The Black-Eyed Susan Committee of the Maryland Association of School Librarians is pleased to announce the 2025-2026 nominees.

To read these books, go to our online Destiny Catalog  to find a  Black-Eyed Susan (BES) book that you would like to check out and read!  

Picture Book

• Benita and the Night Creatures by Mariana Llanos, illustrated by Cocoretto

• The Book That Almost Rhymed by Omar Abed, illustrated by Hatem Aly

• A Delicious Story by Barney Saltzberg

• Every Dog in the Neighborhood by Philip C. Stead, illustrated by Matthew Cordell

• Frank and Bert by Chris Naylor-Ballestreros

• Gifts from the Garbage Truck: A True Story About the Things We (Don't) Throw Away by Andrew Larsen, illustrated by Oriol Vidal

• How to Eat in Space by Helen Taylor, illustrated by Stevie Lewis

• I'm Sorry You Got Mad by Kyle Lukoff, illustrated by Julie Kwon

• Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider by Jessica Lanan

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

• Mr. Fox's Game of "No!" by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka

• The Search for the Giant Arctic Jellyfish by Chloe Savage

• Stranded! A Mostly True Story from Iceland by Ævar Þór Benediktsson, illustrated by Anne Wilson

• Watch Out for the Lion! by Brooke Hartman, illustrated by Anna Süßbauer  

• The Yellow Bus by Loren Long

Grades 3-5

• Balto and Togo: Hero Dogs of Alaska by Helen Moss

• Gracie Under the Waves by Linda Sue Park

• Invisible Isabel by Sally Pla, illustrated by Tania De Regil

• Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller

• Max in the House of Spies (Operation Kinderspion, Book 1) by Adam Gidwitz

• The Mystery of Locked Rooms by Lindsay Currie

• Olivetti by Allie Millington

• The Sherlock Society (The Sherlock Society, Book 1) by James Ponti

• A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall by Jasmine Warga

• Tree Table Book by Lois Lowry

Graphic Novels: Grades 3-5

• Ant Story by Jay Hosler

• Anzu and the Realm of Darkness by Mai K. Nguyen

• Gamerville by Johnnie Christmas

• Lost & Found: Based on a True Story by Mei Yu

• Lost Time by Tas Mukanik

• Misfit Mansion by Kay Davault

• The Monster and the Maze (Monkey King and the World of Myths, Book 1) by Maple Lam

• Survival Scout: Lost in the Mountains by Maxwell Eaton III

• Table Titans Club (Teen Titan Club, Book 1) by Scott R. Kurtz

• Unicorn Boy (Unicorn Boy, Book 1) by Dave Roman

Picture Book Trailers

 Book Trailers-Chapter Books