Nominees

The Buckeyes are one of the few reader’s choice awards in which students get to nominate the titles as well as vote on the final winners. The only adults who may submit nominations or votes are teachers and librarians who are representing a group of students from their school or library. This allows the Buckeyes to be truly a student-chosen award in all aspects.

The 2025 nominees are:

For Grades K-2      

• The Bakery Dragon by Devin Elle Kurtz (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2024 ISBN 978-0593710968)
• Home in a Lunchbox by Cherry Mo (Penguin Workshop, 2024 ISBN 978-0593661345)
• Mr. Fox’s Game of “No!” by David LaRochelle, illus. by Mike Wohnoutka (Candlewick, 2024 ISBN 978-1536229677)
• Ursula Upside Down by Corey R. Tabor (Greenwillow Books, 2024 ISBN 978-0063275560)
• The Yellow Bus by Loren Long (Roaring Brook Press, 2024 ISBN 978-1250903136)

For Grades 3-5

• Bunny and Clyde by Megan McDonald, illus. by Scott Nash (Candlewick, 2024 ISBN 978-1536228731)
• InvestiGators: Class Action by John Patrick Green (First Second, 2024 ISBN 978-1250849908)
• My Block Looks Like by Janelle Harper, illus. by Frank Morrison (Viking Books for Young Readers, 2024 ISBN 978-0593526309)
• Old School by Gordon Korman (HarperCollins, 2025 ISBN 978-0063238145)
• They Call Me No Sam! by Drew Daywalt, illus. by Mike Lowery (Clarion Books, 2024 ISBN 978-0358612902)

For Grades 6-8

• Heroes by Alan Gratz (Scholastic Press, 2024 ISBN 978-1338736076)
• Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2024 ISBN 978-0593809860)
• Slugfest by Gordon Korman (HarperCollins, 2025 ISBN 978-0063238091)
• When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary by Alice Hoffman (Scholastic Press, 2024 ISBN 978-1338856941)
• Will’s Race for Home by Jewell Parker Rhodes (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2025 ISBN 978-0316299336)

The Teen Buckeye Book Award nominees (for grades 9-12)

• Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross (Wednesday Books, 2023 ISBN 978-1250857439)
• Louder Than Hunger by John Schu (Candlewick, 2024 ISBN 978-1536229097)
• The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson (Delacorte Press, 2024 ISBN 978-0593374207)
• Reckless by Lauren Roberts (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2024 ISBN 978-1665955430)

Voting begins September 1st!