Young Hoosier Book Award
Young Hoosier Book Award references 110 books assigned across applicable K-12 grade levels in US schools.
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The Young Hoosier Book Award is Indiana's statewide reading program, administered by the Indiana Library Federation since 1975. Students read from an annual master list and vote each year for their favorite title across three divisions — Picture Book (K-3), Intermediate (grades 4-6), and Middle Grade (grades 6-8). Its winners are read in Indiana classrooms and libraries statewide and span the most-loved middle-grade titles, from Hatchet and Shiloh to Wonder, The Lightning Thief, and New Kid.
Primary source: cdn.ymaws.com
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110 books referenced
11 BirthdaysWendy Mass
A Boy Called BatElana K. Arnold
A Deadly Game of MagicJoan Lowery Nixon
A Dog's LifeAnn M. Martin
AbductionPeg Kehret
AkiakRobert J. Blake
Among the HiddenMargaret Peterson Haddix
Are You There God? It's Me, MargaretJudy Blume
ArrowhawkLola M. Schaefer
Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous JobWillo Davis Roberts
Bad KittyNick Bruel
Because of Mr. TeruptRob Buyea
Because of Winn-DixieKate DiCamillo · 610L
Can I Be Your Dog?Troy Cummings
CardboardDoug TenNapel
Cat SecretsJef Czekaj
Christina's GhostBetty Ren Wright
Cliff-HangerAlane Ferguson
Creepy Carrots!Aaron Reynolds
Cryptid HuntersRoland Smith
Dead Man in Indian CreekMary Downing Hahn
Don't Hurt LaurieWillo Davis Roberts
Don't Look Behind YouLois Duncan
Double Trouble in Walla WallaAndrew Clements
Show all 110 titles
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- Ella Enchanted · Gail Carson Levine
- Enchanted Wood · Ruth Sanderson
- Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library · Chris Grabenstein
- Escaping the Giant Wave · Peg Kehret
- Forged by Fire · Sharon M. Draper
- Frindle · Andrew Clements
- Fudge · Charlotte Towner Graeber
- Ghost Soldier · Elaine Marie Alphin
- Ghost in the House · Betty Ren Wright
- Gregor the Overlander · Suzanne Collins
- Harris and Me · Gary Paulsen
- Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm · Jerdine Nolen
- Hatchet · Gary Paulsen
- Heart of a Tiger · Marsha Diane Arnold
- Heckedy Peg · Audrey Wood
- Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library · Eth Clifford
- Hooway for Wodney Wat · Helen Lester
- Horror at the Haunted House · Peg Kehret
- How to Eat Fried Worms · Thomas Rockwell
- How to Steal a Dog · Barbara O'Connor
- Jelly Belly · Robert Kimmel Smith
- Library Mouse · Daniel Kirk
- Maxi’s Secrets: (Or, What You Can Learn from a Dog) · Lynn Plourde
- Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 · Richard Paul Evans
- Mick Harte Was Here · Barbara Park
- Minnie's Diner: A Multiplying Menu · Dayle Ann Dodds
- Mr. Tanen's Ties · Maryann Cocca-Leffler
- My Little Sister Ate One Hare · Bill Grossman
- My Lucky Day · Keiko Kasza
- New Kid · Jerry Craft
- Nightjohn · Gary Paulsen
- Nightmare Mountain · Peg Kehret
- Operation: Dump the Chump · Barbara Park
- Orbiting Jupiter · Gary D. Schmidt
- Out of My Mind · Sharon M. Draper
- Refugee · Alan Gratz
- Restart · Gordon Korman
- Roller Girl · Victoria Jamieson
- Romiette and Julio · Sharon M. Draper
- Ruby Holler · Sharon Creech
- Saving Shiloh · Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
- Scythe · Neal Shusterman
- Shark vs. Train · Chris Barton
- Shiloh · Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
- Sisters · Raina Telgemeier
- Small Steps · Peg Kehret
- Smile · Raina Telgemeier
- So B. It · Sarah Weeks
- Stargirl · Jerry Spinelli
- Stranger with My Face · Lois Duncan
- Strider · Beverly Cleary
- Superfudge · Judy Blume
- Ted · Tony DiTerlizzi
- Ten Kids, No Pets · Ann M. Martin
- The Best Christmas Pageant Ever · Barbara Robinson
- The City of Ember · Jeanne DuPrau
- The Compound · S. A. Bodeen
- The Dark and Deadly Pool · Joan Lowery Nixon
- The Day the Crayons Quit · Drew Daywalt
- The Dog Who Had Kittens · Polly M. Robertus
