The Buckeye Children’s and Teen Book Award program is one of the only state reader’s choice awards in the country where books are both nominated and voted on by students, not adults.
Ohio students in kindergarten through 12th grade have nominated their favorite books for this year’s award. Now through November 10, you can choose your favorite and cast your vote!
Nominees
Books for Grades K–2
Are We There Yet?
By Dan Santat
Enduring a boring car ride that makes him feel like time is going backward, a little boy is astonished to find himself traveling back to the times of Colonial America, ancient Egypt, the dinosaur era and other historical periods.
I'll Wait, Mr. Panda
By Steve Antony
Mr. Panda is making something, and all of his animal friends are interested—but only Penguin is willing to wait to see what it is.
The Ninjabread Man
By C.J. Leigh
Sensei makes an age-old recipe for ninjabread. But the cookie escapes from the oven and runs loose. Can the Ninjabread Man trick Ninja Bear, Ninja Snake, Ninja Mouse, and Ninja Fox?
Samson in the Snow
By Philip C. Stead
When friendly giant mammoth Samson falls asleep and wakes up in the middle of a blizzard, he finds and shelters a little red bird and a flower-loving mouse, beginning new friendships for all.
Waiting
By Kevin Henkes
Five toy animal friends sit happily together on a windowsill, patiently waiting for anticipated weather changes that are orchestrated by their young human companion.
Books for Grades 3–5
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
By Jack Thorne
As an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and a father, Harry Potter struggles with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs while his youngest son, Albus, finds the weight of the family legacy difficult to bear.
License to Thrill
By Dan Gutman
Tween twins Coke and Pepsi McDonald have finally reached the last leg of their wacky and dangerous cross-country road trip, but they must fend off a host of strange assassins before they reach their home in California.
Pax
By Sara Pennypacker
When he’s forced to give up his pet fox Pax, Peter decides to leave home and find his friend.
The Wild Robot
By Peter Brown
Roz the robot discovers that she is alone on a remote, wild island with no memory of where she is from or why she is there, and her only hope of survival is to try to learn about her new environment from the island’s hostile inhabitants.
Some Kind of Courage
By Dan Gemeinhart
In 1890 Washington the only family Joseph Johnson has left is his half-wild Indian pony, Sarah. When she is sold by a man who has no right to do so, he sets out to get her back—and he plans to let nothing stop him in his quest.
Books for Grades 6–8
Children of Eden
By Joey Graceffa
As an illegal second child hiding from the world and living vicariously through her twin brother, Rowan makes a reckless decision to go out into the world for one night of adventure and becomes a renegade on the run.
Fish in a Tree
By Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Ally’s greatest fear is that everyone will find out she is as dumb as they think she is because she still doesn’t know how to read.
Ghost
By Jason Reynolds
Aspiring to be the fastest sprinter on his elite middle school’s track team, gifted runner Ghost finds his goal challenged by a tragic past with a violent father.
The Other Boy
By M.G. Hennessey
Hiding his transgender identity behind a veneer of an everyday student who loves baseball and working on his graphic novel, 12-year-old Shane is threatened with exposure by a classmate and begins a painful journey toward acceptance and empathy.
Wolf Hollow
By Lauren Wolk
Growing up in a rural Pennsylvania town in the aftermath of two world wars, 12-year-old Annabelle confronts a bullying newcomer and must defend a traumatized but gentle World War I veteran who is wrongly implicated in the bully’s disappearance.
Books for Grades 9–12
Everything Everything
By Nicola Yoon
Confined to her home because she is allergic to the outside world, a teenage girl’s life changes when she begins a romance with the new boy next door that challenges everything she’s ever known.
Female of the Species
By Mindy McGinnis
Living a life in the shadows after violently retaliating against the killer who walked free after murdering her sister, Alex unexpectedly befriends guilt-ridden athlete Jack and defiant preacher’s kid Peekay, who must navigate Alex’s darker nature throughout their senior year.
The Great American Whatever
By Tim Federle
Struggling to move forward with his own life after his sister’s death, sixteen-year-old Quinn, an aspiring screenwriter, attends his first college party, where he falls in love with a young man who inspires his healing.
The Heir
By Kiera Cass
When the time comes for Princess Eadlyn to hold a Selection of her own, she does not expect a fairy-tale love story like her parents, but the princess discovers her own happily ever after may not be as impossible as she thought.
Red Queen
By Victoria Aveyard
When her supernatural powers manifest in front of a noble court, Mare, a thief in a world divided between commoners and superhumans, is forced to assume the role of lost princess before risking everything to help a growing rebellion.