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The 2025 OTTER Award Nominees



  • Henry, Like Always by Jenn Bailey, illustrated by Mika Song (Chronicle Kids / Chronicle Books)

  • King of the Ice (Miles Lewis, book 1) by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Wayne Spencer (Penguin Workshop / Penguin Young Readers)

  • Officer Clawsome: Lobster Cop by Brian “Smitty” Smith, illustrated by Chris Giarrusso (HarperAlley / HarperCollins)

  • Teeny Houdini #1: The Disappearing Act by Katrina Moore West, illustrated by Zoe Si (Katherine Tegen Books / HarperCollins)

  • The Skull by Jon Klassen (Candlewick)

  • The Story of Gumluck the Wizard by Adam Rex (Chronicle Kids / Chronicle Books)

The 2024 OTTER Award Nominees



  • Aven Green, Sleuthing Machine (Aven Green, book 1)by Dusti Bowling, illustrated by Gina Perry (Union Square Kids / Sterling Publishing Company)

  • Planetary-YUM (Waffles and Pancake, book 1) by Drew Brockington (LB Ink / Little, Brown Young Readers)

  • Blast Off! (Abby in Orbit, book 1) by Andrea J. Loney, illustrated by Fuuji Takashi (Albert Whitman & Co.)

  • Awesome Orange Birthday (The Party Diaries, book 1) by Mitali Banerjee Ruths, illustrated by Aaliya Jaleel (Branches / Scholastic)

  • My Kingdom of Darkness (Pet Rule, Book 1) by Susan Tan, illustrated by Wendy Tan Shiau Wei (Branches / Scholastic)

  • The Underdogs (Underdogs, Book 1) by Tracey West, illustrated by Kyla May (Scholastic)

 

 The 2023 Otter Nominees

Starla Jean (Starla Jean, book 1) by Elana K. Arnold, illustrated by A. N. Kang  (Roaring Brook Press / Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group) 

Monster and Boy (Monster and Boy, book 1) by Hannah Barnaby, illustrated  by Anoosha Syed (Square Fish / Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group)

Max Meow Book 1: Cat Crusader by John Gallagher (Penguin Random House) 

Missed Meal Mayhem (The Hunger Heroes, book 1) by Jarrett Lerner  (Aladdin / Simon & Schuster Publishing) 

The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian #1: The Fuzzy Apocalypse by Jonathan Messinger, illustrated by Aleksei Bitskoff (Harper / HarperCollins Publishers)

Trouble at Table 5 #1: The Candy Caper by Tom Watson, illustrated by Marta Kissi (HarperChapters / HarperCollins Publishers) 

Resources and Links Coming Soon...