Young Hoosier Book Award
Picture Book Nominees
 
First begun in 1974, the Young Hoosier Book Award encourages Indiana students to read for fun. Since 1992, the Award has been divided into three categories based on grade level: Kindergarten-3rd grade (picture books), 4th-6th grade (intermediate), and 6th-8th grade (middle grade).
 
Each year, teachers, students, parents and media specialists submit suggestions to the Young Hoosier Book Award committee, who nominate twenty books in each category. Students read the books on the list and vote for their favorites. Votes are then tallied and the winning illustrator and authors are presented the award in the spring of the following year.
 
2019-20 Winner
The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors
by Drew Daywalt

The award-winning author of The Day the Crayons Quit and the best-selling illustrator of Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich present a laugh-out-loud tribute to the fictional warriors who invented a classic childhood game.
2020-21 Nominees
Do Not Lick This Book*: *It's Full of Germs
by Idan Ben-Barak

Min the microbe provides readers with an up close look at the hidden world all around them.
My Pet Wants a Pet
by Elise Broach

A boy's mother, reluctant to allow him even one pet, is increasingly unhappy as each new pet wants a pet of its own.
How to Eat Pizza
by Jon Burgerman

An irreverent picture book by the creator of Rhyme Crime features a riotous slice of pizza who has plenty to say about toppings, eating with one's hands and what other varieties of pizza the reader should eat instead of him.
This Is a Taco!
by Andrew Cangelose

A squirrel named Taco that loves to eat tacos humorously teaches young readers to write their own stories.
Mixed: A Colorful Story
by Arree Chung

Each believing that their hue is the best, the three primary colors live in separate parts of the city until Yellow and Blue meet, fall in love, and decide to mix.
Can I Be Your Dog?
by Troy Cummings

A dog looking for a home sends letters to prospective owners on Butternut Street, with surprising results.
Don't Feed the Bear
by Kathleen Doherty

A park ranger and a bear face off in a battle of signs as they each try to get treats from visiting campers.
Misunderstood Shark
by Ame Dyckman

Shark interrupts the filming of "Underwater World With Bob," scattering the other creatures (and the audience), but he claims it is all a terrible misunderstanding--that he would never think of eating the fish, the squid, the audience...or Bob.
The Little i Who Lost His Dot
by Kimberlee Gard

When Little i gets to school he notices that he is missing his dot and all of his little letter friends help him look for it.
Lovely Beasts: The Surprising Truth
by Kate Gardner

Asks readers to look beyond the scary first impressions some animals make and see their positive characteristics.
Oh no, Bobo! You're in Trouble
by Phil Gosier

When Bobo steals and then breaks the zookeeper's flashlight, he frantically tries to fix it so he will not get caught, while his friend Fifi tauntingly reminds Bobo that he is in trouble.
We Don't Eat Our Classmates
by Ryan T Higgins

When the class pet bites the finger of Penelope, a Tyrannosaurus rex, she finally understands why she should not eat her classmates, no matter how tasty they are.
Saffron Ice Cream
by Rashin Kheiriyeh

Rashin is an Iranian immigrant girl living in New York, excited by her first trip to Coney Island, and fascinated by the differences in the beach customs between her native Iran and her new home--but she misses the saffron flavored ice cream that she used to eat.
Doll-E 1.0
by Shanda McCloskey

A technologically talented youngster who tirelessly tinkers, codes, clicks and downloads alongside her canine best friend receives the puzzling gift of a doll and discovers a new world of opportunities when she discovers the doll's hidden battery pack, causing her dog to worry that he has been supplanted in her affections. A first children's book.
Don't Touch My Hair!
by Sharee Miller

Aria loves her soft and bouncy hair, but must go to extremes to avoid people who touch it without permission until, finally, she speaks up.
Bugs Don't Hug: Six-Legged Parents and Their Kids
by Heather L. Montgomery

Most insects don't take care of their young, but some do--in surprising ways. Some bugs clean up after their messy little ones, cater to their picky eaters, and yes--hug their baby bugs. A fun and clever look at parenting in the insect world, perfect for backyard scientists and their own moms and dads.
If Wendell Had a Walrus
by Lori Mortensen

Wendell goes looking for a walrus, but finds a new friend, instead.
Crash, Splash, or Moo!
by Bob Shea

A lively picture book presented in the style of a game show introduces host Mr. McMonkey and a trio of unlikely daredevil contestants who face off in a zany sequence of challenges while inviting readers to guess the outcomes of their wacky stunts.
Harriet Gets Carried Away
by Jessie Sima

While shopping with her two dads for supplies for her birthday party, Harriet, who is wearing a penguin costume, is carried away by a waddle of penguins and must hatch a plan in order to get herself back to the store in the city.
A Place for Pluto
by Stef Wade

Feeling lost and confused when his planet status is taken away, a lonely Pluto searches for a place to belong among the solar system's comets, asteroids and meteoroids before encountering another dwarf planet.
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