California State Reading Lists
2017 California Young Reader Medal Winner
Keeper of the Lost Cities
A New York Times bestselling series A USA TODAY bestselling series A California Young Reader Medal–winning series In this riveting series opener, a...
2017 - 2018 California Young Reader Medal Nominee
Gaston
A bulldog and a poodle learn that family is about love, not appearances in this adorable doggy tale from New York Times bestselling author Kelly...
2016 - 2017 California Young Reader Medal Nominee
Keeper of the Lost Cities
A New York Times bestselling series A USA TODAY bestselling series A California Young Reader Medal–winning series In this riveting series opener, a...
2015 - 2016 California Young Reader Medal Nominee
Creepy Carrots!
In this Caldecott Honor–winning picture book, The Twilight Zone comes to the carrot patch as a rabbit fears his favorite treats are out to get...
The Tree Lady
The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever
Unearth the true story of green-thumbed pioneer and activist Kate Sessions, who helped San Diego grow from a dry desert town into a lush, leafy city...
Doll Bones
Discover the Newbery Honor winner Doll Bones, from Holly Black, the cocreator of the Spiderwick Chronicles. A Kirkus Reviews Best Book. A School...
Ghost Hawk
From Newbery Medalist Susan Cooper, a story of adventure and friendship between a young Native American and a colonial New England settler.On the...
2017 Eureka Excellence in Nonfiction Gold Award
Pocket Full of Colors
The Magical World of Mary Blair, Disney Artist Extraordinaire
Amy Guglielmo, Jacqueline Tourville, and Brigette Barrager team up to tell the joyful and unique story of the trailblazing Disney artist Mary...
Muddy
The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters
An Ezra Jack Keats Book Award Winner A New York Times Best Illustrated Book An NPR Best Book of the Year A Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book A Parents’ Choice...
ABCs from Space
A Discovered Alphabet
A Smithsonian Air and Space Magazine Best Book of 2017 A 2018 NSTA-CBC Outstanding Science Titles “Twenty or so years from now, we may point to this...
2016 Eureka Excellence in Nonfiction Gold Award
Ada's Violin
The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay
From award-winning author Susan Hood and illustrator Sally Wern Comport comes the extraordinary true tale of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay, an...
I Dissent
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark
Get to know celebrated Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg—in the first picture book about her life—as she proves that disagreeing does not make...
Miss Mary Reporting
The True Story of Sportswriter Mary Garber
“A lively, memorable biography for younger readers.” —Booklist (starred review) “A reminder of the value of telling people’s stories, whether pro...
2017 Eureka Excellence in Nonfiction Honor Book
The Youngest Marcher
The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil Rights Activist
Meet the youngest known child to be arrested for a civil rights protest in Birmingham, Alabama, 1963, in this moving picture book that proves you’re...
Skateboards
Go behind the scenes and learn how craftsman Jake Eshelman makes one-of-a-kind skateboards by hand with this nonfiction book that’s full of photographs...
The Heart of Everything That Is
Young Readers Edition
From bestselling authors Bob Drury and Tom Clavin comes the epic, untold story one of the most powerful Sioux warriors of all time, Red Cloud—now...
2016 Eureka Excellence in Nonfiction Honor Book
The Distance Between Us
Young Readers Edition
Award-winning author Reyna Grande shares her compelling experience of crossing borders and cultures in this middle grade adaptation of her...
Lift Your Light a Little Higher
The Story of Stephen Bishop: Slave-Explorer
Grab your lantern and follow the remarkable and world-famous Mammoth Cave explorer—and slave—Stephen Bishop as he guides you through the world’s...
The Marvelous Thing That Came from a Spring
The Accidental Invention of the Toy That Swept the Nation
With magnificent dioramic illustrations, Gilbert Ford captures the joy, creativity, and determination behind the invention of an iconic, one-of-a-kind...
Octopuses One to Ten
Dive into this fascinating counting journey through the amazing and mysterious world of octopuses.Everyone knows octopuses have eight arms. But did you...
Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea
Marie Tharp Maps the Ocean Floor
“A finely told, beautifully illustrated biography that saves a world class scientist from obscurity.” —School Library Journal, starred review “An ideal...
2016 Westchester Fiction Award Winner
All American Boys
A 2016 Coretta Scott King Author Honor book, and recipient of the Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature. In this Coretta Scott...
The Scorpion Rules
The children of world leaders are held hostage in an attempt to keep the peace in this “slyly humorous, starkly thought-provoking” (Kirkus Reviews,...
2016 Westchester Fiction Award Honorable Mention
Ruthless
A spine-tingling debut about the ultimate game of cat-and-mouse in reverse as a teen struggles to retain hope—and her sanity—while on the run from a...