Past Winners

The first list of nominated books was distributed for the 1991-92 school year. There were only two awards at that time (Picture Book and Book Award.) For the 1992-93 school year, the committee decided to have three awards: Picture Book, Grades 4-6, and Grades 6-9. The first high school winner was announced in 2000 and the first graphic novel in 2014. The first graphic novel high school list was announced in May 2024.

Historical List: Click here to download an Excel spreadsheet historical list of ALL past winners and nominees.

2023-2024

Picture Books	Oliver Jeffers	*There's a Ghost in This House*
Grades 3-5	Katherine Applegate Illustrated by Charles Santoso	Odder
Graphic Novels 3-5	Johnnie Christmas	Swim Team
Grades 6-8	A.S. King	Attack of the Black Rectangles
Graphic Novels 6-8	Claribel A. Ortega Illustrated by Rose Bousamra	Frizzy
High school	Kelly DeVos Ruta Sepetys	Eat Your Heart Out I Must Betray You

2022-2023

Picture Books	Ryan T. Higgins	Norman Didn't Do It!: (Yes, he did.)
Grades 4 – 6	Gordan Korman	Unplugged
Graphic Novels 4 – 6	Megan Wagner Lloyd	*Allergic*
Grades 6 – 9	Lisa Fipps	Starfish
Graphic Novels 6 – 9	Ira Marcks	Shark Summer
High school	Jennifer Lynn Barnes	The Inheritance Games

2021-2022

Picture Books	Terry, Eric & Devin Fan	*The Barnabus Project*
Grades 4 – 6	James Ponti	City Spies
Graphic Novels 4 – 6	Varian Johnson	Twins
Grades 6 – 9	Rob Harrell	Wink
Graphic Novels 6 – 9	Trung Le Nguyen	The Magic Fish
High school	Holly Jackson	*A Good Girl's Guide to Murder*

2020-2021

Picture Books	Megan Lacera	Zombies Don't Eat
Grades 4 – 6	Rosanne Parry	A Wolf Called Wander
Graphic Novels 4 – 6	Shannon Hale	*Best Friends*
Grades 6 – 9	Alan Gratz Lindsay Lackey	Allies All The Impossible Things
Graphic Novels 6 – 9	R. J. Palacio	*White Bird*
High school	Adam Silvera	*What If It's Us*

2019-2020

Picture Books	Adam Rex	*Are You Scared, Darth?*
Grades 4 – 6	Kelly Yang	Front Desk
Graphic Novels 4 – 6	Ian Boothby	*Sparks!*
Grades 6 – 9	Jewell Parker Rhodes	Ghost Boys
Graphic Novels 6 – 9	Svetlana Chmakova	*Crush*
High school	Jarrett Krosoczka	Hey, Kiddo

2018-2019

Picture Books	Drew Daywalt	*The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors*
Grades 4 – 6	Katherine Applegate	Wishtree
Graphic Novels 4 – 6	Molly Ostertag	*The Witch Boy*
Grades 6 – 9	Gordon Korman	*Restart*
Graphic Novels 6 – 9	Victoria Jamieson	All's Faire in Middle School
High school	Karen M. McManus	*One of Us is Lying*

2017-2018

Picture Books	Antoinette Portis	*Best Frints in the Whole Universe*
Grades 4 – 6	Peter Brown	*The Wild Robot*
Graphic Novels 4 – 6	Raina Telgemeier	*Ghosts*
Grades 6 – 9	Jennifer A. Nielsen	*A Night Divided*
Graphic Novels 6 – 9	Ichigo Takano	*Orange: The Complete Collection, 1*
High school	Nicola Yoon	*The Sun is Also a Star*

2016-2017

Picture Books	Bethany Barton	*I’m Trying to Love Spiders: (It Isn’t Easy)*
Grades 4 – 6	W. Bruce Cameron	*Ellie’s Story: A Dog’s Purpose Novel*
Graphic Novels 4 – 6	Jennifer Holm	*Sunny Side Up*
Grades 6 – 9	Victoria Laurie	*When*
Graphic Novels 6 – 9	Victoria Jamieson	*Roller Girl*
High school	Nicola Yoon	*Everything, Everything*

2015 – 2016

Picture Books	Chris Gall	*Dog vs. Cat*
Grades 4 – 6	Jennifer Holm	*The Fourteenth Goldfish*
Graphic Novels 4 – 6	CeCe Bell	*El Deafo*
Grades 6 – 9	Kwame Alexander	*The Crossover*
High school	Jennifer Lynn Barnes	*The Naturals*

2014 – 2015

Picture Books	Drew Daywalt	*The Day the Crayons Quit*
Grades 4 – 6	Chris Grabenstein	*Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library*
Grades 4 – 6, Graphic Novel	Dave Roman	*Astronaut Academy: Zero Gravity*
Grades 6 – 9	Candace Fleming	*On the Day I Died: Stories from the Grave*
High school	Rainbow Rowell	*Eleanor & Park*

2013 – 2014

Picture Books	Aaron Reynolds	*Creepy carrots!*
Grades 4 – 6	Gordon Korman	*Ungifted*
Grades 4 – 6, Graphic Novel	Dan Santat	*Sidekicks*
Grades 6 – 9	R. J. Palacio	*Wonder*
High school	John Green	*The fault in our stars*

2012 – 2013

Picture Books	Jef Czekaj	*Cat Secrets*
Grades 4 – 6	Gill Lewis	*Wild Wings*
Grades 6 – 9	Adam Gidwitz	*A Tale Dark & Grimm*
High school	Veronica Roth	*Divergent*

