Charlie May Simon Book Award

Nominations List 2026-2027

Voting for this list will take place in May 2027.

For more information contact Cassandra Barnett at cassandra.barnett@ade.arkansas.gov.

• Plain Jane and the Mermaid

  by Vera Brosgol

  published May 7, 2024, by First Second



• Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall

  by Lynn Brunelle, illustrated by Jason Chin

  published June 4, 2024, by Neal Porter Books



• One Big Open Sky

  by Lesa Cline-Ransome

  published March 5, 2024, by Holiday House



• The Legend of the Last Library

  by Frank L. Cole

  published August 6, 2024, by Shadow Mountain



• Ferris

  by Kate DiCamillo

  published March 5, 2024, by Candlewick



• And Then, Boom!

  by Lisa Fipps

  published May 7, 2024, by Nancy Paulsen Books



• The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra’s Needle

  by Dan Gutman

  published June 4, 2024, by Holiday House



• All the Best Dogs

  by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Manuel Preitano

  published November 5, 2024, by Delacorte Press



• Slugfest

  by Gordon Korman

  published January 9, 2024, by HarperCollins



• Table Titans Club

  by Scott Kurtz

  published March 5, 2024, by Holiday House



• Tree. Table. Book.

  by Lois Lowry

  published April 23, 2024, by Clarion Books



• Medusa (The Myth of Monsters, 1)

  by Katherine Marsh

  published February 20, 2024, by Clarion Books



• Wander Lost

  by Laura Martin

  published June 25, 2024, by HarperCollins



• The Next Scientist: The Unexpected Beginnings and Unwritten Future of the World’s Great Scientists

  by Kate Messner, illustrated by Julia Kuo

  published August 27, 2024, by Chronicle Books



• Olivetti

  by Allie Millington

  published April 1, 2024, by Square Fish



• Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody

  by Patrick Ness, illustrated by Tim Miller

  published May 6, 2024, by Walker Books US



• Spooky Lakes: 25 Strange and Mysterious Lakes that Dot Our Planet

  by Geo Rutherford

  published September 24, 2024, by Harry N. Abrams



• A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall

  by Jasmine Warga

  published September 10, 2024, by Storytide



• Power to the Parasites!

  by Chelsea L. Wood, illustrated by Dave Mottram

  published November 12, 2024, by Godwin Books