Beehive Book Awards 2021 Nominees
CLAU is pleased to announce the 2021 Beehive Book Award Nominees!
Many thanks go out to the hardworking committees who prepared these lists.
Download a nominee pamphlet or ballots.
Many thanks go out to the hardworking committees who prepared these lists.
Download a nominee pamphlet or ballots.
CHILDREN'S FICTION
Beneath the Bed and Other Scary Stories (Mister Shivers #1) by Max Brallier, ill. by Letizia Rubegni
What is hiding under the bed, scratching at the window? These five spine-chilling stories will have beginning readers everywhere begging to stay up late to read (with the light on!)
Dragons in a Bag by Zetta Elliott, ill. by Geneva B
In Brooklyn, nine-year-old Jax joins Ma, a witch who lives in his building, on a quest to deliver three baby dragons to a magical world, and along the way discovers his true calling.
Inkling by Kenneth Oppel, ill. by Sydney Smith
When an inkblot, who can write, listen, learn, and draw, jumps out of Mr. Rylance's sketchbook, Ethan believes he may be the answer to their problems and names him Inkling.
Mr. Penquin and the Lost Treasure by Alex T. Smith
Aspiring Professional Adventurer Mr. Penguin and his colleague, Colin the spider, try to find a treasure buried in The
Museum of Extraordinary Objects before bandits do.
Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga
A gorgeously written, hopeful middle grade novel in verse about a young girl who must leave Syria to move to the U.S.
Over the Moon by Natalie Lloyd
To save her younger brother from being forced to work in the mines, twelve-year-old Mallie pretends to be a boy and learns to ride and train flying horses.
Shouting at the Rain by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Delsie loves tracking the weather, living with her grandmother, and the support of friends and neighbors, but misses having a "regular family," especially after her best friend outgrows her.
Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier
In nineteenth-century England, Nan Sparrow, ten, works as a "climbing boy," aiding chimney sweeps, but when her things end up in a fireplace, she unwittingly creates a golem.
The Unteachables by Gordon Korman
Over the course of a school year, room 117, with “unteachable” students and an initially uncaring teacher will experience mayhem, destruction--and maybe even a shot at redemption.
A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Parry, ill. by Mónica Armiño
Based on a true story, a lost wolf cub journeys 1,000 miles across the Pacific Northwest, dealing with forest fires, hunters, highways, and hunger before finding a new home.
Beneath the Bed and Other Scary Stories (Mister Shivers #1) by Max Brallier, ill. by Letizia Rubegni
What is hiding under the bed, scratching at the window? These five spine-chilling stories will have beginning readers everywhere begging to stay up late to read (with the light on!)
Dragons in a Bag by Zetta Elliott, ill. by Geneva B
In Brooklyn, nine-year-old Jax joins Ma, a witch who lives in his building, on a quest to deliver three baby dragons to a magical world, and along the way discovers his true calling.
Inkling by Kenneth Oppel, ill. by Sydney Smith
When an inkblot, who can write, listen, learn, and draw, jumps out of Mr. Rylance's sketchbook, Ethan believes he may be the answer to their problems and names him Inkling.
Mr. Penquin and the Lost Treasure by Alex T. Smith
Aspiring Professional Adventurer Mr. Penguin and his colleague, Colin the spider, try to find a treasure buried in The
Museum of Extraordinary Objects before bandits do.
Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga
A gorgeously written, hopeful middle grade novel in verse about a young girl who must leave Syria to move to the U.S.
Over the Moon by Natalie Lloyd
To save her younger brother from being forced to work in the mines, twelve-year-old Mallie pretends to be a boy and learns to ride and train flying horses.
Shouting at the Rain by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Delsie loves tracking the weather, living with her grandmother, and the support of friends and neighbors, but misses having a "regular family," especially after her best friend outgrows her.
Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier
In nineteenth-century England, Nan Sparrow, ten, works as a "climbing boy," aiding chimney sweeps, but when her things end up in a fireplace, she unwittingly creates a golem.
The Unteachables by Gordon Korman
Over the course of a school year, room 117, with “unteachable” students and an initially uncaring teacher will experience mayhem, destruction--and maybe even a shot at redemption.
A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Parry, ill. by Mónica Armiño
Based on a true story, a lost wolf cub journeys 1,000 miles across the Pacific Northwest, dealing with forest fires, hunters, highways, and hunger before finding a new home.
PICTURE BOOKS
Bear Came Along by Richard T. Morris, ill. by LeUyen Pham
This hilarious picture book and heartfelt message celebrates the joy and fun that's in store when friends embark together on a ride of a lifetime.
Harold & Hog Pretend for Real! by Dan Santat
Harold and Hog are best friends. But can Harold and Hog's friendship survive a game of pretending to be Elephant and Piggie?
