Missouri State Reading Lists
Award Lists
2018-2019 Gateway Readers Award
Scythe
Two teens must learn the “art of killing” in this Printz Honor–winning book, the first in a chilling new series from Neal Shusterman, author of the New...
2020 - 2021 Gateway Readers Award Final Nominee
Dry
When the California drought escalates to catastrophic proportions, one teen is forced to make life and death decisions for her family in this harrowing...
A Heart in a Body in the World
“This is one for the ages.” —Gayle Forman, author of the #1 bestseller If I Stay “A book everyone should read right now.” —The New York Times Book...
2020 - 2021 Show Me Readers Award Final Nominee
Love, Z
From the creator of Not Quite Narwhal comes the story of a young robot trying to find the meaning of “love.”When a small robot named Z discovers a...
The Remember Balloons
A 2019 Schneider Family Award Honor Book! What’s Happening to Grandpa meets Up in this tender, sensitive picture book that gently explains the memory...
2020 - 2021 Truman Reader Award Final Nominee
Lifeboat 12
“This page-turning true-life adventure is filled with rich and riveting details and a timeless understanding of the things that matter most.”—Dashka...
2020 - 2021 Mark Twain Reader Award Final Nominee
Blended
Eleven-year-old Isabella’s blended family is more divided than ever in this thoughtful story about divorce and racial identity from the award-winning...
The Unforgettable Guinevere St. Clair
A ten-year-old girl is determined to find her missing neighbor, but the answers lead her to places and people she never expected—and maybe even one...
2020 Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award Nominee
Fear the Bunny
Bunnies—not tigers—rule the forest in this adorable take on William Blake’s classic poem. Bunnies, bunnies, burning bright In the forests of the night—...
Pokko and the Drum
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2019 A Today Show Best Book of the Year A Booklist Book for Youth Editors’ Choice 2019 A Boston Globe–Horn Picture...