2025 Blue Spruce Award™ NomineesLike this list

10 items

• Asha and the Toymaker

  Mangal, Sakshi

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  Asha’s Papa makes and sells wooden toys to pay for her to go to school. But Papa struggles to find buyers. And this makes him worry. He worries Asha’s life will also be a struggle unless she focuses on her schoolwork, which he never had the chance…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Blue Bowl

  Leung, Flo

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  Max loves his family’s Cantonese meals, like steamed rice and gai lan greens with oyster sauce, homemade dumplings, and scallion bread. But sometimes he can’t help thinking about French fries, tacos, and ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. For his…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Harold the Iceberg Melts Down

  Wyzlic, Lisa

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  Harold is an iceberg… lettuce. (But he doesn’t realize the “lettuce” part because part of his sticker has ripped off.) So one day when he sees a documentary about how the icebergs are melting, Harold starts to worry, thinking that he’s melting too.…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• If You See a Bluebird

  Rahman, Bahram, 1984-

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  Although his family is safe in their new country, Ali finds himself wishing he could go back to Afghanistan. A day spent picking blackberries with Nana reminds him of their old house with the mulberry tree he loved, and the day the soldiers came. He…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Little Regent

  Daniel-Ayoade, Yewande

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  After the king of a West African village dies, his eight-year-old daughter Abioye is made the temporary ruler, or regent, until a new king is chosen. The chiefs scoff at this decision—a little girl can’t be regent! Even Abioye herself doubts whether…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Lost Stick

  Syed, Anoosha

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  Milo loves to make his owner Louise happy because she’s his favorite person in the world. While they’re strolling through the park one day, Louise picks a twig up off the ground and says to Milo, “This is Stick”. She throws Stick across the grass…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Mandeep's Cloudy Days

  Brar, Kuljinder Kaur

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  Spending time with her dad makes Mandeep’s days shine. They have cha parties, perform Bhangra shows, and best of all, they write jokes together in her favorite unicorn journal. But when Dad starts a job as a truck driver, he starts being away from…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• More Than Words : So Many Ways to Say What We Mean

  MacLean, Roz

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  Nathan doesn’t say much. He sure has a lot on his mind, though. At school, Nathan quietly observes the ways his peers communicate. Even when they’re not talking, they’re expressing themselves in all sorts of ways! By witnessing the beauty of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Still My Tessa

  Chiang, Sylv

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  Evelyn is worried about Tessa. Tessa doesn’t want to play the same games they used to play together, but Evelyn is determined to find new ways to connect with her older sibling. And she is also learning to see Tessa as a non-binary person by…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• When the Stars Came Home

  Luby, Brittany

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  When Ojiig moves to the city with his family, he misses everything they left behind. Most of all, he misses the sparkling night sky. Without the stars watching over him, he feels lost. His parents try to help, but nothing seems to work. Not…Read moreRead more of this annotation