Jasper & Ollie by Alex Willan
Jasper, an impatient fox, and Ollie, a slow-moving sloth, head to the pool on a summer day, each taking their own unique path.
The Neighbors by Einat Tsarfati, ill. by Annette Appel
As she climbs the seven stories to her own apartment, a little girl imagines what happens behind every door she passes.
Oliver: The Second-Largest Living Thing on Earth by Josh Crute, ill. by John Taesoo Kim
Oliver wishes he were as popular and important as Sherman, the largest giant sequoia tree, until he discovers it is enough to be part of something big.
Sign Off by Stephen Savage
A wordless picture book that shows what the figures on road signs do when no one is around to see them.
Skulls! by Blair Thornburgh, ill. by Scott Campbell
This smart, skull-positive story celebrates one of the most important bones in your body: the skull!
SumoKitty by David Biedrzycki
A stray kitty gets a job in a sumo stable, chasing mice in exchange for food. But when eating like a sumo wrestler slows our feline hero down, he realizes he must train like a wrestler, too.
The Very Impatient Caterpillar by Ross Burach
A caterpillar learns to be patient while trying to metamorphosize.
The Wall in the Middle of the Book by Jon Agee
A knight who feels secure on his side of the wall that divides his book discovers that his side is not as safe as he thought, and the other side is not as threatening.
Bear Came Along by Richard T. Morris, ill. by LeUyen Pham
This hilarious picture book and heartfelt message celebrates the joy and fun that's in store when friends embark together on a ride of a lifetime.
Harold & Hog Pretend for Real! by Dan Santat
Harold and Hog are best friends. But can Harold and Hog's friendship survive a game of pretending to be Elephant and Piggie?
Jasper & Ollie by Alex Willan
Jasper, an impatient fox, and Ollie, a slow-moving sloth, head to the pool on a summer day, each taking their own unique path.
The Neighbors by Einat Tsarfati, ill. by Annette Appel
As she climbs the seven stories to her own apartment, a little girl imagines what happens behind every door she passes.
Oliver: The Second-Largest Living Thing on Earth by Josh Crute, ill. by John Taesoo Kim
Oliver wishes he were as popular and important as Sherman, the largest giant sequoia tree, until he discovers it is enough to be part of something big.
Sign Off by Stephen Savage
A wordless picture book that shows what the figures on road signs do when no one is around to see them.
Skulls! by Blair Thornburgh, ill. by Scott Campbell
This smart, skull-positive story celebrates one of the most important bones in your body: the skull!
SumoKitty by David Biedrzycki
A stray kitty gets a job in a sumo stable, chasing mice in exchange for food. But when eating like a sumo wrestler slows our feline hero down, he realizes he must train like a wrestler, too.
The Very Impatient Caterpillar by Ross Burach
A caterpillar learns to be patient while trying to metamorphosize.
The Wall in the Middle of the Book by Jon Agee
A knight who feels secure on his side of the wall that divides his book discovers that his side is not as safe as he thought, and the other side is not as threatening.
INFORMATIONAL BOOKS
Borrowing Bunnies: A Surprising True Tale of Fostering Rabbits by Cynthia Lord, ill. by Hazel Mitchell
The story of two adorable foster bunnies who find the perfect home through the patience and love of the author.
Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons by Natascha Biebow, ill. by Steven Salerno
The true story of an inventor who found a way to bring the vibrant colors of nature to children – in a box for only a nickel!
Flower Talk: How Plants Use Color to Communicate by Sara Levine, ill. by Masha D’yans
A cantankerous talking cactus reveals how flowers use different colors to "talk" to various pollinators.
I’m Trying to Love Math by Bethany Barton
A friendly alien introduces readers to the things (and people) that use math in amazing ways, showing that math is a necessary and cool part of our lives!
Just Ask: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You by Sonia Sotomayor, ill. by Rafael Lopez
Celebrate the different abilities kids (and people of all ages) have. When we come across someone who is different from us, but we're not sure why, all we have to do is Just Ask.
Just Like Beverly: A Biography of Beverly Cleary by Vicki Conrad, ill. by David Hohn
Find out what brought Cleary from struggling student who found most children’s books dull to world famous author.
Volcano Dreams: A Story of Yellowstone by Janet S. Fox, ill. by Marlo Garnsworthy
Explore the Yellowstone ecosystem, while placing the lives of its creatures within the context of geological time.
Wait, Rest, Pause: Dormancy in Nature by Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Captivating photos teach young readers about different kinds of dormancy and which animals do what.
When Sparks Fly: The True Story of Robert Goddard, the Father of US Rocketry by Kristen Fulton, ill. by Diego Funck
In the 1880s, when he was just a kid, Goddard experimented time and again with BAMS!, POPS! and BANGS! with one mission: make his rockets fly!