- The Doom Stone · Paul Zindel
- The Face on the Milk Carton · Caroline B. Cooney
- The Ghost on Saturday Night · Sid Fleischman
- The Ghost's Grave · Peg Kehret
- The Goof that Won the Pennant · Jonah Kalb
- The House of the Scorpion · Nancy Farmer
- The Hunger Games · Suzanne Collins
- The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors · Drew Daywalt
- The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) · Rick Riordan
- The Monster Who Ate My Peas · Danny Schnitzlein
- The Selection · Kiera Cass
- The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants · Ann Brashares
- The Third Eye · Lois Duncan
- The Trumpet of the Swan · E.B. White
- The War with Grandpa · Robert Kimmel Smith
- This is My Book · Mark Pett
- Titanicat · Marty Crisp
- Tuesday · David Wiesner
- Twisted Summer · Willo Davis Roberts
- Unbreakable · Kami Garcia
- Wait Till Helen Comes · Mary Downing Hahn
- Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger · Louis Sachar
- When the Boys Ran the House · Joan Davenport Carris
- Whispers from the Dead · Joan Lowery Nixon
- Wonder · R.J. Palacio
- Zomo the Rabbit · Gerald McDermott
About this curriculum framework
This curriculum is one of dozens of named English Language Arts frameworks tracked across US public-school districts. Frameworks differ in scope (district-level vs state-level vs national), in mandate (required vs recommended vs elective), and in how prescriptive their reading lists are (single fixed text list vs broad reading-pool selection).
The book list below represents titles cited as required, recommended, or commonly assigned within this framework, sourced from the framework's primary documentation (or, where the framework is administered at district level, from public district curriculum pages). Each book's detail page links the specific source document for that citation.
How to use this Young Hoosier Book Award reading list
The book list above represents titles ReadingList has confirmed as referenced by Young Hoosier Book Award— either through the framework’s own published documentation, through audited classroom syllabi citing the framework, or through US state and district curriculum guides that map their reading expectations to it. Each book’s detail page links the specific primary source so parents, teachers, and students can verify the citation and locate the official document.
Reading lists evolve. Young Hoosier Book Award citations on ReadingList are reviewed on a rolling basis as primary sources publish updates. If you teach or learn under this framework and a title on this page is no longer used (or you know of one that should appear), the ReadingList methodology page explains how to submit a correction with a citation.
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Frequently asked questions
What books does Young Hoosier Book Award include?
110 books are referenced by Young Hoosier Book Award across applicable K-12 grade levels. Each book page cites the primary source assignment (the official curriculum standard, exemplar list, or syllabus where the title appears).
What grades does Young Hoosier Book Award cover?
Young Hoosier Book Award is a reading-program curriculum spanning applicable K-12 grade levels via the standards framework. Browse by grade using the grade-filter links on this page or visit /grade for the full grade index across all curricula.
Where does Young Hoosier Book Award data come from?
Primary source: cdn.ymaws.com/www.ilfonline.org/resource/resmgr/yhba/yhba_pastwinners.pdf. Cross-referenced with Common Core exemplars at achievethecore.org. Every book page on ReadingList.school cites the standards origin for that assignment.
Is Young Hoosier Book Award required reading?
Young Hoosier Book Award provides recommended exemplars + assignments — adoption varies by district and teacher. Always check with your school's English department for the specific required vs recommended list at your grade level.
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