VSBA 2025-2026 -- Primary Nominees

A tree's life story is told from its beginnings as a seed to its survival in the wilderness until it finally falls, but continues its life as a log, an animal habitat, and finally decomposes to provide nutrition for future trees.

When Hector breaks the most important rule at summer camp -- do not feed the ducks -- he lets loose the giant Quaken!

"A sweet and silly buffalo who tries to bluff and fluff his way into being bigger than he really is"-- Provided by publisher.

Every creation two friends build together end up tumbling down, except their friendship.

A menagerie of forest animals, whose temperaments match their collective nouns, try to solve the mystery of a missing group of mice.

Susan the duck keeps feeling unlucky, so when a wolf shows up with gifts she has won it seems like her luck is turning around, but soon she realizes the wolf's intentions may not be as helpful as she imagined.

While a young Panamanian American girl and her father share "just-us" time on an early morning horseback ride around their town, he tells her cowboy stories and she realizes she is a cowboy too.

"Ursula is a happy catfish, swimming through a shimmering river with weeds waving above and a sky full of scrumptious bugs below. Then one question turns her world upside down. Is left right? Is right wrong? Which way even is up?"--Provided by publisher.

"When kitty first got adopted, everything was purr-fect. Then came the rules. NO eating the bread! NO chasing the baby! BAD KITTY! Excuse me? She's not a bad kitty. Left with no choice, she says goodbye to everything she loves (even her favorite crinkled-up receipt) and quits! But kitty's adventure in the great outdoors doesn't go as planned, and she realizes that she may have made a few mistakes. She knows she can do better, but how can she get home?...

Gravity becomes a very personal problem for Leda as she stumbles and tumbles through a long day.