2024-2025 Golden Sower Nominees

Abdul's story

Thompkins-Bigelow, Jamilah,


Horn book, March 2022. Kirkus, March 15, 2022. Abdul loves telling stories but thinks his messy handwriting and spelling mistakes will keep him from becoming an author, until Mr. Muhammad visits and encourages him to persist.
Date Published:2022

Agatha May and the anglerfish

Morrison, Nora,


Booklist Starred Reviews, Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal Starred, Rhyming text and colorful illustrations follow the daydreaming and doodling student Agatha May, whose desk is always a mess and is not anyone's idea of an A student. When she gets the chance to make a report on the anglerfish, her favorite sea creature, though, Agatha discovers a new passion for research and a dream for what her future could be.
Date Published:2022

Booklist Starred Reviews, Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal Starred, Rhyming text and colorful illustrations follow the daydreaming and doodling student Agatha May, whose desk is always a mess and is not anyone's idea of an A student. When she gets the chance to make a report on the anglerfish, her favorite sea creature, though, Agatha discovers a new passion for research and a dream for what her future could be.

Date Published:2022

Bunnicula : the graphic novel /

Howe, James, 1946-,


"Based on the novel by Deborah & James Howe." Kirkus Review, May 2022. School Library Journal, October 2022. "Though scoffed at by Harold the dog, Chester the cat tries to warn his human family that their foundling baby bunny must be a vampire. Presented in comic book format"--OCLC.
Date Published:2022

Controlled burn

Downing, Erin Soderberg,


Publishers Weekly, October 2022. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), November 2022. Sent to spend the summer with her grandparents in Northern Minnesota after a devastating fire destroyed her home, Maia must overcome her guilt, anxiety, fear, and self-doubt to save those she loves most when danger strikes again.
Date Published:2022

Creepy crayon

Reynolds, Aaron, 1970-,


"When Jasper Rabbit finds a purple crayon willing to do his schoolwork for him, he is elated--at first"--.
Date Published:2022

Every dog in the neighborhood

Stead, Philip Christian,


"Neal Porter Books." School Library Journal starred, June 2022. Horn Book Starred, May 2022. Booklist, May 2022. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), May 2022. Kirkus Review, March 2022. Library Media Connection, August 2022. Louis and his eccentric Grandmother set out to count every dog in the neighborhood when they find out about city hall's woefully inadequate record keeping.
Date Published:2022

Finally seen

Yang, Kelly,


Booklist starred, December 2022. Publishers Weekly, January 2023. Horn Book, January 2023. Kirkus Review, December 2022. School Library Journal starred, September 2023. When ten-year-old Lina Gao leaves China to live with her parents and sister, after five years apart, she must reckon with her hurt, anger, and curiosity and find a way to get her bearings in this new country--and the almost-new family that comes along with it.
Date Published:2024

Booklist starred, December 2022. Publishers Weekly, January 2023. Horn Book, January 2023. Kirkus Review, December 2022. School Library Journal starred, September 2023. When ten-year-old Lina Gao leaves China to live with her parents and sister, after five years apart, she must reckon with her hurt, anger, and curiosity and find a way to get her bearings in this new country--and the almost-new family that comes along with it.

Date Published:2024

How dinosaurs went extinct : a safety guide /

Dyckman, Ame,


School Library Journal, May 2023. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books starre, April 2023. Booklist, April 2023. Horn Book, March 2023. Kirkus Review, February 2023. When a child in a museum asks how dinosaurs became extinct, Dad comes up with a list of silly answers.
Date Published:2023

I'm a unicorn

Yoon, Helen,


Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books starre, July 2022. Publishers Weekly, July 2022. Booklist, August 2022. Kirkus Review, June 2022. School Library Journal, October 2022. Because it has one horn, an eager young calf investigates if it is a unicorn, but soon realizes that it doesn't have all the qualifications of a true unicorn and must accept its own identity.
Date Published:2022

Invisible / written by Christian Diaz Gonzalez ; illustrated by Gabriela Epstein ; with color by Lark Pien.

