2025-26 Golden Sower Nominees

Dust

Bowling, Dusti,


Publishers Weekly, May 2023. Booklist, July 2023. When a boy with a terrible secret moves to town there is a sudden increase in dust storms, and asthmatic Avalyn theorizes the storms are linked to his emotions and tries to help as she struggles to breathe.
Date Published:2023

The labors of Hercules Beal

Schmidt, Gary D.,


School Library Journal starred, February 2023. Booklist starred, April 2023. Pub Weekly, April 2023. Kirkus Starred, March 2023. New York Times, May 2023. Horn Book, May 2023. Seventh-grader Hercules Beal has to figure out how to fulfill his teacher's assignment of performing the Twelve Labors of Hercules in real life, and discovers important things about friendship, community, and himself along the way.
Date Published:2023

School Library Journal starred, February 2023. Booklist starred, April 2023. Pub Weekly, April 2023. Kirkus Starred, March 2023. New York Times, May 2023. Horn Book, May 2023. Seventh-grader Hercules Beal has to figure out how to fulfill his teacher's assignment of performing the Twelve Labors of Hercules in real life, and discovers important things about friendship, community, and himself along the way.

Date Published:2023

The lost year

Marsh, Katherine,


School Library Journal, October 2023. Booklist starred, December 2022. Publishers Weekly, November 2022. New York Times, January 2023. Horn Book, March 2023. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), December 2022. Kirkus Review, November 2022. In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, thirteen-year-old Matthew discovers a shocking secret about his great-grandmother's past as he learns about her life during the Holodomor famine in Soviet Ukraine.
Date Published:2023

School Library Journal, October 2023. Booklist starred, December 2022. Publishers Weekly, November 2022. New York Times, January 2023. Horn Book, March 2023. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), December 2022. Kirkus Review, November 2022. In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, thirteen-year-old Matthew discovers a shocking secret about his great-grandmother's past as he learns about her life during the Holodomor famine in Soviet Ukraine.

Date Published:2023

Mascot

Waters, Charles, 1973-,


"Six eighth graders outside Washington, DC, navigate through conflict and division focused on their school district's Native American mascot"--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2023

The Mona Lisa vanishes : a legendary painter, a shocking heist, and the birth of a global celebrity /

Day, Nicholas, (Journalist).


Booklist starred, July 2023. Pub Weekly, July 2023. Kirkus Starred, July 2023. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), October 2023. School Library Journal, September 2023. "A narrative nonfiction about how the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre, how the robbery made the portrait the most famous artwork in the world-and how the painting by Leonardo da Vinci should never have existed at all"--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2023

Booklist starred, July 2023. Pub Weekly, July 2023. Kirkus Starred, July 2023. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), October 2023. School Library Journal, September 2023. "A narrative nonfiction about how the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre, how the robbery made the portrait the most famous artwork in the world-and how the painting by Leonardo da Vinci should never have existed at all"--Provided by publisher.

Date Published:2023

Parachute kids

Tang, Betty C.,


School Library Journal starred, April 2023. Booklist starred, April 2023. Horn Book Starred, May 2023. Publishers Weekly, February 2023. Kirkus Starred, February 2023. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), May 2023. After their two-week family tour of Los Angeles, ten-year-old Feng Li Lin and her older brother and sister learn they will remain in California while their parents return to Taiwan, forcing them to navigate a new school, a new language, bullies, racism, and the pressures of running a household.
Date Published:2023

School Library Journal starred, April 2023. Booklist starred, April 2023. Horn Book Starred, May 2023. Publishers Weekly, February 2023. Kirkus Starred, February 2023. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), May 2023. After their two-week family tour of Los Angeles, ten-year-old Feng Li Lin and her older brother and sister learn they will remain in California while their parents return to Taiwan, forcing them to navigate a new school, a new language, bullies, racism, and the pressures of running a household.

Date Published:2023

The probability of everything

Everett, Sarah,


Booklist Starred Reviews, Kirkus Reviews Starred, Publishers Weekly Starred, School Library Journal Starred, Eleven-year-old Nigerian American Kemi Carter uses her knowledge and love of probability and statistics to understand her existence, her wonderful relationship with her family, and the impending disaster about to befall Earth. In just four days, scientists believe asteroid Amplus-68 has an 84.7 percent chance of hitting and destroying life on Earth. Though others around her go on living their normal lives, Kemi endeavors to create a time capsule that captures the unique personalities and loves of her family members in the hopes that their memories will live on after the event.
Date Published:2023

Booklist Starred Reviews, Kirkus Reviews Starred, Publishers Weekly Starred, School Library Journal Starred, Eleven-year-old Nigerian American Kemi Carter uses her knowledge and love of probability and statistics to understand her existence, her wonderful relationship with her family, and the impending disaster about to befall Earth. In just four days, scientists believe asteroid Amplus-68 has an 84.7 percent chance of hitting and destroying life on Earth. Though others around her go on living their normal lives, Kemi endeavors to create a time capsule that captures the unique personalities and loves of her family members in the hopes that their memories will live on after the event.

Date Published:2023

Simon sort of says

Bow, Erin,


Two years after a tragedy saddles him with viral fame, twelve-year-old Simon O'Keeffe and his family move to Grin And Bear It, Nebraska, where the internet and cell phones are banned so astrophysicists can scan the sky for signs of alien life, and where, with the help of two new friends, a puppy, and a giant radio telescope, Simon plans to restart the narrative of his life.
Date Published:2023

Wild poppies

Saleh, Haya, 1977-,


Translated from the Arabic. "This is an Em Querido book"--Title page verso. Booklist starred, May 2023. Publishers Weekly, May 2023. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), June 2023. Kirkus Review, April 2023. Publishers Weekly Annex, May 2023. "Since the passing of their father, Omar has tried--to be the man of his family of Syrian refugees. As Omar waits in line for rations, longing for the books he left behind when his family fled their home, Sufyan explores more nontraditional methods to provide for his family. Ignoring his brother's warnings, Sufyan gets more and more involved with a group that provides him with big rewards for doing seemingly inconsequential tasks"--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2023

Translated from the Arabic. "This is an Em Querido book"--Title page verso. Booklist starred, May 2023. Publishers Weekly, May 2023. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), June 2023. Kirkus Review, April 2023. Publishers Weekly Annex, May 2023. "Since the passing of their father, Omar has tried--to be the man of his family of Syrian refugees. As Omar waits in line for rations, longing for the books he left behind when his family fled their home, Sufyan explores more nontraditional methods to provide for his family. Ignoring his brother's warnings, Sufyan gets more and more involved with a group that provides him with big rewards for doing seemingly inconsequential tasks"--Provided by publisher.

Date Published:2023