In case you missed the latest Nutmeg newsletter, here are the 2025 winners! Check out the Nutmeg Book Award website for more information! Thank you for your support of the Nutmeg Book Award!

Anne Porier
Co-Chair Nutmeg Steering Committee 

Announcing the 2025 Nutmeg Book Award Winners!

2025 Elementary Grades 2-3 Nutmeg Book Award Winner:
Yoshi's Big Swim: One Turtle's Epic Journey Home 
by Mary Wagley Copp, art by Kaja Kajfez

2025 Intermediate Grades 4-6 Nutmeg Book Award Winner:
Invisible by Christina Diaz Gonzalez, art by Gabriela Epstein

2025 Middle School Grades Nutmeg Book Award Winner:
Starfish by Lisa Fipps

2025 High School Grades Nutmeg Book Award Winner:
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Thank you to everyone who made the 2025 Nutmeg Book Award possible!


A huge THANK YOU to all of the librarians and teachers who promoted these titles over the past year, but especially to our 2025 Selection Committee Chairpeople and all the Selection Committee Members for reading A LOT of titles to bring us these amazing Winners! 

2025 Elementary Grades 2-3 Co-Chairpeople: 
Amy Rosenfield and Shana Shea
2025 Intermediate Grades 4-6 Chairperson:
Rebecca Kerrigan
2025 Middle School Grades 7-8 Co-Chairpeople:
Kelly Moore and Kristina Garner
2025 High School Grades 9-12 Chairperson:
Casey Laplante
2026 Elementary Nutmeg Book Award Nominees:
  • Darwin's Super-Pooping Worm Spectacular by Polly Owen, art by Gwen Millward
  • The Egg Incident by Ziggy Hanaor, art by Daisy Wynter
  • Feathers Together by Caron Levis, art by Charles Santoso
  • Great Carrier Reef by Jessica Stremer, art by Gordy Wright
  • Henry, Like Always by Jenn Bailey, art by Mika Song
  • The Iguanodon's Horn: How Artists and Scientists Put a Dinosaur Back Together Again and Again... and Again by Sean Rubin
  • Just Harriet by Elana K. Arnold, art by Dung Ho
  • The Search for the Giant Arctic Jellyfish by Chloe Savage
  • The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale by Jon Klassen
  • The World's Best Class Plant by Liz Garton Scanlon & Audrey Vernick, art by Lynnor Bontigao
2026 Intermediate Nutmeg Book Award Nominees:
  • Air by Monica Roe
  • The Carrefour Curse by Dianne K. Salerni
  • The Dog Knight by Jeremy Whitley, art by Bre Indigo, colors by Melissa Capriglione
  • Dogtown by Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko, art by Wallace West
  • Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega, art by Rose Bousamra
  • Grounded by Aisha Saeed, Huda Al-Marashi, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, & S.K. Ali
  • It Found Us by Lindsay Currie
  • Moongarden by Michelle A. Barry
  • Speak Up! by Rebecca Burgess
  • Trex by Christyne Morrell
2026 Middle School Nutmeg Book Award Nominees:
  • Alone by Megan E. Freeman
  • Concealed by Christina Diaz Gonzalez
  • Don't Want To Be Your Monster by Deke Moulton
  • The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander
  • Hamra and the Jungle of Memories by Hanna Alkaf
  • The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
  • The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh
  • Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow
  • Team Chu and the Battle of Blackwood Arena by Julia C. Dao
  • What Happened to Rachel Riley? by Claire Swinarski
2026 High School Nutmeg Book Award Nominees:
  • The 9:09 Project by Mark H. Parsons
  • For Lamb by Lesa Cline-Ransome
  • Gather by Kenneth M. Cadow
  • The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe
  • The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes
  • Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang & Leuyen Pham
  • The Silence That Binds Us by Joanna Ho
  • Spin by Rebecca Caprara
  • The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White
  • Throwback by Maurene Goo

Color Flyers Available Here:

2026 Elementary Nominees Flyer
2026 Intermediate Nominees Flyer
2026 Middle School Nominees Flyer
2026 High School Nominees Flyer

We Couldn't Have Done It Without Them!

A huge THANK YOU to our Selection Committee Chairs and all the Selection Committee Members for reading and working together to make these amazing nominee lists! 

 

2026 Elementary Grades 2-3 Co-Chairs: 
     Michele Kaminski and Sarah Prattson
2026 Intermediate Grades 4-6 Chairs:
     Meg Klein and Kristina Lareau
2026 Middle School Grades 7-8 Co-Chairs:
Ashley Ewert and Kristen Finnegan
2026 High School Grades 9-12 Chairs:   
Cathy Andronik and Meg Glasgow

Leveled stickers are available to purchase on our website. The nominee stickers are solid colors with the words Nutmeg Book Award and the level nominee. There is a different color for each level. See examples here:
Nominee bookmarks and award winner foil seals are also available to purchase online. We allow electronic credit card or PayPal payments through our website. For more information on this, please go to our promotional materials page.

If you still prefer to print, fill out and send a check, you will be able to access that form on our website soon.

For questions regarding the orders of Promotional Materials, please contact Kristin Raiche, Nutmeg Book Award Treasurer at: kraiche@enfield.org.
Nutmeg Book Award Highlights From Around CT:

Are you or your library doing something extra special to highlight the Nutmeg Book Awards?  We want to hear about it!  Send your highlight to the Nutmeg Book Award Steering Committee at nutmegbookaward1993@gmail.com to be featured in our next newsletter.

Book Nominee Concerns:

Selecting the books for the Nutmeg Book Award is a long and challenging process that includes the input of librarians, educators, and students from across the state.  We understand that these selections may not match the preference of every individual, but hope that encouraging reading across all ages and interests stays at the forefront of this Award.  Should you have concerns about a title, please contact the appropriate committee chairs.  The Nutmeg Book Award Selection Committee Chairs can be found here: Committee Members Directory.
Copyright © 2025 Nutmeg Book Award
Anne Porier
School Librarian
Moses Y. Beach Elementary School
Wallingford CT
203-294-3950