Gonzalez, Christian Diaz



Date Published:

The midnight children

Gemeinhart, Dan,


Booklist Starred Reviews, Kirkus Reviews Starred, Publishers Weekly Starred, School Library Journal Starred, When lonely Ravani Foster discovers his new friend Virginia and her six mysterious runaway companions are in danger, he must fight to keep them safe, or lose the only person who has ever understood him.
Date Published:2022

More than peach : "changing the world...one crayon at a time!" /

Woodard, Bellen,


School Library Journal starred, July 2022. Kirkus Review, May 2022. "[The author] presents this picture book in which she [tells a fictionalized account of her story and] spreads a message of inclusivity, empowerment and the importance of inspiring the next generation of leaders through Bellen's More than Peach Project and crayons"--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2022

My parents won't stop talking!

Hunsinger, Emma,


A little girl has big plans for her day at the park, but when her two Mums stop to talk to some chatty neighbors she is convinced that her whole day will be completely ruined.
Date Published:2022

Odder

Applegate, Katherine,


Maps on endpapers. . School Library Journal, October 2022. Booklist starred, August 2022. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books starre, October 2022. Pub Weekly, August 2022. New York Times, October 2022. Horn Book, November 2022. Kirkus Review, September 2022. "Odder spends her days off the coast of central California, practicing her underwater acrobatics and spinning the quirky stories for which she's known. She's a fearless daredevil, curious to a fault. But when Odder comes face-to-face with a hungry great white shark, her life takes a dramatic turn, one that will challenge everything she believes about herself--and about the humans who hope to save her"--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2022

Maps on endpapers. . School Library Journal, October 2022. Booklist starred, August 2022. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books starre, October 2022. Pub Weekly, August 2022. New York Times, October 2022. Horn Book, November 2022. Kirkus Review, September 2022. "Odder spends her days off the coast of central California, practicing her underwater acrobatics and spinning the quirky stories for which she's known. She's a fearless daredevil, curious to a fault. But when Odder comes face-to-face with a hungry great white shark, her life takes a dramatic turn, one that will challenge everything she believes about herself--and about the humans who hope to save her"--Provided by publisher.

Date Published:2022

Poopsie gets lost

Harrison, Hannah E.,


School Library Journal starred, May 2022. Booklist, March 2022. Kirkus Review, March 2022. "Pampered, nap-loving kitty Poopsie makes her way through a jungle after a pushy narrator pressures her toward adventure"--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2022

Wayward creatures

Lorentz, Dayna,


Booklist, Kirkus Reviews Starred, School Library Journal, Twelve-year-old Gabe is in emotional turmoil after feeling the effects of his parents' money woes and seeing his best friends begin to hang out with other kids on their soccer team. When he finally gets the chance to hang out with his friends again, he hopes to impress them by shooting off fireworks that he steals from a local store. When the fireworks ignite, they cause a fire in the woods near his house and damage several acres of land. Gabe is blamed for the fire and must help clean up the mess he caused through a court order. While working in the ravaged fields, Gabe encounters a coyote named Rill, who also is going through his own difficulties with his family, but now is injured from the fire and can't return to them. As he works in the area, Gabe realizes the consequences of his actions, dedicating himself to helping Rill recover, and in the process discovering a new friend.
Date Published:2021

Booklist, Kirkus Reviews Starred, School Library Journal, Twelve-year-old Gabe is in emotional turmoil after feeling the effects of his parents' money woes and seeing his best friends begin to hang out with other kids on their soccer team. When he finally gets the chance to hang out with his friends again, he hopes to impress them by shooting off fireworks that he steals from a local store. When the fireworks ignite, they cause a fire in the woods near his house and damage several acres of land. Gabe is blamed for the fire and must help clean up the mess he caused through a court order. While working in the ravaged fields, Gabe encounters a coyote named Rill, who also is going through his own difficulties with his family, but now is injured from the fire and can't return to them. As he works in the area, Gabe realizes the consequences of his actions, dedicating himself to helping Rill recover, and in the process discovering a new friend.

Date Published:2021

We don't lose our class goldfish

Higgins, Ryan T.,


School library journal, December 2022. Penelope Rex faces her biggest (and fishiest) fear in this companion to We Don't Eat Our Classmates.
Date Published:2023