The Wonders of Nature by Ben Hoare, ill. by Angela Rizza
Discover the wonders of planet Earth and learn about some of the most amazing animals, plants, rocks and minerals, and microscopic life that live here.
Borrowing Bunnies: A Surprising True Tale of Fostering Rabbits by Cynthia Lord, ill. by Hazel Mitchell
The story of two adorable foster bunnies who find the perfect home through the patience and love of the author.
Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons by Natascha Biebow, ill. by Steven Salerno
The true story of an inventor who found a way to bring the vibrant colors of nature to children – in a box for only a nickel!
Flower Talk: How Plants Use Color to Communicate by Sara Levine, ill. by Masha D’yans
A cantankerous talking cactus reveals how flowers use different colors to "talk" to various pollinators.
I’m Trying to Love Math by Bethany Barton
A friendly alien introduces readers to the things (and people) that use math in amazing ways, showing that math is a necessary and cool part of our lives!
Just Ask: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You by Sonia Sotomayor, ill. by Rafael Lopez
Celebrate the different abilities kids (and people of all ages) have. When we come across someone who is different from us, but we're not sure why, all we have to do is Just Ask.
Just Like Beverly: A Biography of Beverly Cleary by Vicki Conrad, ill. by David Hohn
Find out what brought Cleary from struggling student who found most children’s books dull to world famous author.
Volcano Dreams: A Story of Yellowstone by Janet S. Fox, ill. by Marlo Garnsworthy
Explore the Yellowstone ecosystem, while placing the lives of its creatures within the context of geological time.
Wait, Rest, Pause: Dormancy in Nature by Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Captivating photos teach young readers about different kinds of dormancy and which animals do what.
When Sparks Fly: The True Story of Robert Goddard, the Father of US Rocketry by Kristen Fulton, ill. by Diego Funck
In the 1880s, when he was just a kid, Goddard experimented time and again with BAMS!, POPS! and BANGS! with one mission: make his rockets fly!
The Wonders of Nature by Ben Hoare, ill. by Angela Rizza
Discover the wonders of planet Earth and learn about some of the most amazing animals, plants, rocks and minerals, and microscopic life that live here.
YOUNG ADULT
Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman
Relegated by a misguided act of heroism to a squad comprised of his school's hopeless misfits, a graduating cadet in a 24th-century space academy rescues a centuries-hibernating girl from interdimensional space only to be swept up in an interstellar war millions of years in the making.
Call It What You Want* by Brigid Kemmerer
Once-popular Rob and overachiever Maegan, both dealing with serious family issues, quickly form a bond that is threatened when Rob confides plans to repair damage his father caused.
The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White
The events of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein unfold from the perspective of Elizabeth Lavenza, who is adopted as a child by the Frankensteins as a companion for their volatile son Victor.
Illegal by Eoin Colfer
Resolved to join the siblings who left months earlier, 12-year-old Ebo ventures through the Sahara and the dangerous streets of Tripoli before embarking on a hazardous voyage from Ghana to a safe haven in Europe.
Rayne & Delilah’s Midnight Matinee* by Jeff Zentner
Told in two voices, Josie and Delia struggle with growing up and growing apart as they face tough decisions about their post-high school futures and the fate of their weekly cable television show.
Resistance by Jennifer Nielson
After a smuggling mission to an isolated Jewish ghetto goes wrong and her colleagues are arrested, Chaya Lindner, a Jewish girl living in Nazi-occupied Poland, decides to go to Warsaw, where an uprising is in the works.
The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen
Unexpectedly sent to spend the summer with her late mother's estranged relatives at scenic North Lake, a teen finds herself torn between her mother's working-class relatives and her father's wealthier associates.
Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
When a long-term attack against her world by the alien Krell escalates, Spensa's dream of becoming a pilot may come true, despite her deceased father being labeled a deserter.
A Very Large Expanse of the Sea* by Tahera Mafi
A year after 9/11, Muslim teenager Shirin has completely withdrawn from social life, until she meets Ocean James in her biology class and is tempted to actually let her guard down.
We Walked the Sky by Lisa Fiedler
Seventeen-year-old Victoria escapes an abusive father by joining the VanDrexel Family Circus in 1965, and fifty years later, her writings guide her granddaughter, sixteen-year-old Callie, in facing the uncharted waters of public high school.
* For older readers.
Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman
Relegated by a misguided act of heroism to a squad comprised of his school's hopeless misfits, a graduating cadet in a 24th-century space academy rescues a centuries-hibernating girl from interdimensional space only to be swept up in an interstellar war millions of years in the making.
Call It What You Want* by Brigid Kemmerer
Once-popular Rob and overachiever Maegan, both dealing with serious family issues, quickly form a bond that is threatened when Rob confides plans to repair damage his father caused.
The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White
The events of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein unfold from the perspective of Elizabeth Lavenza, who is adopted as a child by the Frankensteins as a companion for their volatile son Victor.
