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Current Topics
National Science Fiction Day
Friday, January 2
International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Tuesday, January 27
If you liked…
Click on the book cover for a list of read-alikes (suggested by NoveList K-8 PLUS Readers’ Advisory)!
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Award and Medal winners and nominees
2027 Nutmeg Nominees
Elementary Nominees (Grades 2-3)
Skip to End of CarouselIntermediate Nominees (Grades 4-6)
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2026 Nutmeg Winners
Elementary Winner (Grades 2-3)
The Skull, written and illustrated by Jon Klassen
“In a big abandoned house, on a barren hill, lives a skull. A brave girl named Otilla has escaped from terrible danger and run away, and when she finds herself lost in the dark forest, the lonely house beckons. Her host, the skull, is afraid of something too, something that comes every night. Can brave Otilla save them both?”
Intermediate Winner (Grades 4-6)
It Found Us, written by Lindsay Currie
“Twelve-year-old Hazel Woods has always had an unusual knack for sleuthing. So, when she not-so-accidentally overhears her brother Den planning to sneak into the cemetery at night for an epic game of hide-and-seek, she decides to secretly tag along. This seems like the perfect opportunity to investigate the claims that the cemetery is haunted. But the moment the game ends, Hazel realizes something is very, very wrong. From her hiding spot in the bushes, she overhears that her brother’s best friend, Everett, is missing. It’s as if he just…vanished. Hazel and Den are determined to find Everett. But as they begin to unravel the terrifying clues that have been appearing since that night in the graveyard–eerie whispers that sound like someone counting, the intermittent smell of smoke, and the cold, lost presence that follows them everywhere–she’s not sure what they are dealing with.”
Middle School Winner (Grades 7-8)
Alone, written by Megan E. Freeman
“Perfect for fans of Hatchet and the I Survived series, this harrowing middle grade debut novel-in-verse from a Pushcart Prize-nominated poet tells the story of a young girl who wakes up one day to find herself utterly alone in her small Colorado town. When twelve-year-old Maddie hatches a scheme for a secret sleepover with her two best friends, she ends up waking up to a nightmare. She’s alone–left behind in a town that has been mysteriously evacuated and abandoned. With no one to rely on, no power, and no working phone lines or internet access, Maddie slowly learns to survive on her own. Her only companions are a Rottweiler named George and all the books she can read. After a rough start, Maddie learns to trust her own ingenuity and invents clever ways to survive in a place that has been deserted and forgotten. As months pass, she escapes natural disasters, looters, and wild animals. But Maddie’s most formidable enemy is the crushing loneliness she faces every day. Can Maddie’s stubborn will to survive carry her through the most frightening experience of her life?”
