Winners
Young Reader: Fiction (8-12 Years)
2024 FINALISTS - YOUNG READER: FICTION (8-12 YEARS)
See below for the list of 2024 finalists in the YOUNG READER: FICTION (8-12 YEARS) category, for books with a copyright date of 2023.
Cookie Island
2024 Finalist
Author/Illustrator: created by Billy Bladwin, illustrated by Liesl Bell
Publisher: Decozen Publishing
ISBN: 9780979188268
Discover the art of cookie-making in Cookie Island - a unique adventure that’s part story, part kids cookbook! With 300 pages of captivating illustrations, Billy Baldwin and Liesl Bell invite you to Cookie Island for an unforgettable journey filled with mouthwatering cookies and magical moments!
Rusty and Emma's Big Shock!
2024 Finalist
Author/Illustrator: story by Annie Wilde, illustrations by Beebe Hargrove
Publisher: Lucid House Publishing
ISBN: 9781950495412
All are sure to be delighted by the unexpected twists and turns this cast of characters experiences throughout the book. Rusty and Emma's Big Shock! is the first book in the Emma Puff's Secrets Series by Annie Wilde. Emma was born from the imaginative bedtime stories that the author created for her children to whom this book is dedicated. Annie's words are beautifully complemented by the illustrations of Beebe Hargrove. Together they weave a fun, action-packed story filled with hope and second chances.
Sky & Timby
2024 Finalist
Author/Illustrator: by Rick Ferruggia, illustrated by Steph Lehmann
Publisher: Sweetgrass Books
ISBN: 9781591523215
A ranch puppy and a wolf cub forge an unlikely friendship while navigating the challenges of growing up and finding their place in their respective worlds.
2023 WINNERS - YOUNG READER: FICTION (8-12 YEARS)
See below for the list of 2023 winners in the YOUNG READER: FICTION (8-12 YEARS) category, for books with a copyright date of 2022.
Finding Moon Rabbit: A War. A Camp. A Girl. A Letter.
2023 Gold Winner
Authors: J.C. Kato and J.C.2
Publisher: CHB Media
ISBN: 9798985237443
In 1942 President Roosevelt’s Order forced 120,000 people of Japanese descent into internment camps. Half were children. Heart Mountain, Wyoming, was among those camps. Finding Moon Rabbit is the story of one Japanese American family held there. It’s told from the point of view of the family's youngest daughter, Koko.
Crossing the Pressure Line
2023 Silver Winner
Author: Laura Anne Bird
Publisher: Orange Hat Publishing
ISBN: 9781645382836
Twelve-year-old Clare Burch has just lost the person she loves most in the world. She wonders if her feelings of sorrow and self-blame over her grandfather's death will ever go away. Out of the blue, a special request sends Clare on a journey from her home in Chicago to the Northwoods of Wisconsin. She knows that she must honor Grandpa Anthony's last wishes, even though they completely upend her summertime plans.
Ichiro and the Great Mountain
2023 Silver Winner
Author: W. Nikola-Lisa
Publisher: Gyroscope Books
ISBN: 9781734192384
Told in brief, repetitive episodes, Ichiro and the Great Mountain follows a young, free-spirited boy through the stages of life as he searches for his true self, making this original literary folktale a story of becoming or, in the Buddhist tradition, a story of self-realization and enlightenment.
2022 WINNERS - YOUNG READER: FICTION (8-12 YEARS)
See below for the list of 2022 winners in the YOUNG READER: FICTION (8-12 YEARS) category, for books with a copyright date of 2021.
Dragonfly Dreams
2022 Gold Winner
Author: Eleanor McCallie Cooper
Publisher: Koehler Books
ISBN: 9781646634231
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, everything changes for Westerners in China. Nini’s American mother is in danger of being sent to an internment camp, her Chinese father is fired for having an American wife, and her little sister becomes desperately ill. Only Nini can save the family now.
The Adventure of the Big Fish by the Small Creek: Book 2 of the Cayuga Island Kids series
2022 Silver Winner
Author/Illustrator: Judy Bradbury, illustrated by Gabriella Vagnoli
Publisher: Cross Your Fingers, a City of Light Publishing Imprint
ISBN: 9781952536-175
It begins with a plastic bottle and a couple of ducks and ends with a big fish and a couple of new friends. How the Cayuga Island Kids go from fishing a plastic bottle out of a creek to bringing the community together to build a recycling bin big enough to hold plenty of plastic makes for a lively adventure. Although we are each just one person, together we can make a BIG difference.
Matt Sprouts and The Curse of Ten Broken Toes
2022 Silver Winner
Author: Matt Eicheldinger
Publisher: Wise Ink Creative Publishing
ISBN: 9781634894678
After an accident spirals into a series of downright unfortunate events, it's decided that twelve-year-old Matt Sprouts has contracted "the Curse," a hometown myth that has ruined the lives of middle schoolers before him. With only a few allies at his side and time running out Matt must attempt the impossible: break the Curse!
2021 WINNERS - YOUNG READER: FICTION (8-12 YEARS)
See below for the list of 2021 winners in the YOUNG READER: FICTION (8-12 YEARS) category, for books with a copyright date of 2020. Click here to watch the Gold and Silver winner speeches.
The Wizenard Series: Season One
2021 Gold Winner
Creator and Author: Kobe Bryant and Wesley King
Publisher: Granity Studios
ISBN: 9781949520149
Basketball legend Kobe Bryant presents this illuminating follow-up to the #1 New York Times bestseller The Wizenard Series: Training Camp―a story of strain and sacrifice, supernatural breakthroughs, and supreme dedication to the game.
The Eye of Zeus: Legends of Olympus
2021 Silver Winner
Author: Alane Adams
Publisher: SparkPress
ISBN: 9781684630288
Finding out she’s the daughter of Zeus is not what a foster kid like Phoebe Katz expected to hear from a talking statue of Athena. But when her beloved social worker is kidnapped, Phoebe and friends must travel back to ancient Greece and rescue him before she accidentally destroys Olympus.
Gobbledy: A Novel
2021 Silver Winner
Author: Lis Anna-Langston
Publisher: SparkPress
ISBN: 9781684630677
Ever since Dexter and Dougal’s mom passed away, life has been different—but things take a whole new turn when a shooting star turns out to be a creature from outer space! Gobbledy is a fun-filled holiday story that adds up to two brothers, three friends, unlimited jars of peanut butter, a ketchup factory, and one little alien far, far from home.
2020 WINNERS - YOUNG READER: FICTION (8-12 YEARS)
See below for the list of 2020 winners in the YOUNG READER: FICTION (8-12 YEARS) category, for books with a copyright date of 2019.
Rabbit & Bear: Rabbit's Bad Habits
2020 Gold Winner
Author: Julian Gough and Jim Field
Publisher: Silver Dolphin Books
ISBN: 9781684125883
Rabbit & Bear: Rabbit’s Bad Habits is a laugh-out-loud middle-grade chapter book that chronicles the forming of an unlikely friendship between a grumpy rabbit and a friendly bear.
Harry Potter: Exploring Hogwarts: An Illustrated Guide
2020 Silver Winner
Author: Jody Reverson, illustrated by Stuid Mutitcher
Publisher: Insight Editions
ISBN: 9781683836223
Explore the iconic locations of Hogwarts as seen in the Harry Potter films with this large-scale interactive book, Harry Potter: Exploring Hogwarts.
Silent Lee and The Adventure of the Side Door Key
2020 Silver Winner
Authors: Alex Hiam
Publisher: Webster Press
ISBN: 9781635580112
Silent commutes from modern-day Boston to a magical version of the city to attend a school of magic…until things begin to go wrong.
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