Illegal by Eoin Colfer
Resolved to join the siblings who left months earlier, 12-year-old Ebo ventures through the Sahara and the dangerous streets of Tripoli before embarking on a hazardous voyage from Ghana to a safe haven in Europe.
Rayne & Delilah’s Midnight Matinee* by Jeff Zentner
Told in two voices, Josie and Delia struggle with growing up and growing apart as they face tough decisions about their post-high school futures and the fate of their weekly cable television show.
Resistance by Jennifer Nielson
After a smuggling mission to an isolated Jewish ghetto goes wrong and her colleagues are arrested, Chaya Lindner, a Jewish girl living in Nazi-occupied Poland, decides to go to Warsaw, where an uprising is in the works.
The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen
Unexpectedly sent to spend the summer with her late mother's estranged relatives at scenic North Lake, a teen finds herself torn between her mother's working-class relatives and her father's wealthier associates.
Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
When a long-term attack against her world by the alien Krell escalates, Spensa's dream of becoming a pilot may come true, despite her deceased father being labeled a deserter.
A Very Large Expanse of the Sea* by Tahera Mafi
A year after 9/11, Muslim teenager Shirin has completely withdrawn from social life, until she meets Ocean James in her biology class and is tempted to actually let her guard down.
We Walked the Sky by Lisa Fiedler
Seventeen-year-old Victoria escapes an abusive father by joining the VanDrexel Family Circus in 1965, and fifty years later, her writings guide her granddaughter, sixteen-year-old Callie, in facing the uncharted waters of public high school.
* For older readers.
GRAPHIC NOVEL
The Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell
A group of neighborhood children create costumes from cardboard and use their imagination to have adventures.
Click by Kayla Miller
When a school variety show leaves Olive without an act to join, she wonders why all of her friends have already formed their own groups without her.
Peter & Ernesto: A Tale of Two Sloths by Graham Annable
Peter and Ernesto are sloths. Peter and Ernesto are friends. Peter and Ernesto are nothing alike.
Tiger vs. Nightmare by Emily Tetri
Thanks to her friend, Monster, Tiger has nothing but good dreams.
Urban Legendz by Paul Downs and Nick Bruno, ill. by Michael Yates
A motley crew of teenagers must fight to protect Brooklyn when classic urban legends terrorize the city.
The Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell
A group of neighborhood children create costumes from cardboard and use their imagination to have adventures.
Click by Kayla Miller
When a school variety show leaves Olive without an act to join, she wonders why all of her friends have already formed their own groups without her.
Peter & Ernesto: A Tale of Two Sloths by Graham Annable
Peter and Ernesto are sloths. Peter and Ernesto are friends. Peter and Ernesto are nothing alike.
Tiger vs. Nightmare by Emily Tetri
Thanks to her friend, Monster, Tiger has nothing but good dreams.
Urban Legendz by Paul Downs and Nick Bruno, ill. by Michael Yates
A motley crew of teenagers must fight to protect Brooklyn when classic urban legends terrorize the city.
POETRY
The Bell Rang by James Ransome
A young slave girl witnesses the heartbreak and hopefulness of her family and their plantation community when her brother escapes for freedom.
Birdie by Eileen Spinelli
Twelve year old Birdie, coping with the death of her father, finds her world is changing and learns that change can be
painful but also beautiful.
Lion of the Sky Haiku for All Seasons by Laura Purdie Salas, ill. by Merce Lopez
Haiku meets riddles in poems that celebrate the seasons.
Predator and Prey: A Conversation in Verse by Susannah Buhrman-Deever, ill. by Bert Kitchen
See both sides of the story of predators and their prey with poems (many for 2 voices) accompanied by realistic
illustrations.
Sometimes You Fly by Katherine Applegate, ill. by Jennifer Black Reinhardt
A simple poem about encouragement, filled with realistic humor and insight into the effort behind any meaningful accomplishment in life.
The Bell Rang by James Ransome
A young slave girl witnesses the heartbreak and hopefulness of her family and their plantation community when her brother escapes for freedom.
Birdie by Eileen Spinelli
Twelve year old Birdie, coping with the death of her father, finds her world is changing and learns that change can be
painful but also beautiful.
Lion of the Sky Haiku for All Seasons by Laura Purdie Salas, ill. by Merce Lopez
Haiku meets riddles in poems that celebrate the seasons.
Predator and Prey: A Conversation in Verse by Susannah Buhrman-Deever, ill. by Bert Kitchen
See both sides of the story of predators and their prey with poems (many for 2 voices) accompanied by realistic
illustrations.
Sometimes You Fly by Katherine Applegate, ill. by Jennifer Black Reinhardt
A simple poem about encouragement, filled with realistic humor and insight into the effort behind any meaningful accomplishment in life.