Ladybug Picture Book Award
The Ladybug Picture Book Award is designed to promote early literacy and honor the best in recent children's picture books.
2025 Nominees
- The Bakery Dragon by Devin Elle Kurtz
- The Book That Almost Rhymed by Omar Abed and Hatem Aly
- Buffalo Fluffalo by Bess Kalb and Erin Kraan
- Flat Cat by Tara Lazar and Pete Oswald
- I'm Sorry You Got Mad by Kyle Lukoff and Julie Kwon
- Millie Fleur's Poison Garden by Christy Mandin
- No Cats in the Library by Lauren Emmons
- We Are Definitely Human by X. Fang
- The Yellow Bus by Loren Long
About the Award
The Ladybug Picture Book Award is designed to promote early literacy and honor the best in recent children's picture books. Librarians from around the state select 9 picture book titles (as of 2024) each spring. Then, during November, New Hampshire children from preschoolers to those in third grade choose the award winner. The winning picture book is announced at the end of the year.
To be considered for nomination, a picture book must meet the following criteria (as of 2025):
- be published, in its current edition, within the last three years
- be in print
- possess strong child appeal
- have artistic quality with text that supports the illustrations
- not be a title previously nominated
2025 presentation at NHSLS Conference (powerpoint slides)
Voting and Promotional Materials
- 2024 Voting Results
- 2024 Voting Guide
- Ladybug Coloring Page
- Ladybug Winners flyer (through 2022)
- Bookplates for Ladybug winners 2014-2022
- Bookplates for Ladybug winners 2012-2019
- Bookplates for Ladybug winners 2003-2011
Ladybug Stickers are available!
Order form for Stickers (note: effective 4/1/2022 shipping fee is $5).
The latest news on the Ladybug Picture Book Award is on the Center for the Book Blog
Previous Winners
- 2024 100 Mighty Dragons All Named Broccoli by David LaRochelle and Lian Cho
- 2023 Noodle and the No Bones Day by Jonathan Graziano and Dan Tavis
- 2022 Milk & Juice: A Recycling Romance by Meredith Crandall Brown
- 2021 Snail Crossing by Corey R. Tabor
- 2020 There Are No Bears in This Bakery by Julia Sarcone-Roach
- 2019 Can I be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings
- 2018 Not Quite Narwhal by Jessie Sima
- 2017 Woodpecker Wants a Waffle by Steve Breen
- 2016 It's Only Stanley by Jon Agee
- 2015 Ladybug Picture Book Award went to The Day the Crayons Quit written by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers.
- 2014 If I Built a House by Chris Van Dusen
- 2013 Little Dog Lost: The True Story of a Brave Dog Named Baltic by Mônica Carnesi
- 2012 Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes written by Eric Litwin with art by James Dean
- 2011 Memoirs of a Goldfish written by Devin Scillian and illustrated by Tim Bowers
- 2010 Princess Hyacinth (the Surprising Story of a Girl Who Floated) by Florence Parry Heide and illustrated by Lane Smith
- 2009 Waking Beauty by Leah Wilcox and illustrated by Lydia Monks
- 2008 When Dinosaurs Came with Everything written by Elise Broach and illustrated by David Small
- 2007 The Secret Science Project that Almost Ate the School by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Stephen Gammell
- 2006 I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont & David Catrow
- 2005 Judy Schachner's Skippyjon Jones. Read the beautiful thank you note we got from them.
- 2004 Keiko Kasza's My Lucky Day.
- 2003 Kate & Jim McMullen's I Stink!
