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Rhode Island State Reading Lists

2024 Rhode Island Middle School Book Award Nominee

Ain't Burned All the Bright

Illustrated by Jason Griffin
This edition: Hardcover, 384 pages
Publication date: January 11, 2022
Ages: 12 - 99

A Caldecott Honor winner! Prepare yourself for something unlike anything: A smash-up of art and text for teens that viscerally captures what it is ...

2023 Rhode Island Middle School Book Award

Alone

(Part of Alone)
This edition: Hardcover, 416 pages
Publication date: January 12, 2021
Ages: 10 - 99

A New York Times bestseller! Perfect for fans of Hatchet and the I Survived series, this harrowing middle grade debut novel-in-verse from a Pushcar...

2022 Rhode Island Middle School Book Award Nominee

City Spies

(Book #1 of City Spies)
This edition: Hardcover, 384 pages
Publication date: March 10, 2020
Ages: 8 - 12

A New York Times bestseller! A GMA3 Summer Reading Squad Selection! “Ingeniously plotted, and a grin-inducing delight.” —People “Will keep young re...

2021 Rhode Island Middle School Book Award Nominee

Genesis Begins Again

This edition: Hardcover, 384 pages
Publication date: January 15, 2019
Ages: 9 - 13

A Newbery Honor Book Winner of the Correta Scott King - John Steptoe for New Talent Author Award A Morris Award Finalist An NPR Favorite Book of 2...

Maybe He Just Likes You

This edition: Hardcover, 304 pages
Publication date: October 01, 2019
Ages: 9 - 13

A 2020 ALA Notable Children’s Book A Washington Post Best Children’s Book of 2019 Barbara Dee explores the subject of #MeToo for the middle grade a...

Rising Water

The Story of the Thai Cave Rescue
This edition: Hardcover, 160 pages
Publication date: March 19, 2019
Ages: 10 - 14

The incredible true story of the twelve boys trapped with their coach in a flooded cave in Thailand and their inspiring rescue—as seen in Ron Howar...

2021 Rhode Island Middle School Book Award 1st Runner Up

Maybe He Just Likes You

This edition: Hardcover, 304 pages
Publication date: October 01, 2019
Ages: 9 - 13

A 2020 ALA Notable Children’s Book A Washington Post Best Children’s Book of 2019 Barbara Dee explores the subject of #MeToo for the middle grade a...

2024 Rhode Island Latino Book Award Nominee

Growing an Artist

The Story of a Landscaper and His Son
Illustrated by John Parra
This edition: Hardcover, 40 pages
Publication date: May 10, 2022
Ages: 4 - 8

Four starred reviews! A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book of the Year From award-winning artist John Parra comes a “heartwarming family story that u...

2022 Rhode Island Latino Book Award Nominee

Knight of the Cape

Illustrated by Fatima Anaya
This edition: Hardcover, 144 pages
Publication date: March 02, 2021
Ages: 6 - 9

Judy Moody meets Netflix’s One Day at a Time in this first book in a new chapter book series featuring a young Cuban American girl who tries to fin...

Santiago's Road Home

This edition: Hardcover, 336 pages
Publication date: May 05, 2020
Ages: 8 - 12

Three starred reviews! “Harrowing but deeply illuminating.” —School Library Journal A young boy gets detained by ICE while crossing the border from...

Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything

This edition: Hardcover, 432 pages
Publication date: August 11, 2020
Ages: 12 - 99

“In a world where we are so often dividing ourselves into us and them, this book feels like a kind of magic, celebrating all beliefs, ethnicities, ...

A Sled for Gabo

Illustrated by Ana Ramírez González
This edition: Hardcover, 40 pages
Publication date: January 05, 2021
Ages: 4 - 8

The Snowy Day meets Last Stop on Market Street in this heartwarming classic in the making about a young boy who is in a new town and doesn’t have m...

What If a Fish

This edition: Hardcover, 240 pages
Publication date: August 11, 2020
Ages: 8 - 12

A whimsical and unflinchingly honest generational story of family and identity where hats turn into leeches, ghosts blow kisses from lemon trees, a...

2021 Rhode Island Latino Book Award Nominee

Don't Ask Me Where I'm From

Illustrated by Elena Garnu
This edition: Hardcover, 336 pages
Publication date: August 18, 2020
Ages: 14 - 99

“A funny, perceptive, and much-needed book telling a much-needed story.” —Celeste Ng, author of the New York Times bestseller Little Fires Everywhe...

Dancing Hands

How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln
Illustrated by Rafael López
This edition: Hardcover, 40 pages
Publication date: August 27, 2019
Ages: 4 - 8

Winner of the Pura Belpré Illustrator Award A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book In soaring words and stunning illustrations, Margarita Engle and Raf...

2023 Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee

A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow

This edition: Hardcover, 320 pages
Publication date: November 10, 2020
Ages: 12 - 99

A Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club YA Pick “A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow is an absolute delight. Cozier than a hand-knit gr...

In Deeper Waters

This edition: Hardcover, 320 pages
Publication date: April 20, 2021
Ages: 14 - 99

“A frothy confection of sea-foam, young love, and derring-do.” —NPR From the New York Times bestselling author of So This Is Ever After, a young p...

Today Tonight Tomorrow

This edition: Hardcover, 384 pages
Publication date: July 28, 2020
Ages: 12 - 99

“A dizzying, intimate romance.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Funny, tender, and romantic.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) The Hating Game...

2021 Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee

Love from A to Z

This edition: Hardcover, 352 pages
Publication date: April 30, 2019
Ages: 14 - 99

A Today Show Read with Jenna Book Club Pick “The bighearted, wildly charming, painfully real love story I’ve been waiting for.” —Becky Albertalli, ...

2020 Rhode Island Teen Book Award Honor Title

Starry Eyes

This edition: Hardcover, 432 pages
Publication date: April 03, 2018
Ages: 14 - 99

In this romantic dramedy from the author of Alex, Approximately, a teen girl’s way-too-ordinary life is driven off the beaten path when she’s aband...

2022 Rhode Island Children's Book Award Nominee

Saucy

Illustrated by Marianna Raskin
This edition: Hardcover, 304 pages
Publication date: September 29, 2020
Ages: 8 - 12

From Newbery Medalist and National Book Award–winning author Cynthia Kadohata comes an irrepressible and heartwarming story about a girl and her ev...