Nebraska Golden Sower Award

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Nebraska Golden Sower Award

The children's choice literary award for Nebraska. The Golden Sower Award is the children's choice literary award for the state of Nebraska.

The Nebraska Golden Sower Award exists to foster a lifelong enjoyment of reading for leisure in Nebraska’s youth. The program will sow seeds which:

• stimulate children's thinking
• introduce different types of literature
• encourage independent reading
• increase library skills
• foster an appreciation for excellence in writing and illustrating. To learn more about the program, please visit our website.

05/01/2026

Drumroll for our 2025-2026 Golden Sower Award Winners and Honorable Mentions!

Little Bluestem (50,100 total votes)
Dog vs. Strawberry by Nelly Buchet (11,153 votes)
Mr. S by Monica Arnaldo (6,563 votes)
The Red Jacket by Bob Holt (5,129 votes)

Honeybee (3,728 total votes)
Dogtown by Katherine Applegate & Gennifer Choldenko (866 votes)
The Firefly Summer by Morgan Matson (542 votes)
Medusa by Katherine Marsh (519 votes)

Meadowlark (797 total votes)
The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt (130 votes)
The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh (98 votes)
Parachute Kids by Betty C. Tang (91 votes)

Bald Eagle (52 total votes)
That's Not My Name by Megan Lally (18 votes)
The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker (11)
The Space Between Here and Now by Sarah Suk (6)

Total votes 54,677

03/12/2026

2026-2027 Golden Sower Nominees: Bald Eagle (Grades 9-12)

03/03/2026

2026-2027 Golden Sower Nominees: Meadowlark (Grades 6-8)

01/03/2026

Voting! If you have students voting for the 25-26 Golden Sower Awards, be sure to enter your votes at https://nebraskalibraries.org/GoldenSower

01/01/2026

Happy New Year! We wish you a year filled with great books!

12/21/2025

Today's Bald Eagle (grades 9-12) Spotlight Title is Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley

Sixteen-year-old Perry Firekeeper Birch has a plan for a Summer of Slack: fishing, hanging out with her cousins, and taking it easy. However, after she accidentally crashes her Jeep, Perry makes a deal with her Auntie Daunis to work a summer internship with the Ojibwe tribe to help pay her Auntie back.

Perry is initially assigned to work with the local eccentric museum curator, Cooper Turtle. After a visit to a local university museum, however, Perry discovers the "Warrior Girl," an ancestor whose remains and knife are held in the archives. Driven by a newfound purpose, she delves into NAGPRA, the federal law that empowers tribes to reclaim ancestral remains and sacred items. The university has been exploiting legal loopholes to retain Warrior Girl and twelve other Anishinaabe ancestors' remains, an injustice Perry is determined to rectify.

Perry recruits the help of her twin sister, Pauline, and a group of other teens that have dubbed themselves “Team Misfits.” Realizing a heist is their only option, they pool their skills to repatriate the stolen artifacts. But their mission soon uncovers deeper mysteries: more women go missing, and Pauline's pursuit of perfection takes a dark turn. As secrets unravel, Perry and the Misfits must fight to set things right, not just for their ancestors, but for their entire community.

12/19/2025

Today's Meadowlark (grades 6-8) Spotlight Title is Wild Poppies by Haya Saleh, translated by Marcia Lynx Qualey

The relentless brutality of the Syrian Civil War shatters the lives of young Omar and his brother Sufyan. Ther family’s existence in Raqqun is thrown to chaos when a bomb kills their father, forcing a desperate relocation to the rural sanctuary of Al-Nuaman (which translates to “the poppy flower”–a village named for the wild poppies that grow every spring). But safety proves elusive as hunger grows and their mother’s diabetes tightens its grip, demanding scarce medicine.

Fifteen-year-old Omar is trying to be the man of the family, but he struggles because of his bookish and resigned demeanor; twelve-year-old Sufyan also wants to help but is restless and impulsive. Through their alternating perspectives, the narrative unveils the fractured reality of their shared home, with each brother navigating their role in the family through a unique lens.

Ignoring his brother’s warnings, Sufyan gets more and more involved with a group that provides big rewards for doing seemingly inconsequential tasks. But when Sufyan goes missing, Omar realizes it is up to him to rescue his brother and reunite his family.

12/17/2025

Today's Little Bluestem (grades K-2) Spotlight Title is Worm and Caterpillar Are Friends by Kaz Windness

Worm and Caterpillar are friends. Is it because they are so much alike, or is it because of their differences? Will they still remain friends if one of them changes? This friendship story is told in graphic novel format with colorful illustrations.

12/15/2025

Today's Bald Eagle (grades 9-12) Spotlight Title is That's Not My Name by Megan Lally

A teenager wakes up to no memories, no clue who she is, and a strange man claiming she is his lost daughter, Mary.

Elsewhere, Drew is searching for Lola, his girlfriend, who stormed off into the night and hasn’t been seen since. As the last person to see her, Drew needs to prove his innocence, and the only way to do so is by finding Lola alive.

Both characters are out for the truth, but what will they do when the answers they find only lead to more danger?

12/13/2025

Today's Meadowlark (grades 6-8) Spotlight Title is Something Like Home by Andrea Beatriz Arango

Laura Rodríguez Colón’s life feels temporary. She is temporarily staying with her aunt T**i, and temporarily going to a new school until her parents get better in rehab. Then things will go back to normal. When Laura finds a dog she names Sparrow, she also hatches the perfect plan: Training Sparrow to be a therapy dog to see her parents in rehab so they can be together like they should be.

Address

Lincoln, NE

Website

https://sites.google.com/site/nebraskagoldensower/

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