Bad Machinery John Allison Oni Press Publisher/ Author Submission Who knew that the sleepy little town of Tackleford, England would be home to so many weird and wacky mysteries? A group of local teenage girls, Shauna, Charlotte and Mildred, are working together to keep old Mrs. Biscuits in her house in the face of evil industrialism. Meanwhile, their schoolmates, Jack, …
2013 Finalists: Fiction Picture Books
Count the Monkeys Mac Barnett Disney Hyperion Nominated by: Brian Rock Looking at the troop of monkeys on this cover, young readers may be in for a bit of a surprise as they begin to turn the pages. Where did all the monkeys go? No need to fret, though, for each page brings a new (and increasingly ridiculous) possible factor …
2013 Finalists: Middle Grade Fiction
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Chris Grabenstein Random House Books for Young Readers Nominated by: Melissa Fox When a book is compared to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Night at the Museum, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and The Westing Game, you know you have something very intriguing in your hands. A quirky benefactor invites 12 …
2013 Finalists: Nonfiction: Elementary & Middle Grade
Anubis Speaks!: A Guide to the Afterlife by the Egyptian God of the Dead (Secrets of the Ancient Gods) Vicky Alvear Shecter Boyds Mills Press Nominated by: Jackie Parker Shecter brings to life the god of the dead, no easy feat for a mere mortal author. As narrator, Anubis guides us through the Duat, the Egyptian afterworld, and explains many …
2013 Finalists: Graphic Novels: Elementary & Middle Grade
Bluffton: My Summers with Buster Keaton Matt Phelan Candlewick Press Nominated by: Cathy Potter Although some readers may not know the story of Buster Keaton, they will quickly become entranced and enthralled with him thanks to the beautiful graphic novel Bluffton: My Summers with Buster. From 1908 to 1938, Muskegon, Michigan was taken over by the premier Vaudevillian actors of …
2013 Finalists: Easy Readers
A Big Guy Took My Ball! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) Mo Willems Disney Hyperion Nominated by: Danielle Smith Elephant and Piggie are back, bigger and better than ever! When Piggie’s beloved new ball get stolen by a mysterious “big guy” it’s Elephant to the rescue! Until he sees just…how…BIG that big guy is! It’s all about perspective in this …
2013 Finalists: Early Chapter Books
Dragonbreath #9: The Case of the Toxic Mutants Ursula Vernon Dial Nominated by: sara the librarian Ursula Vernon is as wackily hilarious as ever in this ninth installment in the Dragonbreath series, featuring Danny Dragonbreath (the only mythical creature in a school of reptiles, who’s still working on his fire-breathing skills), his friend Wendell (complete geek, afflicted with a health …
2013 Finalists: Book Apps
Disney Animated written by Disney developed by Disney and Touch Press nominated by Shannon Miller Disney’s animated movies have enchanted families for generations. Now, this richly layered multimedia book app takes readers behind the scenes to see all the different aspects that go into creating animated feature films. Read about the original development of animation, watch Walt Disney talk …
Happy Birthday, Sheila!
It's Sheila Ruth's birthday today, so leave your well wishes in the comments. This contest wouldn't get off the ground every year without Sheila's hard work and dedication. Without her fabulous database, her publishing contacts, her work ethic and literary mojo, this would just be another cool blog about books that got updated once in a while. So tell her …
Nominations are now closed
Nominations for 2013 are now closed. We would like to thank everyone who nominated, tweeted, posted, or supported the nominations in any other way. Judges have been hard at work since the first day of nominations, and will continue to work until the announcement of the finalists on January 1, 2014. While you're waiting for the announcement, we will be …