Reading Olympics 2025-26

Across the desert

Bowling, Dusti,


School Library Journal starred, October 2021. Booklist starred, December 2021. Library Media Connection, August 2021. Publishers Weekly Annex, September 2021. While using a public library computer to find help for her mother who is addicted to pain medicine, twelve-year-old Jolene witnesses a friend's livestreamed crash-landing in the Arizona desert and embarks on a journey to rescue her.
Date Published:2021

Brother's keeper

Lee, Julie, (Children's fiction writer),


School Library Journal starred, June 2020. Booklist starred, May 2020. Pub Weekly, June 2020. Kirkus Starred, April 2020. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), July 2020. Twelve-year-old Sora and her eight-year-old brother, Youngsoo, must try to escape North Korea's oppressive Communist regime on their own in 1950. Includes historical notes, photographs of the author's mother, glossary of Korean words, and timeline.
Date Published:2020

School Library Journal starred, June 2020. Booklist starred, May 2020. Pub Weekly, June 2020. Kirkus Starred, April 2020. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), July 2020. Twelve-year-old Sora and her eight-year-old brother, Youngsoo, must try to escape North Korea's oppressive Communist regime on their own in 1950. Includes historical notes, photographs of the author's mother, glossary of Korean words, and timeline.

Date Published:2020

Clara Poole and the long way round

Tyng, Taylor,


Publishers Weekly, May 2023. Booklist, June 2023. Horn Book, September 2023. Kirkus Review, May 2023. "When an unintended balloon flight over Michigan brings twelve-year-old Clara Poole instant celebrity, she is invited to be the spokesperson for a round-the-world adventure race, but it soon becomes clear that someone is trying to sabotage the competition"--OCLC.
Date Published:2023

Countdown : 2979 days to the Moon /

Slade, Suzanne,


School Library Journal starred, October 2018. Booklist starred, September 2018. Pub Weekly, July 2018. Voice of Youth Advocates (V.O.Y.A.), August 2018. Kirkus Review, July 2018. Library Media Connection, November 2018. "Free verse and . . . illustrations tell the true story of the American effort to land the first man on the Moon"--Amazon.
Date Published:2022

Farther than the moon

Lackey, Lindsay,


"Roaring Brook Press." Publishers Weekly, July 2023. Kirkus Review, August 2023. Thirteen-year-old Houston and his younger brother Robbie dream of becoming astronauts, but when Houston is accepted to the Junior Astronaut Recruitment Program he realizes that Robbie's dream may not be achievable due to his cerebral palsy, so he makes a new plan that shoots for the stars.
Date Published:2024

My brigadista year

Paterson, Katherine,


School Library Journal, October 2017. Publishers Weekly, August 2017. Booklist, October 2017. Horn Book, April 2018. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), November 2017. Voice of Youth Advocates (V.O.Y.A.), October 2017. Kirkus Review, September 2017. Library Media Connection, January 2018. "[Thirteen-year-old Lora] a young Cuban teenager ... volunteers for Fidel Castro's national literacy campaign and travels into the impoverished countryside to teach others how to read"--Amazon.
Date Published:2019

School Library Journal, October 2017. Publishers Weekly, August 2017. Booklist, October 2017. Horn Book, April 2018. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), November 2017. Voice of Youth Advocates (V.O.Y.A.), October 2017. Kirkus Review, September 2017. Library Media Connection, January 2018. "[Thirteen-year-old Lora] a young Cuban teenager ... volunteers for Fidel Castro's national literacy campaign and travels into the impoverished countryside to teach others how to read"--Amazon.

