizy discovers her family’s Chinese restaurant is full of secrets in this irresistible novel that celebrates food, fortune, and family.
10 Awards and counting
Alabama
Tree Hole Homes
Melissa Stewart; illustrated by Amy Hevron
2024, Yellowhammer Picture Book Award, Nominee
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute
Talia Hibbert
2024, Yellowhammer Young Adult Book Award, Nominee
Arizona
Arkansas
California
All Are Welcome (An All Are Welcome Book)
Alexandra Penfold; illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman
2021-2022, California Young Reader Medal, Nominee
Colorado
Those Are Not My Underpants!
Melissa Martin; illustrated by Troy Cummings
2024, Colorado Children’s Book Award, Nominee
Connecticut
The Green Piano
Roberta Flack with Tonya Bolden; illlustrated by Hayden Goodman
2024, Charter Oak Children’s Book Award, Nominee
Iveliz Explains It All
Andrea Beatriz Arango; illustrated by Alyssa Bermudez
2025, Nutmeg Book Award, Nominee
DC
This Story Is Not About a Kitten
Randall de Sève; illustrated by Carson Ellis
2023, Capitol Choices, Selection
Delaware
Ice Cream Man
Glenda Armand and Kim Freeman; illustrated by Keith Mallet
2025, Delaware Diamonds, Nominee
Vote for Our Future!
Margaret McNamara; illustrated by Micah Player
2021-2022, Delaware Diamonds, Nominee
The Bug Girl
by Sophia Spencer, the Bug Girl Herself, with Margaret McNamara; illustrated by Kerascoët
2021-2022, Delaware Diamonds, Nominee
Florida
Confessions of a Class Clown
Arianne Costner
2025-2026, Sunshine State Young Readers Award , Nominee
Benny Ramírez and the Nearly Departed
José Pablo Iriarte
2025-2026, Sunshine State Young Readers Award , Selection
Futureland: Battle for the Park
H.D. Hunter; illustrated by Khadijah Khatib
2025-2026, Sunshine State Young Readers Award , Selection
Georgia
The Mona Lisa Vanishes
Nicholas Day; illustrated by Brett Helquist
2025, Georgia Children’s Book Award, Nominee
The Bees of Notre-Dame
Meghan P. Browne; illustrated by E. B. Goodale
2025, Georgia Children’s Book Award, Nominee
Hawaii
Snow Angel, Sand Angel
Lois-Ann Yamanaka; illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky
2024, Ānuenue Book Award, Winner
The Mysterious Disappearance of Aidan S. (as told to his brother)
David Levithan
2022-2023, Nēnē Book Award, Nominee
Illinois
NO Is All I Know!
Chris Grabenstein; illustrated by Leo Espinosa
2025-2026, Young Hoosier Book Award, Nominee
Indiana
Ice Cream Man
Glenda Armand and Kim Freeman; illustrated by Keith Mallet
2025-2026, Young Hoosier Book Award, Nominee
Iowa
Kansas
Bernice Buttman, Model Citizen
Niki Lenz
2021-2022, William Allen White Children’s Book Award, Nominee
Kentucky
Louisiana
The Boy Who Loved Maps
Kari Allen; illustrated by G. Brian Karas
2024, Louisiana Reader’s Choice, Selection
Maine
The Mona Lisa Vanishes
Nicholas Day; illustrated by Brett Helquist
2025, North Star Young Adult Book Award, Nominee
The Eyes and the Impossible
Dave Eggers; illustrated by Shawn Harris
2025, Maine Student Book Award, Nominee
Ice Cream Man
Glenda Armand and Kim Freeman; illustrated by Keith Mallet
2025, Chickadee Book Award, Nominee
Maryland
How to Love a Pony
Michelle Meadows; illustrated by Sawyer Cloud
2024, Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award, Winner
I Am the Shark
Joan Holub; illustrated by Laurie Keller
2022, Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award, Honor
The 47 People You'll Meet in Middle School
Kristin Mahoney
2022-2023, Black-Eyed Susan Book Award, Nominee
Massachusetts
The Hero Next Door
Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
2023-2024, Massachusetts Children’s Book Award, Nominee
Michigan
Long Road to the Circus
Betsy Bird; illustrated by David Small
2022, Michigan Notable Books, Selection
Digging for Words
Angela Burke Kunkel; illustrated by Paola Escobar
2022-2023, Great Lakes Great Books Award, Nominee
Minnesota
The Smartest Kid in the Universe, Book 1
Chris Grabenstein
2024, Minnesota Youth Reading Award, Honor
Mississippi
The Mysterious Disappearance of Aidan S. (as told to his brother)
David Levithan
2023, Magnolia Book Award, Nominee
Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe
Jo Watson Hackl
2020, Mississippi Library Association Children’s Author Award, Winner
Missouri
NO Is All I Know!
Chris Grabenstein; illustrated by Leo Espinosa
2024, Building Block Book Award, Nominee
Lo and Behold
Wendy Mass; illustrated by Gabi Mendez
2024, Denny O’Neil Graphic Novel List, Selection
Montana
Goldilocks for Dinner
Susan Montanari; illustrated by Jake Parker
2022, Montana Treasure State Book Award, Nominee
Nebraska
The Mona Lisa Vanishes
Nicholas Day; illustrated by Brett Helquist
2025-2026, Meadowlark Award, Nominee
Dog vs. Strawberry
Nelly Buchet; illustrated by Andrea Zuill
2025-2026, Little Bluestem Award, Nominee
Nevada
This Is Not That Kind of Book
Christopher Healy; illustrated by Ben Mantle
2022, Nevada Young Readers Award, Nominee
Once Upon a Goat
Dan Richards; illustrated by Eric Barclay
2022, Nevada Young Readers Award, Nominee
New Hampshire
New Jersey
Unstoppable Us, Volume 1: How Humans Took Over the World
Yuval Noah Harari; illustrated by Ricard Zaplana Ruiz
2025, Garden State Teen Book Award, Nominee
New Mexico
Momo Arashima Steals the Sword of the Wind
Misa Sugiura
2024, Land Of Enchantment Book Award, Nominee
Blue
Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond; illustrated by Daniel Minter
2024, Land Of Enchantment Book Award, Nominee
New York
When Beavers Flew
Kristen Tracy; illustrated by Luisa Uribe
2024, NYPL Best Books for Kids, Selection
We Are Big Time
Hena Khan; illustrated by Safiya Zerrougui
2024, NYPL Best Books for Kids, Selection
The Night Market
Seina Wedlick; illustrated by Briana Mukodiri Uchendu
2024, NYPL Best Books for Kids, Selection
The Last Stand
Antwan Eady; illustrated by Jerome & Jarrett Pumphrey
2024, NYPL Best Books for Kids, Selection
North Carolina
Yoshi, Sea Turtle Genius
Lynne Cox; illustrated by Richard Jones
2024-2025, North Carolina Children’s Book Award , Nominee
This Story Is Not About a Kitten
Randall de Sève; illustrated by Carson Ellis
2025, North Carolina Children’s Book Award , Selection
How to Solve a Problem
Ashima Shiraishi; illustrated by Yao Xiao
2024, North Carolina Book Award, Selection
North Dakota
Nana Akua Goes to School
Tricia Elam Walker; illustrated by April Harrison
2022, North Dakota Children’s Book Award, Nominee
Ohio
The Mona Lisa Vanishes
Nicholas Day; illustrated by Brett Helquist
2024, Ohio Buckeye Children’s and Teen Book Award, Nominee
The Eyes and the Impossible
Dave Eggers; illustrated by Shawn Harris
2024, Ohio Buckeye Children’s and Teen Book Award, Nominee
The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read
Rita Lorraine Hubbard; illustrated by Oge Mora
2021, Ohioana Book Award, Finalist
Oklahoma
The Bees of Notre-Dame
Meghan P. Browne; illustrated by E. B. Goodale
2025, OLA Sequoyah Book Award Masterlist, Nominee
The Bees of Notre-Dame
Meghan P. Browne; illustrated by E. B. Goodale
2024, Oklahoma Book Award, Nominee
The Bees of Notre-Dame
Meghan P. Browne; illustrated by E. B. Goodale
2025, OLA Sequoyah Book Award Masterlist, Nominee
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Yoshi, Sea Turtle Genius
Lynne Cox; illustrated by Richard Jones
2024-2025, Keystone To Reading Elementary Book Award, Nominee
Whale Fall
Melissa Stewart; illustrated by Rob Dunlavey
2024-2025, Pennsylvania Young Readers’ Choice Award, Nominee
Whale Fall
Melissa Stewart; illustrated by Rob Dunlavey
2024-2025, Keystone To Reading Elementary Book Award, Nominee
The Mona Lisa Vanishes
Nicholas Day; illustrated by Brett Helquist
2024-2025, Keystone To Reading Elementary Book Award, Nominee
Rhode Island
The List of Things That Will Not Change
Rebecca Stead
2022, Rhode Island Children’s Book Award, Nominee
South Carolina
There Are No Bears in This Bakery
Julia Sarcone-Roach
2021-2022, South Carolina Book Awards, Nominee
South Dakota
The Smartest Kid in the Universe, Book 1
Chris Grabenstein
2022, South Dakota Children’s Book Awards, Winner
Tennessee
Disability Visibility (Adapted for Young Adults)
Edited by Alice Wong
2022-2023, Volunteer State Book Award, Nominee
What's Inside a Caterpillar Cocoon?
