Bluestem Award 2024 Nominees | SWAN Consortium

1) Amari and the night brothers

Author

Series

Supernatural investigations volume 1
Supernatural Investigation volume 1

Description

"New York Times bestseller! Artemis Fowl meets Men in Black in this exhilarating debut middle grade fantasy, the first in a trilogy filled with #blackgirlmagic. Perfect for fans of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, the Percy Jackson series, and Nevermoor. Amari Peters has never stopped believing her missing brother, Quinton, is alive. Not even when the police told her otherwise, or when she got in trouble for standing up to bullies who said...

2) The magical imperfect

Author

Baron, Chris (Christopher Leigh)

Description

"Etan has stopped speaking since his mother left. His father and grandfather don't know how to help him. His friends have given up on him. When Etan is asked to deliver a grocery order to the outskirts of town, he realizes he's at the home of Malia Agbayani, also known as the creature. Malia stopped going to school when her acute eczema spread to her face, and the bullying became too much. Soon, other kids tease Etan for being friends with the creature....

3) Opening the road: Victor Hugo Green and his Green Book

Author

Dawson, Keila V

Description

"In the late 1930s when segregation was legal and Black Americans couldn't visit every establishment or travel everywhere they wanted to safely, a New Yorker named Victor Hugo Green decided to do something about it. Green wrote and published a guide that listed places where his fellow Black Americans could be safe in New York City. The guide sold like hot cakes! Soon customers started asking Green to make a guide to help them travel and vacation safely...

4) Maya and the robot

Author

Description

A forgotten homemade robot comes to life just when aspiring fifth-grade scientist Maya needs a friend - and a science fair project.

5) Long Distance

Author

Gardner, Whitney

Description

From the creator of Fake Blood comes another exceptionally charming middle grade graphic novel about friendships both near and far, far away.
Vega's summer vacation is not going well.

When her parents decide it's time to pack up and leave her hometown of Portland, Oregon, behind for boring Seattle, Washington, Vega is more than upset—she's downright miserable. Forced to leave her one and only best friend, Halley, behind,...

6) Ahmed Aziz's epic year

Author

Description

"A Indian American boy endures a family move from Hawaii to frigid Minnesota and, with the help of three life-changing books he reads in school, he learns to like reading, and ultimately, himself"-- Provided by publisher.

7) The only woman in the photo: Frances Perkins & her New Deal for America

Author

Krull, Kathleen

Description

"Biography of Frances Perkins, the first female member of the presidential cabinet, and architect of much of the New Deal legislation as Secretary of Labor."--Provided by publisher.

Author

Lloyd, Megan Wagner

Description

A coming-of-age middle-grade graphic novel featuring a girl with severe allergies who just wants to find the perfect pet! At home, Maggie is the odd one out. Her parents are preoccupied with getting ready for a new baby, and her younger brothers are twins and always in their own world. Maggie loves animals and thinks a new puppy is the answer, but when she goes to select one on her birthday, she breaks out in hives and rashes. She's severely allergic...

9) Everything awesome about sharks and other underwater creatures!

Author

Lowery, Mike, 1980-

Series

Everything awesome about

Description

"Discover all there is to know about sharks and other underwater creatures! Including: Amazing--but true!--shark facts; A deep dive into awesome marine science; Hilarious deep sea jokes; How to draw sharks instructions; A comprehensive underwater field guide; and so much more! It's time to find out everything awesome there is to know about the underwater world of sharks!"--Back cover. Discover the ULTIMATE, book about all things sharks and underwater...

Author

Matheson, Christie

Description

While ten-year-old Maya attends an elite private school on scholarship her classmates are unaware that she and her family are living in a homeless shelter, but on one poignant day Maya discovers having a house is not the only way to have a home.

Author

Mercado, Yehudi

Description

"Hudi needs to lose weight, according to his doctors. Concerned about the serious medical issue Hudi had when he was younger, his parents push him to try out for sports. Hudi would rather do anything else, but then he meets Chunky, his imaginary friend and mascot. Together, they decide to give baseball a shot. As the only Mexican and Jewish kid in his neighborhood, Hudi has found the cheerleader he never had. Baseball doesn't go well (unless getting...

12) The great stink: how Joseph Bazalgette solved London's poop pollution problem

Author

Description

"This funny and informative picture book tells the story of Joseph Bazalgette, a 19th century engineer who designed London's first comprehensive sewage system. In doing so, he saved thousands of lives from cholera outbreaks that regularly plagued the city. This STEM-focused story provides a window into the past and shows how one invention went on to affect generations to come-and teaches kids how they can prevent pollution in their own neighborhoods...

13) The unforgettable Logan Foster

Author

Peters, Shawn, 1971-

Series

Unforgettable Logan Foster (Series) volume 1
Unforgettable Logan Foster
Unforgettable Logan Foster volume 1

Description

Logan, an undersized twelve-year-old orphan with a photographic memory and no filter, discovers that his foster parents are superheroes in grave danger and only Logan's highly logical mind can save them.

14) The floating field: how a group of Thai boys built their own soccer field

Author

Riley, Scott, 1970-

Description

"On a tiny Thai island without room for a soccer field, a group of resourceful teen boys gathers scraps and works together to build a floating field so they can play the game they love"-- Provided by publisher.

15) The list of things that will not change

Author

Description

"After her parents' divorce, Bea's life became different in many ways. But she can always look back at the list she keeps in her green notebook to remember the things that will stay the same. The first and most important: Mom and Dad will always love Bea, and each other. When Dad tells Bea that he and his boyfriend, Jesse, are getting married, Bea is thrilled. Bea loves Jesse, and when he and Dad get married, she'll finally (finally!) have what she's...

16) Ben Yokoyama and the cookie of doom

Author

Swanson, Matthew, 1974-

Series

Cookie chronicles volume 1

Description

Eight-year-old Ben takes a fortune cookie literally, and believing he has only one day left to live, tries to do everything he has always wanted to before nightfall.

17) The elephants come home: a true story of seven elephants, two people, and one extraordinary friendship

Author

Description

"Lawrence Anthony and Françoise Malby love animals--so when they hear that a herd of wild African elephants needs a new home, they welcome the herd to their wildlife sanctuary--Thula Thula--with open arms. What follows in this beautifully illustrated true story is an extraordinary cross-species friendship that will move readers and warm the hearts of animal lovers at every age"-- Provided by publisher.

18) Katie the Catsitter 1

Author

Venable, Colleen AF ; Yue, Stephanie (ILT)

Description

NOMINATED FOR MULTIPLE STATE AWARDS!Calling all Raina Telgemeier fans! Introducing an irresistible new middle-grade graphic novel series about growing up, friendship, heroes, and cats (lots of cats!)--perfect for fans of Guts, Awkward and Real Friends (not to mention anyone who loves cats!)“Readers will revel in the heroic antics.” --The New York TimesKatie is dreading the boring summer ahead while her best friends are all away at camp--something...

19) Ways to make sunshine

Author

Series

Ryan Hart volume 1

Description

"Ryan Hart has a lot on her mind--school, self-image, and especially family. Her dad finally has a new job, but money is tight. That means some changes, like selling their second car and moving into a new (old) house. But Ryan is a girl who knows how to make sunshine out of setbacks. As her brother says when he raps about her,she's got the talent that matters most: it's a talent that can't be seen, she's nice, not mean! Ryan is all about trying to...

20) New from here

Author

Series

Thorndike Press large print middle reader

Description

Knox works to keep his family together as they move from Hong Kong back to northern California during the initial outbreak of the coronavirus.