Date Published:2019

A night divided

Nielsen, Jennifer A.,


When the Berlin Wall went up, Gerta, her mother, and her brother Fritz were trapped on the eastern side, while her father, and her other brother Dominic were in the West, and now four years later, Gerta sees her father and realizes he wants her to risk her life trying to tunnel to freedom. When the Berlin Wall went up, Gerta, her mother, and her brother Fritz were trapped on the eastern side, while her father, and her other brother Dominic were in the West, and now four years later, Gerta sees her father and realizes he wants her to risk her life trying to tunnel to freedom.
Date Published:2018

When the Berlin Wall went up, Gerta, her mother, and her brother Fritz were trapped on the eastern side, while her father, and her other brother Dominic were in the West, and now four years later, Gerta sees her father and realizes he wants her to risk her life trying to tunnel to freedom. When the Berlin Wall went up, Gerta, her mother, and her brother Fritz were trapped on the eastern side, while her father, and her other brother Dominic were in the West, and now four years later, Gerta sees her father and realizes he wants her to risk her life trying to tunnel to freedom.

Date Published:2018

Omar rising

Saeed, Aisha,


School Library Journal starred, January 2022. Kirkus Starred, December 2021. Booklist, February 2022. Horn Book, January 2022. Library Media Connection, May 2022. "Omar must contend with being treated like a second-class citizen when he gets a scholarship to an elite boarding school"--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2023

Out of my mind

Draper, Sharon M., (Sharon Mills)


Considered by many to be mentally retarded, a brilliant, impatient fifth-grader with cerebral palsy discovers a technological device that will allow her to speak for the first time.
Date Published:2010

Out of my mind : a novel /

Draper, Sharon M. (Sharon Mills),


Parents' Choice, January 2010. Wilson's Children, October 2010. Wilson's Junior High School, October 2010. School Library Journal starred, March 2010. Booklist starred, January 2010. Publishers Weekly, February 2010. Kirkus Starred, February 2010. Horn Book, October 2010. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), March 2010. Voice of Youth Advocates (V.O.Y.A.), August 2010. Considered by many to be mentally challenged, a brilliant, impatient fifth-grader with cerebral palsy discovers a technological device that will allow her to speak for the first time.
Date Published:2012

Parents' Choice, January 2010. Wilson's Children, October 2010. Wilson's Junior High School, October 2010. School Library Journal starred, March 2010. Booklist starred, January 2010. Publishers Weekly, February 2010. Kirkus Starred, February 2010. Horn Book, October 2010. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), March 2010. Voice of Youth Advocates (V.O.Y.A.), August 2010. Considered by many to be mentally challenged, a brilliant, impatient fifth-grader with cerebral palsy discovers a technological device that will allow her to speak for the first time.

Date Published:2012

Playing through the turnaround

Larsen, Mylisa,


Booklist, Horn Book Guide, Kirkus Reviews Starred, Publishers Weekly Starred, Five dedicated eighth grade musicians at Connor U. Eubanks Middle School look forward to fifth period Jazz Lab with Mr. Lewis each day. When Mr. Lewis abruptly quits, the students are devastated and vow to get involved in getting him to return. The group soon learns that budget cuts are to blame and their extracurricular activity isn't the only one affected. The kids band together to protest, but their first efforts are dismissed by school officials. Digging in their heels, the kids come up with creative ways to get their message across.
Date Published:2022

Booklist, Horn Book Guide, Kirkus Reviews Starred, Publishers Weekly Starred, Five dedicated eighth grade musicians at Connor U. Eubanks Middle School look forward to fifth period Jazz Lab with Mr. Lewis each day. When Mr. Lewis abruptly quits, the students are devastated and vow to get involved in getting him to return. The group soon learns that budget cuts are to blame and their extracurricular activity isn't the only one affected. The kids band together to protest, but their first efforts are dismissed by school officials. Digging in their heels, the kids come up with creative ways to get their message across.

Date Published:2022

Roses and radicals : the epic story of how American women won the right to vote /

Zimet, Susan,


Booklist starred, February 2018. Library Media Connection starred, March 2018. Publishers Weekly, November 2017. New York Times, March 2018. Voice of Youth Advocates (V.O.Y.A.), December 2017. Kirkus Review, December 2017. "A history of the women's movement and the fight to ratify the 19th Amendment-giving women the right to vote in 1920"--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2020