Ladybug Picture Book Award 2024
Each fall we participate in the New Hampshire Ladybug Picture Book Award.
We will read the 10 books selected by the state committee together in class. Then, in November, we will cast our votes along with students across the state to choose the award winner.
The winning picture book will be announced at the end of the year.
Learn more about this year's nominees below
If you would like to know more about how we are exploring each book in the Library,
you can check out Mrs. McCombs Activity Binder for each title.
you can check out Mrs. McCombs Activity Binder for each title.
100 Mighty Dragons All Named Broccoli
Written by David LaRochelle
Illustrated by Lian Cho
High on a mountain live 100 mighty dragons all named Broccoli. Some dragons leave and some come back. Can you keep track of all these dragons?
A is for Axolotl
Written and Illustrated by Catherine Macorol
Incredible animals await in Catherine Macorol's A Is for Axolotl--not the tame or the merely wild, but the strangest, most fascinating creatures of all!
Get ready for close encounters with axolotls, binturongs, colugos, dumbo octopuses, echidnas, fossas, gerenuks, hyraxes, ibex, jerboas, kiwis, lorises, maned wolves, naked mole rats, okapis, pangolins, quokkas, red pandas, saigas, thorny dragons, uakaris, vaquitas, water bears, xenopus, yeti crabs, and zebra duikers.
Big
Written and Illustrated by Vashti Harrison
The first picture book written and illustrated by award-winning creator Vashti Harrison traces a child's journey to self-love and shows the power of words to both hurt and heal. With spare text and exquisite illustrations, this emotional exploration of being big in a world that prizes small is a tender portrayal of how you can stand out and feel invisible at the same time.
Gibberish
Written and Illustrated by Young Vo
It's Dat's first day of school in a new country! Dat and his Mah made a long journey to get here, and Dat doesn't know the language. To Dat, everything everybody says -- from the school bus driver to his new classmates -- sounds like gibberish. How is Dat going to make new friends if they can't understand each other?
Luckily there's a friendly girl in Dat's class who knows that there are other ways to communicate, besides just talking. Could she help make sense of the gibberish?
Once Upon a Book
Written by Grace Lin
Illustrated by Kate Messner
Alice loves to imagine herself in the magical pages of her favorite book. So when it flaps its pages and invites her in, she is swept away to a world of wonder and adventure, riding camels in the desert, swimming under the sea with colorful fish, floating in outer space, and more! But when her imaginative journey comes to an end, she yearns for the place she loves best of all.
The Mermaid With No Tail
Written by Jessica Long
Illustrated by Arin O'Callaghan
Tatiana, a mermaid with no tail decides she wants to compete in the Mermaid Games. The other mermaids make fun of her for being different. But her adoptive turtle parents are supportive and encouraging, and her shark coach, Phelpsy, teaches her to swim using her arms.
Paralympic champion swimmer and gold medalist Jessica Long celebrates the importance of dreaming big and the power of being different in The Mermaid with No Tail.
Bears Are Best
Written by Joan Holub
Illustrated by Laurie Keller
It's panda-monium in this rollicking nonfiction picture book about bears habits, habitats, and more. Perfect for the curious cub in your house!
Hello! I am Brown Bear, and in this book, you'll get to learn about ME--the only bear in the forest!
Hold on a minute. Polar Bear here, and I am the only bear in this book. Though I live in the Arctic, not a forest.
Hey now, Spectacled Bear here, and we are bearly-scratching the surface. There are tons of great bears to learn and laugh with in this fact-filled picture book!
I Am A Tornado
Written and Illustrated by Drew Beckmeyer
Tornado is on a rampage. It tosses cars and knocks over barns. Tornado is also angry, only it doesn't know that or want to admit it. Then Tornado picks up Cow. Oh, no! Cow would like to be put down. Fortunately, Cow is a good listener. And sometimes Tornado just needs to be heard.
Beneath
Written and Illustrated by Cori Doerrfeld
Finn is in a horrible mood and doesn't want to talk about it. After some persuading, though, they agree to go for a hike with Grandpa. Throughout their forest walk, they see many different things: big, strong trees with networks of roots growing underneath, still water with schools of fish swimming below, and an expectant bird with eggs nestled under her. It's when the pair pass fellow hikers that Finn realizes that people, just like the elements of nature, are more than they appear. Grandpa explains that sometimes beneath a person who seems like they won't understand what you're feeling, is someone feeling the exact same way.