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
- A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold, Illustrated by Charles Santoso
- Beatrice Zinker Upside Down Thinker by Shelley Jonannes
- Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen by Debbie Michiko Florence, Illustrated by Elizabet Vukovic
- The Princess in Black and the Mysterious Playdate by Shannon Hale, Dean Hale, Illustrated by LeUyen Pham
- Yours Sincerely, Giraffe by Megumi Iwasa, Illustrated by Jun Takabatake
- King & Kayla and the Case of the Missing Dog Treats by Dori Hillestad Butler, Illustrated by Nancy Meyers
- Fergus and Zeke by Kate Messner, illustrated by Heather Ross
- Charlie and Mouse by Laurel Snyder, Illustrated by Emily Hughes
- The Good For Nothing Button by Charise Mericle Harper
- It’s Shoe Time! By Bryan Collier
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