2017 Nerdy Book Awards

Fiction Picture Books

  • All the Way to Havana by Margarita Engle; illustrated by Mike Curato
  • A Different Pond by Bao Phi; illustrated by Thi Bui
  • After the Fall by Dan Santat
  • Big Cat, Little Cat by Elisha Cooper
  • Blue Sky, White Stars by Sarvinder Naberhaus; illustrated by Kadir Nelson
  • Come with Me by Holly M. McGhee; illustrated by Pascal Lemaître
  • Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes; illustrated by Gordon C. James
  • Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall
  • Life by Cynthia Rylant; illustrated by Brendan Wenzel
  • Not Quite Narwhal by Jessie Sima
  • Red & Lulu by Matt Tavares
  • The Antlered Ship by Dashka Slater; illustrated by Terry Fan and Eric Fan
  • The Book of Mistakes by Corinna Luyken
  • The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt; illustrated by Adam Rex
  • The Little Red Cat Who Ran Away and Learned His ABC’s (the Hard Way): Who Ran Away From Home and Learned His ABC’s the Hard Way by Patrick McDonnell 
  • The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet by Carmen Agra Deedy; illustrated by Eugene Yelchin
  • The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse by Mac Barnett; illustrated by Jon Klassen
  • This House, Once by Deborah Freedman
  • Town Is By the Sea by Joanne Schwartz; illustrated by Sydney Smith
  • When’s My Birthday? by Julie Fogliano; illustrated by Christian Robinson
  • Where’s Halmoni? by Julie Kim
  • Windows by Julia Denos; illustrated by E.B. Goodale
  • Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell

 

Non Fiction Picture Books

  • Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome; illustrated by James E. Ransome
  • Danza!: Amalia Hernandez and Mexico’s Folkloric Ballet by Duncan Tonatiuh
  • Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code by Laurie Wallmark; illustrated by Katy Wu
  • Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers; illustrated by Shawn Harris
  • Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines by Jeanne Walker Harvey; illustrated by Dow Phumiruk
  • Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist by Jess Keating; illustrated by Marta Alvarez Miguens
  • She Persisted: 13 Women Who Changed the World by Chelsea Clinton; illustrated by Alexandra Boiger
  • The World is Not a Rectangle: A Portrait of Architect Zaha Hadid by Jeanette Winter
  • A Boy, a Mouse, and a Spider — the Story of E.B. White by Barbara Herkert; illustrated by Lauren Castillo
  • Frederick Douglass: The Lion Who Wrote History by Walter Myers; illustrated by Floyd Cooper
  • Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters by Michael Mahin; illustrated by Evan Turk
  • Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library by Carole Boston Weatherford; illustrated by Eric Velasquez
  • Silent Days, Silent Dreams by Allen Say
  • Can an Aardvark Bark by Melissa Stewart; illustrated by Steve Jenkins
  • Grand Canyon by Jason Chin
  • How to be an Elephant: Growing Up in the African Wild by Katherine Roy
  • Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
  • What Makes a Monster: Discovering the World’s Scariest Creatures by Jess Keating; illustrated by David DeGrand
  • This is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from Around the World by Matt Lamothe
  • Dazzle Ships: World War I and the Art of Confusion by Chris Barton; illustrated by Victo Ngai

 

Early Readers and Chapter Books

 

Long Form Non Fiction

  • #Not Your Princess: Voices of Native American Women by Lisa Charleyboy & Mary Beth Leatherdale
  • Alexander Hamilton, Revolutionary by Martha Brockenbrough
  • Alice Paul and the Fight for Women’s Rights: From the Vote to the Equal Rights Amendment by Deborah Kops
  • Bound by Ice: A True North Pole Survival Story by Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace
  • Fault Lines in the Constitution: The Framers, Their Fights, and the Flaws that Affect Us Today by Cynthia Levinson and Sanford Levinson
  • Fred Korematsu Speaks Up by Laura Atkins and Stan Yogi, illustrated by Yutaka Houlette
  • Girl Rising: Changing the World One Girl at a Time by Tanya Lee Stone
  • How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child by Sandra Uwiringiyimana and Abigail Pesta
  • Isaac the Alchemist: Secrets of Isaac Newton, Reveal’d by Mary Losure
  • Life on Surtsey: Iceland’s Upstart Island by Loree Griffin Burns
  • Pathfinders: The Journeys of 16 Extraordinary Black Souls by Tonya Bolden
  • Poison: Deadly Deeds, Perilous Professions, and Murderous Medicines by Sarah Albee
  • Red Cloud: A Lakota Story of War and Surrender by S.D. Nelson
  • Shackles From the Deep: Tracing the Path of a Sunken Slave Ship, a Bitter Past, and a Rich Legacy by Michael Cottman
  • Stormy Seas: Stories of Young Boat Refugees by Mary Beth Leatherdale and Eleanor Shakespeare
  • The 57 Bus: Two Sides of the Same Crime/ Two Ends of the Same Line by Dashka Slater
  • The March Against Fear: The Last Great Walk of the Civil Rights Movement and the Emergence of Black Power by Ann Bausum
  • The Quilts of Gees Bend by Susan Goldman Rubin
  • Two Truths and a Lie: it’s Alive! by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Thompson, illustrated by Lisa Weber
  • Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers by Deborah Heiligman
  • Writing Radar: Using Your Journal to Snoop Out and Craft Great Stories by Jack Gantos

