Nebraska's Children's Choice Literary Award
Sponsored by Nebraska Library Association

Since 1982, Nebraska Golden Sower Award has sought to sow seeds which stimulate children's thinking, introduce different types of literature, encourage independent reading, increase library skills, and foster an appreciation for excellence in writing and illustrating.

Congratulations to the 2021-2022 Golden Sower Award winners, as chosen by Nebraska students! 64,907 student votes in total.

If I Built a School by Chris Van Dusen, illustrated by the author
Wildfire by Rodman Philbrick
Run, Hide, Fight Back by April Henry

Join us live at 10 a.m. CST on February 24, 2023 to hear each author accept their Golden Sower Award, share their words of wisdom about reading and writing, and answer audience questions submitted by YOU!

RSVP here to receive the Zoom link before the event: RSVP link.

Submit a question for the author Q&A: Question link.

Tell the authors what your book meant to them. Your video may stream during the party! https://flip.com/0bf09cc0

Book covers of the three winning titles listed above.

Current School Year

See below for information on Golden Sower nominees for the 2022-2023 school year. The Picture Book category is primarily intended for grades K-2; Chapter Books for grades 3-5; and Novels for grades 6-8. However, it is up to local adults to decide which books to use and how.

Students do not vote directly on this site. Instead, a local adult such as a teacher or librarian will collect their votes, then submit voting totals between November 1, 2022 and April 15, 2023. Visit our Voting page for more details.

This year we are offering the Nebraska Golden Sower Manual for free! Click here to download the manual. The manual offers links to Internet resources, discussion questions, activities, and more for this year's nominees. Our thanks to volunteer manual writers! Contact nlagoldensower@nebraskalibraries.org if you would like to help create the manual in the future.