Written and Illustrated by Rachel Ignotofsky
2024, Volunteer State Book Award, Nominee
We Are Starlings
Robert Furrow and Donna Jo Napoli; illustrated by Marc Martin
2024, Volunteer State Book Award, Nominee
The Mona Lisa Vanishes
Nicholas Day; illustrated by Brett Helquist
2024, Volunteer State Book Award, Nominee
Texas
We Are Big Time
Hena Khan; illustrated by Safiya Zerrougui
2024-2025, Texas Little Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List, Selection
Tig and Lily: Up Late!
Dan Thompson
2024-2025, Texas Little Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List, Selection
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman
Gennifer Choldenko
2025, Texas Lone Star Reading List, Selection
Utah
Vermont
A Quantum Life (Adapted for Young Adults)
Hakeem Oluseyi and Joshua Horwitz
2024, Green Mountain Book Award, Nominee
Virginia
The Green Piano
Roberta Flack with Tonya Bolden; illlustrated by Hayden Goodman
2024, Virginia Reader’s Choice Award, Nominee
Blue Bison Needs a Haircut
Scott Rothman; illustrated by Pete Oswald
2024, Virginia Reader’s Choice Award, Nominee
Growing Pangs
Kathryn Ormsbee; illustrated by Molly Brooks
2022, VLA Graphic Novel Diversity Award, Honor
Curve & Flow
Andrea J. Loney; illustrated by Keith Mallett
2023, Virginia Library Association Cardinal Cup, Honor
Washington
I Am Not a Penguin: A Pangolin's Lament
Liz Wong
2022, Washington Children’s Choices Picture Book Award, Nominee
Happily for Now
Kelly Jones; illustrated by Kelly Murphy
2022, Washington State Book Award, Finalist
Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie of Doom
Matthew Swanson; illustrated by Robbi Behr
2023-2024, Sasquatch Book Award, Selection
Wisconsin
Thurgood
Jonah Winter; illustrated by Bryan Collier
2021, Wisconsin State Reading Association Recommends List, Selection
Overview, Young Explorer's Edition
Benjamin Grant with Sandra Markle
2021, Wisconsin State Reading Association Recommends List, Selection
The Boy at the Back of the Class
Onjali Q. Raúf
2021, Wisconsin State Reading Association Recommends List, Nominee
Wyoming
The Mona Lisa Vanishes
Nicholas Day; illustrated by Brett Helquist
2024, Indian Paintbrush Book Award, Nominee
The Montague Twins: The Witch's Hand
Nathan Page; illustrated by Drew Shannon
2020, VLA Graphic Novel Diversity Award, Honor
How to Solve a Problem
Ashima Shiraishi; illustrated by Yao Xiao
2021-2022, Red Clover Book Award, Nominee
Nana Akua Goes to School
Tricia Elam Walker; illustrated by April Harrison
2021-2022, Red Clover Book Award, Nominee
Bedtime Bonnet
Nancy Redd; illustrated by Nneka Myers
2021, Wisconsin State Reading Association Recommends List, Selection
Brave. Black. First.
Cheryl Willis Hudson; illustrated by Erin K. Robinson
2021, Wisconsin State Reading Association Recommends List, Selection
Cat Dog Dog
Nelly Buchet; illustrated by Andrea Zuill
2021, Wisconsin State Reading Association Recommends List, Selection
Hello from Renn Lake
Michele Weber Hurwitz
