Black Eyed Susan Books


2022-2023 Nominees

Picture Book


  • Avocado Asks by Momoko Abe

  • Crossings by Katy S. Duffield, illustrated by Mile Orodan

  • Don't Hug Doug: (He Doesn't Like It) by Carrie Finison, illustrated by Daniel Wiseman

  • Except Antarctica by Todd Sturgell

  • I am an American: The Wong Kim Ark Story by Martha Brockenbrough with Grace Lin, illustrated by Julia Kuo

  • Norman Didn't Do It! : (Yes, he did.) by Ryan T. Higgins

  • The Ocean Calls: A Haenyeo Mermaid Story by Tina Cho, illustrated by Jess X. Snow

  • Outside, Inside by LeUyen Pham

  • R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Frank Morrison

  • A Ride to Remember: A Civil Rights Story by Sharon Langley and Amy Nathan, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

  • Sincerely, Emerson: A Girl, Her Letter, and the Helpers All Around Us by Emerson Weber, illustrated by Jaclyn Sinquett

  • Someone Builds the Dream by Lisa Wheeler, illustrated by Loren Long

  • Twenty-one Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by Jeff Gottesfeld, illustrated by Mark Tavares

  • A Walk in the Words by Hudson Talbott

  • What's in Your Pocket? : Collecting Nature's Treasures by Heather L. Montgomery, illustrated by Maribel Lechuga


Grades 4-6


  • The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Sophie Blackall

  • Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes

  • The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Rauf

  • The Canyon’s Edge by Dusti Bowling

  • Efren Divided by Ernesto Cisneros

  • The Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm

  • Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca

  • Unplugged by Gordon Korman

  • Willodeen by Katherine Applegate

  • Yusuf Azeem is Not a Hero by Saadia Faruqi


Graphic Novels: Grades 4-6


  • Allergic by Megan Wagner Lloyd, illustrated by Michelle Mee Nutter

  • Anti/Hero by Kate Karyus Quinn and Demitira Lunetta, illustrated by Maca Gil

  • Chunky by Yehudi Mercado

  • City of Dragons: The Awakening Storm by Jaimal Yogis, illustrated by Vivian Truong

  • The Deep & Dark Blue by Niki Smith

  • Just Roll with It by Lee Durfey-Lavoie, illustrated by Veronica Agarwal

  • Measuring Up by Lily LaMotte, illustrated by Ann Xu

  • Miles Morales: Shock Waves by Justin A. Reynolds, illustrated by Pablo Leon

  • Snapdragon by Kat Leyh

  • The Way of the Hive: A Honey Bee’s Story by Jay Hosler, illustrated by Hilary Sycamore


Grades 6-9


  • The 47 People You’ll Meet in Middle School by Kristin Mahoney

  • The Brave by James Bird

  • Fallout by Steve Sheinkin

  • Glitch by Laura Martin

  • Hide and Seeker by Daka Hermon

  • Just Like That by Gary D. Schmidt

  • Ophie’s Ghosts by Justina Ireland

  • The Shape of Thunder by Jasmine Warga

  • Starfish by Lisa Fipps

  • Summer of Brave by Amy Noelle Parks

Graphic Novels: Grades 6-9


  • Artie and the Wolf Moon by Olivia Stephens

  • The Ghoul Next Door by Cullen Bunn, illustrated by Cat Farris

  • Huda F are You? By Huda Fahmy

  • The Legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor

  • Lifetime Passes by Terry Blas, illustrated by Claudia Aguirre

  • Living with Viola by Rosena Fung

  • Salt Magic by Hope Larson, illustrated by Rebecca Mock

  • Shark Summer by Ira Marcks

  • The Underfoot: The Mighty Deep by Ben Fisher and Emily S. Whitten, illustrated by Michelle Nguyen

  • Ye by Guilherme Petreca

High School


  • Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon

  • Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley

  • The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe

  • The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

  • Last Girls by Demetra Brodsky

  • Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

  • Long Way Down: the graphic novel by Jason Reynolds, illustrated by Danica Novgorodoff

  • Pumpkin by Julie Murphy

  • Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

  • White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson