And the winner is...

2011 Nutmeg Winners

Nutmeg Children’s Book Award Announces 2011 Winners

The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies tops this year’s Intermediate list and Unwind by Neal Shusterman took the Teen level honors for the 2011 Nutmeg Book Award. This award encourages children in grades 4-8 to read quality literature and to choose their favorite from a list of ten nominated titles. Jointly sponsored by the Connecticut Library Association (CLA) and the Connecticut Association of School Librarians (CASL), the Nutmeg Committee is comprised of 2 teen readers, children's librarians and school library media specialists who are members of our sponsoring organizations.

Almost 27,000 students from 408 schools and libraries voted in total. 1,536 teens chose Shusterman’s novel as their favorite while 4,215 students picked Davies’ story as their choice. Andrew Clements’ Swindle, and The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd, earned second place honors in the Intermediate and Teen categories, respectively. Our thanks goes to all of the schools and libraries who participated in this year's voting. We appreciate the difficulty the librarians had in reaching all the classes due to snow cancellations and delays. We thank you for persevering to get in all the votes.

Vote totals: Intermediate 21,653
Elephant Run 2118
Eleven 1563
First Light 878
Iron Thunder 1130
The Lemonade War 4215
Night of the Howling Dogs 1508
No Talking 2738
One-Handed Catch 1847
Swindle 3579
The Thing About Georgie 2077

Elephant Run by Roland Smith

Nick Freestone is trying to escape Nazi bombs in London when his mother sends him to stay with his father on a teak plantation in Burma. Unfortunately he arrives in Burma just as the Japanese invade the country and take his father prisoner. Can he and his new friend Mya risk their lives to help POWs escape on elephant back?

Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff

Just before his eleventh birthday, Sam discovers his own picture in a mysterious newspaper article in his grandfather's attic. Although gifted with woodworking skills, Sam can't read, so he enlists the help of a new girl at school to solve the puzzle of who he really is and where he came from.

First Light by Rebecca Stead

Seven generations ago, a group of people hunted as witches escaped to a sanctuary beneath Greenland's ice cap. When Peter arrives in Greenland with his scientist parents, he discovers Thea and a passage to an underground city. Together the two teenagers must save the underground community and in doing so, discover their hidden connection.

Iron Thunder by Avi

Thirteen-year-old Tom Carroll finds work at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on a secret project that may benefit the Northern armies during the Civil War. Pursued by spies from the South, he ends up in the middle of a sea battle. Will he find the courage to survive?

The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies

When Evan's sister Jessie skips third grade and ends up in his fourth grade class, he is worried she will embarrass him with her school smarts. To settle the question of who is smarter, he challenges Jessie to a lemonade war. Which sibling can run the most successful lemonade stand in a five day competition?

Night of the Howling Dogs by Graham Salisbury

What would you do if you were camping on an island beach with your boy scout troop and a huge earthquake woke you? What if a tsunami followed the quake and you were trapped against a cliff? What if a bully, and your least favorite person, was the only hope of rescue?

No Talking by Andrew Clements

How will the teachers and principals react when a normally way-too-talkative class nicknamed the "unshushables" suddenly becomes SILENT? Is it because of a student rebellion? A strange disease? Or is it just the result of a contest between the boys and the girls?

One-handed Catch by M.J.Auch

Losing a hand doesn't mean losing Norm's dreams. It just means it will take hard work and humor to succeed at everything from everyday tasks to playing baseball.

Swindle by Gordon Korman

Griffin Bing is the "man with a plan." After a collector cheats him out of a valuable baseball card, he recruits his diverse group of friends in an adventure that includes vicious dogs, high-tech security, tall trees, and a frozen turkey