2027 Nutmeg Award Elementary Nominees

2027  Nutmeg Book Award
Elementary Nominees
Grades 2-3
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Amina Banana and the Formula for
Friendship
by Shifa Saltagi Safadi, art by Aaliya Jaleel
Meet Amina, a third grader who just moved to
the U.S. from Syria and can't wait to make
friends. The teacher mispronounces her
name, English is hard to learn, and the food
tastes different, but Amina keeps trying. Will
she succeed?
Jumper: A day in the Life of a Backyard
Jumping Spider 
by Jessica Lanan
See the world from the viewpoint of a jumping
spider as she explores a suburban backyard!
Learn about the special features and talents
spiders have as you navigate obstacles, dodge
danger, and catch prey. You've never
experienced the world like this before!
Bear and Bird: The Picnic and Other
Stories
by Jarvis
Join best friends, Bear and Bird, in this series
of gentle adventures. From picnics to talking
flowers to the coziest of blankets, these two
friends always find ways to cheer one another
on.
Detective Beans & the Case of the
Missing Hat
by Li Chen
Detective Beans is on the case! His hat is
missing, and he’s ready to search all of Cat
Town to find it. Who took it — and what bigger
mystery will Beans uncover along the way?
Ernö Rubik and his Magic Cube
by Kerry Aradhya, art by Kara Kramer
Have you ever wondered how your favorite
toys get invented? Ernö Rubik was always
curious about the objects around him and how
they fit together. Read about how his curiosity
and persistence helped him create the Rubik's
Cube.
How This Book Got Red
by Margaret Chiu Greanias, art by Melissa Iwai
How can a book about pandas not even
mention red pandas? Red decides to fix that
by writing her own book that includes all
pandas. But writing is hard. Can Red summon
the courage to write the book after all? Maybe
Red’s book is exactly what every panda
needs.
Listen: How Evelyn Glennie, a Deaf Girl,
Changed Percussion
by Shannon Stocker, art by Devon
Holzwarth
Rat-a-latta-latta-Lat! Explore the life of Evelyn
Glennie, a passionate and hardworking
percussionist who also happens to be Deaf.
This inspiring biography shows how hearing
loss made Evelyn a better listener and a very
special musician. Think you can only hear
music with your ears? Think again! 
Millie Fleur's Poison Garden
by Christy Mandin
Every house in Garden Glen was the same.
Every house except Millie Fleur's house, that is.
Millie Fleur plants her own garden, which is
very different from everyone else's. The
neighbors don't like it, but after Millie shows off
her garden to her classmates, they realize that
differences can be amazing.
Perfect
by Waka T. Brown, art by Yuko Jones
Miki Amelia Masuda likes perfection, but when
her favorite teacup breaks, her Japanese
grandmother, Obaachan, repairs the teacup
with the art of kintsugi. Kintsugi joins the broken
pieces together and fills in the cracks with gold.
The teacup is different now, but still beautiful.
Can Miki learn to love imperfections after all?
This Is How We Talk: A Celebration of
Disability and Connection
by Jessica Slice and Caroline Cupp, art by
Kayla Harren 
No matter who we are or how our abilities differ,
we all communicate! Learn about the different
ways people talk and connect with one another
in this empowering and thoughtful book.