 

 

Graphic Novels

  • All’s Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson
  • Brave by Svetlana Chmakova
  • Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties by Dav Pilkey
  • I Am Alfonso Jones written by Tony Medina, Illustrated by Stacey Robinson and John Jennings
  • Invisible Emmie by Terri Libenson
  • Mighty Jack and the Goblin King by Ben Hatke
  • Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani
  • Real Friends written by Shannon Hale, illustrated by LeUyen Pham
  • Spill Zone written by Scott Westerfeld, illustrated by Alex Puvilland
  • Spinning by Tillie Walden
  • Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt by Ben Clanton
  • Swing It, Sunny written by Jennifer L. Holm, illustrated by Matthew Holm
  • The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir by Thi Bui
  • The Nameless City: The Stone Heart by Faith Erin Hicks, color by Jordie Bellaire
  • 5 Worlds Book 1: The Sand Warrior written by Mark Siegel and Alexis Siegel; illustrated by Xanthe Bouma, Matt Rockefeller, and Boya Sun

 

Poetry and Novels in Verse

  • Family Poems For Every Day of the Week/Poemas Familiares Para Cada Dia de la Semana by Francisco X. Alarcón; illustrated by Maya Christina González
  • When My Sister Started Kissing by Helen Frost
  • Gone Camping: A Novel in Verse by Tamera Will Wissinger; illustrated by Matthew Cordell
  • Forget Me Not by Ellie Terry
  • Bull by David Elliott
  • Solo by Kwame Alexander, with Mary Rand Hess
  • Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
  • Hey Black Child by Useni Eugene Perkins; illustrated by Bryan Collier
  • Bravo!: Poems About Amazing Hispanics by Margarita Engle; illustrated by Rafael López
  • Stone Mirrors: The Sculpture and SIlence of Edmonia Lewis by Jeannine Atkins
  • Loving vs Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights Case by Patricia Hruby Powell
  • One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes
  • Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets by Kwame Alexander with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth; illustrated by Ekua Holmes
  • I’m Just No Good At Rhyming: And Other Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups by Chris Harris; illustrated by Lane Smith
  • Read! Read! Read! by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater; illustrated by Ryan O’Rourke

 

Middle Grade Fiction

  • Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan
  • Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk
  • Clayton Byrd Goes Underground by Rita Williams Garcia
  • Flying Lessons & Other Stories edited by Ellen Oh
  • Greetings From Witness Protection by Jake Burt
  • Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly
  • Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling
  • Me and Marvin Gardens by Amy Sarig King
  • Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder
  • Patina by Jason Reynolds
  • Posted by John David Anderson
  • Refugee by Alan Gratz
  • Restart by Gordon Korman
  • Rise of the Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste
  • See You In The Cosmos by Jack Cheng
  • The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya
  • The Ethan I was Before by Ali Standish
  • The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez
  • The Someday Birds by Sally J. Pla
  • The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore
  • The Vanerbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser
  • The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
  • The Way to Bea by Kat Yeh
  • wishtree by Katherine Applegate
  • York by Laura Ruby

 

Young Adult Fiction: Part I and Part II

  • A List of Cages by Robin Roe
  • American Street by Ibi Zoboi
  • Dear Martin by Nic Stone
  • Far From the Tree by Robin Benway
  • Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner
  • I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez
  • Miles Morales: Spider Man by Jason Reynolds
  • Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu
  • Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson
  • Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy
  • The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
  • The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
  • The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord
  • The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
  • They Both Die At the End by Adam Silvera
  • Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
  • Warcross by Marie Lu
  • We Are Okay by Nina LaCour
  • What Girls Are Made Of by Elana K. Arnold
  • When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
  • You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins