Current Winners
The eyes & the impossible
Dave Eggers ; illustrations of Johannes by Shawn Harris
2023
ISBN: 9781524764203
Free dog Johannes' job is to observe everything that happens in his urban park and report back to the park's three bison elders, but changes are afoot, including more humans, a new building, a boatload of goats, and a shocking revelation that changes his view of the world.
Elf dog & owl head
M.T. Anderson ; illustrated by Junyi Wu
2023
ISBN: 9781536222814
Quarantined with his family as a global plague ravages the world, Clay retreats to the woods where he meets a special little dog who leads him on surreal adventures where choosing the wrong path could cause them both to lose their way forever.
Simon sort of says
Erin Bow
2023
ISBN: 9781368082853
Two years after a tragedy saddles him with viral fame, twelve-year-old Simon O'Keeffe and his family move to Grin And Bear It, Nebraska, where the internet and cell phones are banned so astrophysicists can scan the sky for signs of alien life, and where, with the help of two new friends, a puppy, and a giant radio telescope, Simon plans to restart the narrative of his life.
Eagle drums
Nasug̊raq Rainey Hopson
2023
ISBN: 9781250750655
"Winter approaches, and there's much to do if Piŋa's family wants to be prepared: hunting, fishing, gathering, and more. Now, Piŋa must travel up the mountain to collect obsidian for knapping - the same mountain where his two older brothers disappeared. As he leaves, Piŋa reassures his parents that he will not succumb to the same fate as his brothers. He will return. But when he reaches the mountaintop, he is confronted by a terrifying eagle god named Savik, who gives the boy a choice: Follow me, or die like your brothers. What follows is a harrowing journey to the home of the eagle gods, where Piŋa faces unexpected trials that teach him lessons on the natural world, the past that shapes us, and the community that binds us. With beautiful full-color art, this vivid retelling of the first Messenger Feast - still celebrated today - brings to life the origin myth of how the eagle gods bestowed the Iñupiat with the gifts of music, song, dance, community, and everlasting tradition."-- Jacket flap.
Mexikid : a graphic memoir
by Pedro Martin
2023
ISBN: 9780593462287
"Pedro Martin's grown up in the U.S. hearing stories about his legendary abuelito, but during a family road trip to Mexico, he connects with his grandfather and learns more about his own Mexican identity in this moving and hilarious graphic memoir."--Provided by publisher.
The many assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams
Daniel Nayeri ; with paintings by Daniel Miyares
2023
ISBN: 9781646143030
"This is the tale of an exciting journey along the Silk Road with a young Monk and his newfound guardian, Samir, a larger than life character and the so-called "Seller of Dreams." The man is a scammer; his biggest skill being the ability to talk his way into getting what he wants. While that talking did save Monkey's life, it has left a lot of people furious with Samir--furious enough to hire assassins. Monkey decides to try and save Samir from the attempts on his life--as a way to pay off his debt! If he can save Samir six times, he'll be a free man ... but will they all survive that long?"-- Provided by publisher
Past Winners
Freewater
Amina Luqman-Dawson
2022
ISBN: 9780316056618
After fleeing the plantation where they were enslaved, siblings Ada and Homer discover the secret community of Freewater, and work with freeborn Sanzi to protect their new home from the encroaching dangers of the outside world.
The last cuentista
Donna Barba Higuera
2021
ISBN: 9781646140893
"A girl named Petra Pena, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita. But Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children - among them Petra and her family - have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race. Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet - and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard - or purged them altogether. Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again? " -- Publisher's description.
When you trap a tiger
Tae Keller
2020
ISBN: 9781524715700
"When Lily, her sister Sam, and their mother move in with her sick grandmother, Lily traps a tiger and makes a deal with him to heal Halmoni." -- (Source of summary not specified)
New kid
Jerry Craft ; with color by Jim Callahan
2019
ISBN: 9780062691200
"Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds--and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?" Provided by publisher.
Merci Suárez changes gears
Meg Medina
2018
ISBN: 9780763690496
Merci Suárez knew that sixth grade would be different, but she had no idea just how different. For starters, Merci has never been like the other kids at her private school in Florida, because she and her older brother, Roli, are scholarship students. They don't have a big house or a fancy boat, and they have to do extra community service to make up for their free tuition. So when bossy Edna Santos sets her sights on the new boy who happens to be Merci's school-assigned Sunshine Buddy, Merci becomes the target of Edna's jealousy. Things aren't going well at home, either: Merci's grandfather and most trusted ally, Lolo, has been acting strangely lately -- forgetting important things, falling from his bike, and getting angry over nothing. No one in her family will tell Merci what's going on, so she's left to her own worries, while also feeling all on her own at school.
Hello, universe
Erin Entrada Kelly
2017
ISBN: 9780062414151
Virgil feels out of place in his crazy-about-sports family. Valencia is deaf, smart, and loves everything about nature. Kaori is a self-proclaimed psychic, whose little sister, Gen, is always following her around. And Chet wishes the weird kids would just stop being so different so that he can concentrate on basketball. They aren't friends. But when Chet pulls a prank that traps Virgil and his pet guinea pig at the bottom of a well, Kaori, Gen, and Valencia begin a quest to find the missing Virgil.
The girl who drank the moon
Kelly Barnhill
2016
ISBN: 9781616205676
"An epic fantasy about a young girl raised by a witch, a swamp monster, and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, who must unlock the powerful magic buried deep inside her. Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the forest, Xan, is kind and gentle. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster named Glerk and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, Fyrian. Xan rescues the abandoned children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey. One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this enmagicked girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. To keep young Luna safe from her own unwieldy power, Xan locks her magic deep inside her. When Luna approaches her thirteenth birthday, her magic begins to emerge on schedule--but Xan is far away. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Soon, it is up to Luna to protect those who have protected her--even if it means the end of the loving, safe world she's always known. The acclaimed author of The Witch's Boy has created another epic coming-of-age fairy tale destined to become a modern classic"-- Provided by publisher.
Last stop on Market Street
words by Matt de la Peña ; pictures by Christian Robinson
2015
ISBN: 9780605851269
A young boy rides the bus across town with his grandmother and learns to appreciate the beauty in everyday things.
The crossover
by Kwame Alexander
2014
ISBN: 9780544107717
Fourteen-year-old twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan wrestle with highs and lows on and off the court as their father ignores his declining health.
Flora & Ulysses : the illumated adventures
Kate DiCamillo ; illustrated by K.G. Campbell
2013
ISBN: 9780763660406
The one and only Ivan
Katherine Applegate ; illustrations by Patricia Castelao
2014
ISBN: 9780061992254
When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-out circus-themed mall, meets Ruby, a baby elephant that has been added to the mall, he decides that he must find her a better life.
Dead end in Norvelt
Jack Gantos
2011
ISBN: 9780374379933
In the historic town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, twelve-year-old Jack Gantos spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore involving the newly dead, molten wax, twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies, underage driving, lessons from history, typewriting, and countless bloody noses.
Moon over Manifest
Clare Vanderpool
2010
ISBN: 9780385907507
Twelve-year-old Abilene Tucker is the daughter of a drifter who, in the summer of 1936, sends her to stay with an old friend in Manifest, Kansas, where he grew up, and where she hopes to find out some things about his past.
When you reach me
Rebecca Stead
2010
ISBN: 9780385737425
Miranda's world is turning upside down. Her best friend Sal shuts her out of his life when he's punched by a new kid for no apparent reason. Her mom is about to be a contestant on a TV game show. A key goes missing, then a pair of shoes. And Miranda finds a mysterious note scrawled on a tiny piece of paper: I am coming to save your friend's life, and my own. I ask two favours. First, you must write a letter. Then she finds other notes left in strange places and she realises that whoever is leaving them knows all about her, including things that haven't even happened yet ...
The graveyard book
Neil Gaiman ; with illustrations by Dave McKean
2008
ISBN: 9780060530921
After the grisly murder of his entire family, a toddler wanders into a graveyard where the ghosts and other supernatural residents agree to raise him as one of their own.
Good masters! Sweet Ladies! : voices from a medieval village
Laura Amy Schlitz ; illustrated by Robert Byrd
2007
ISBN: 9780763615789
A collection of short one-person plays featuring characters, between ten and fifteen years old, who live in or near a thirteenth-century English manor.
The higher power of Lucky
by Susan Patron ; with illustrations by Matt Phelan
2006
ISBN: 9781416901945
Fearing that her legal guardian plans to abandon her to return to France, ten-year-old aspiring scientist Lucky Trimble determines to run away while also continuing to seek the Higher Power that will bring stability to her life.
Criss cross
by Lynne Rae Perkins
2008
ISBN: 9780060092740
Teenagers in a small town in the 1960s experience new thoughts and feelings, question their identities, connect, and disconnect as they search for the meaning of life and love.
Kira-Kira
Cynthia Kadohata
2004
ISBN: 9780689856396
Chronicles the close friendship between two Japanese-American sisters growing up in rural Georgia during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and the despair when one sister becomes terminally ill.
The tale of Despereaux : being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread
Kate DiCamillo ; illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering
2003
ISBN: 9780763692797
The adventures of Despereaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess, and a devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin.