Winner

The Christmas boot
By: Lisa Wheeler

When lonely old Miss Hannah Greyweather finds a boot in the woods, it fills her life with warmth and magic, but she knows even before its true owner appears that she will have to return it.

Honor

Time for (Earth) School, Dewey Dew
By: Leslie Staub, Jeff Mack

Click-Clack Waddle Dot Dewey Dew from Planet Eight Hundred Seventy-Two Point Nine does not want to go to school—not on his planet, and definitely not on Planet Earth at Mrs. Brightsun’s School for Little Learners. Everything on Earth is different. His clothes don’t fit right, his classmates don’t look like him, and even Earth noises sound weird. In this first day of school story with a twist, nervous Dewey Dew learns that new experiences—like going to school on another planet—might be okay after all. Ages 4-8

Winner

The Music in George’s Head: George Gershwin Creates Rhapsody in Blue
By: Suzanne Slade

George Gershwin heard music all the time—at home, at school, even on New York City’s busy streets. Classical, ragtime, blues, and jazz—George’s head was filled with a whole lot of razzmatazz! Ages 9-11

Honor

Preaching To The Chickens : The story of young John Lewis
By: Jabari Asim

John wants to be a preacher when he grows up a leader whose words stir hearts to change, minds to think, and bodies to take action. But why wait? When John is put in charge of the family farm’s flock of chickens, he discovers that they make a wonderful congregation! So he preaches to his flock, and they listen, content under his watchful care, riveted by the rhythm of his voice. Celebrating ingenuity and dreaming big, this inspirational story, featuring Jabari Asim’s stirring prose and E. B. Lewis’s stunning, light-filled impressionistic watercolor paintings, includes an author’s note about John Lewis, who grew up to be a member of the Freedom Riders, chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and demonstrator on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, and is now a Georgia congressman. Ages 5-8

Winner

Salt to the sea : a novel
By: Ruta Sepetys

As World War II draws to a close, refugees try to escape the war’s final dangers, only to find themselves aboard a ship with a target on its hull. Ages 12 and up 9-11

Honor

In-between days
By: Andrew Porter

After dropping out of school and moving in with her free-spirited sister, seventeen-year-old Jacklin (Jack) maneuvers her way through a summer of family drama and first loves. Ages 14 and up

Winner

We will not be silent : the White Rose student resistance movement that defied Adolf Hitler
By: Russell Freedman

In his signature eloquent prose, backed up by thorough research, Russell Freedman tells the story of Austrian-born Hans Scholl and his sister Sophie. They belonged to Hitler Youth as young children, but began to doubt the Nazi regime. As older students, the Scholls and a few friends formed the White Rose, a campaign of active resistance to Hitler and the Nazis. Risking imprisonment or even execution, the White Rose members distributed leaflets urging Germans to defy the Nazi government. Their belief that freedom was worth dying for will inspire young readers to stand up for what they believe in. Archival photographs and prints, source notes, bibliography, index. Ages 10-14

Honor

A girl called Vincent : the life of poet Edna St. Vincent Millay
By: Krystyna Poray Goddu

There was never anything calm about Vincent. Her sisters used to say that she had a bee chasing her. Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950), known as Vincent, was an acclaimed American poet who came to embody the modern, liberated woman of the Jazz Age. From the fiery energy of her youth to the excitement and acclaim of her early adulthood in New York and Paris, to the demands of living in the public eye, Vincent’s life was characterized by creativity, hard work, and passion. A Girl Called Vincent traces her incredible journey from a unique and talented girl to an international celebrity and Pulitzer Prize–winning poet. Ages 9 and up

Winner

The haunting of Falcon House
By: Eugene Yelchin

In 1891, twelve-year-old Lev Lvov travels to Saint Petersburg, Russia, to assume his duties as Prince, but must first use his special gift to rid the House of Lions of a ghost. Ages 9-12

Honor

Finding wonders : three girls who changed science
By: Jeannine Atkins

A biographical novel in verse of three different girls in three different time periods who grew up to become groundbreaking scientists. Ages 10 and up