This year has been a challenging one for readers of all ages. Increasingly, an onslaught of book bans, scripted reading programs, budget cuts, and other restrictions seem to limit young people’s access to books and deny them opportunities to connect with reading. In many schools and libraries, educators and librarians fear legislative mandates that seek to criminalize reading advisory and strip professionals of decision-making autonomy.
At the same time that many young people lack meaningful connections with books, many people who have previously written reviews for us or participated in the Nerdy Book Club Awards (the Nerdies) have lost access to books themselves. Many of the regular readers of this blog have told me that you’re unable to read aloud or share books with your students anymore because of restrictive policies. Other folks admit that you’re not reading much yourselves. For these reasons, we hesitated to host our annual book awards this year.
How can we celebrate the new and noteworthy books from 2024 when educators, librarians, and families aren’t reading many books at all? In spite of the obstacles, a stalwart group of educators and librarians continues to promote and celebrate the new and notable children’s and young adult books being published. If for no other reason, spaces like the Nerdy Book Club offer a positive place to uplift young people and the books written for them. In a year when fewer and fewer readers seem to have meaningful access to current books or information about new publications, activities like the Nerdies aim to promote genuine reading experiences.
As author Vera Nazarian said, “Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light.” Let’s encourage as much reading as possible and increase the light.
The Nerdies are nominated by the public, including young people and their caregiving adults. I think the Nerdies represent the books that teachers, librarians, and families—who are seeking expansive reading experiences—want for their children. The Nerdies include a current mix of genres, formats, voices, and styles; books with literary merit AND kid appeal; the books that engage kids with reading and the world around them.
Here is how the Nerdies work:
The 2024 Nerdy Nomination Ballot is open until Sunday, January 12th at midnight Eastern Time. You have a few days to gather your nominations and submit them. Nominate up to 5 books in each of the following categories:
Picture Books: Fiction
Picture Books: Nonfiction
Early Readers/ Chapter Books
Graphic Novels
Poetry and Novels in Verse
MG/YA Nonfiction
Middle Grade Fiction
Young Adult Fiction
All nominees must have been published in 2024 and written for children or young adults. You do not need to nominate books in every category. You do not have to nominate five books per category, either. You do not need to have experience across formats and age ranges. What types of books did you read and share with young people and their families this year?
When nominating books, consider Nerdy Book Club’s Book Lists and Recommendation Policy, which requires inclusiveness and equitable representation in all recommendation lists featured on this blog. Consider books featuring a wide range of voices, perspectives, and lived experiences when making your nominations.
After tallying the ballots, we will announce the 2024 Nerdies list in daily category posts beginning January 19th and ending with our two-day Young Adult Fiction posts.
Join us in honoring the 2024 books that your children, students, and you loved to read this year. No matter which titles wind up on our final list, you will discover some great books to read and share. Thank you for participating and for being nerdy with us for another year!
Donalyn Miller is a Texas educator and the author or co-author of numerous books, articles, and essays about engaging young people with reading and ensuring meaningful book access. Her most recent books are The Joy of Reading (2022) co-written with Teri Lesesne and The Commonsense Guide to Your Classroom Library (2022) co-written with Colby Sharp. Donalyn lives in downtown San Antonio with her spouse and their overflowing bookshelves. You can find Donalyn online as @donalynbooks on Threads, Instagram, and Bluesky. You can read her regular Substack posts at Our Reading Lives.