2011 – 2012

Picture Books	Scillian/Bowers	*Memoirs of a Goldfish*
Grades 4 – 6	Victoria Forester	*The Girl Who Could Fly*
Grades 6 – 9	Sharon Draper	*Out of My Mind*
High school	April Henry	*Girl, Stolen*

2010 – 2011

Picture Books	Tony Fucile	*Let’s Do Nothing*
Grades 4 – 6	Wendy Mass	*11 Birthdays*
Grades 6 – 9	S. A. Bodeen	*The Compound*
High school	Suzanne Collins	*The Hunger Games*

2009 – 2010

Picture Books	Mélanie Watt	*Chester*
Grades 4 – 6	Gordon Korman	*Swindle*
Grades 6 – 9	Gordon Korman	*Schooled*
High school	Neal Shusterman	*Unwind*

2008 – 2009

Picture Books	Mélanie Watt	*Scaredy Squirrel*
Grades 4 – 6	Andrew Clements	*No Talking*
Grades 6 – 9	Ally Carter	*I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You*
High school	Susan Beth Pfeffer	*Life As We Knew IT*

2007 – 2008

Picture Books	Stevens/Crummel	*The Great Fuzz Frenzy*
Grades 4 – 6	Joseph Delaney	*Revenge of the Witch: The Last Apprentice*
Grades 6 – 9	Jordan Sonnenblick	*Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie*
High school	Stephenie Meyer	*Twilight*

2006 – 2007

Picture Book	Kevin O’Malley	*Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude*
Grades 4 – 6	Dori Butler	*Trading Places with Tank Talbott*
Grades 6 – 9	Priscilla Cummings	*Red Kayak*
High School	Jodi Picoult	*My Sister’s Keeper*

2005 – 2006

Picture Book	Leah Wilcox	*Falling for Rapunzel*
Grades 4 – 6	Betty Birney	*The World According to Humphrey*
Grades 6 – 9	Jeanne DuPrau	*The City of Ember*
High School	Neal Shusterman	*Full Tilt*

2004 – 2005

Picture Book	French/Whatley	*Diary of a Wombat*
Grades 4 – 6	Diane Stanley	*Mysterious Matter of I. M. Finek*
Grades 6 – 9	Vivian Vande Velde	*Heir Apparent*
High School	Margaret Bechard	*Hanging on to Max*

2003 – 2004

Picture Book	Prelutsky/Sis	*Scranimals*
Grades 4 – 6	Dan Gutman	*Million Dollar Kick*
Grades 6 – 9	Anthony Horowitz	*Point Blank*
High School	Alex Flinn	*Breathing Underwater*

2002 – 2003

Picture Book	Palatini/Egielski	*Web Files*
Grades 4 – 6	Betsy Duffey	*Cody Unplugged*
Grades 6 – 9	Julie Ann Peters	*Define Normal*
High School	Ann Brashares	*The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants*

2001 – 2002

Picture Book	Cronin/Lewin	*Click, Clack, Moo*
Grades 4 – 6	Kate DiCamillo	*Because of Winn Dixie*
Grades 6 – 9	Vivian Vande Velde	*There’s a Dead Person Following My Sister Around*
High School	Jacqueline Woodson	*If You Come Softly*

2000 – 2001

Picture Book	Simms/Catrow	*Rotten Teeth*
Grades 4 – 6	Gordon Korman	*The 6th Grade Nickname Game*
Grades 6 – 9	Louis Sachar	*Holes*
High School	Sarah Dessen Nancy Werlin	*Someone Like You* *The Killer’s Cousin*

1999 – 2000

Picture Books	David Shannon	*A Bad Case of the Stripes*
Grades 4 – 6	Lee Wardlaw	*101 Ways to Bug Your Parents*
Grades 6 – 9	Gail Carson Levine	*Ella Enchanted*
High school	David Klass	*Danger Zone*

1998 – 1999

Picture Books	Rod Clement	*Just Another Ordinary Day*
Grade 4-6	Andrew Clements	*Frindle*
Grade 6-9	Margaret Haddix	*Don’t You Dare Read This Mrs. Dumphries*

1997 – 1998

Picture Book	Margie Palatini	*Piggie Pie!*
Grade 4-6	Sid Fleischman	*The13th Floor: A Ghost Story*
Grade 6-9	Margaret P. Haddix	*Running Out of Time*

1996 – 1997

Picture Book	Tom Birdseye	*Soap! Soap! Don’t Forget the Soap!*
Grade 4-6	Mary Downing Hahn	*Time for Andrew: A Ghost Story*
Grade 6-9	Joan Lowery Nixon	*The Name of the Game Was Murder*

1995 – 1996

Picture Book	Jerdine Nolen Harold	*Harvey Potter’s Balloon Farm*
Grade 4-6	Elvira Woodruff	*Ghosts Don’t Get Goosebumps*
Grade 6-9	Jim Murphy	*Night Terrors*

1994 – 1995

Picture Book	Ed Emberly	*Go Away, Big Green Monster*
Grade 4-6	Jerry Spinelli	*Fourth Grade Rats*
Grade 6-9	Lois Lowry	*The Giver*

1993 – 1994

Picture Book	Jan Brett	*Trouble with Trolls*
Grade 4-6	Bruce Coville	*Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher*
Grade 6-9	Mary Downing Hahn	*Stepping on the Cracks*

1992 – 1993

Picture Book	Sam Swope	*The Araboolies of Liberty Street*
Grade 4-6	Judy Blume	*Fudge-A-Mania*
Grade 6-9	Annette Curtis Klause	*The Silver Kiss*

1991 – 1992

Picture Book	Jon Scieszka	*The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf*
Book Award	Roald Dahl	*Matilda*

Past Winners

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