State Award Books - Rebecca Caudill 2026

"From award-winning author Steve Sheinkin, a true story of two Jewish teenagers racing against time during the Holocaust-one in hiding in Hungary, and the other in Auschwitz, plotting escape"-- Provided by publisher. It is 1944. A teenager named Rudolph (Rudi) Vrba has made up his mind. After barely surviving nearly two years in the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, he knows he must escape. Even if death is more likely. Rudi has learned the...

"Simon O'Keeffe's biggest claim to fame should be the time his dad accidentally gave a squirrel a holy sacrament. Or maybe the alpaca disaster that went viral on YouTube. But the story the whole world wants to tell about Simon is the one he'd do anything to forget: the story in which he's the only kid in his class who survived a school shooting. Two years after the infamous event, twelve-year-old Simon and his family move to the National Quiet Zone...

A group of sixth graders participating in an annual Halloween tradition to pacify the ghost of Abigail Snook quickly realize that the Bellwoods contains an even bigger threat to their town.

"On the day they are born, every Swift child is brought before the sacred Family Dictionary. They are given a name, and a definition. A definition it is assumed they will grow up to match. Meet Shenanigan Swift: Little sister. Risk-taker. Mischief-maker. Shenanigan is getting ready for the big Swift Family Reunion and plotting her next great scheme: hunting for Grand-Uncle Vile's long-lost treasure. She's excited to finally meet her arriving relatives...

"A descendant of Medusa, Ava is sent to the Accademia del Forte in Venice after an altercation with a classmate, where she must learn to control her emotions, especially when she unearths a terrible secret that could change the world forever"-- Provided by publisher.

"Maudie McGinn has a secret. It's a big, scary one. And right before Maudie, who's autistic, travels to spend the summer with her dad, her mom makes her promise not to reveal it. As Mom puts it: "A promise is a promise, and must be kept." When a wildfire forces Maudie and her dad to flee to the small beach town where her dad grew up, Maudie's summer is turned upside down. Yet she becomes captivated by the surfers she sees each morning. And as Maudie...

"A novel in verse about the joys and struggles of a Chicana girl who is a warrior for her name, her history, and her right to choose what she celebrates in life"-- Provided by publisher.

An elite group of underdogs trained to fight crime must save their unique school from shutting down.

"Middle school is a dungeon ... At least, that's how Jess sees it. Luckily, she and her best friend Olivia know how to escape into the sprawling worlds of their own imaginations. The two friends have always loved making up stories, first with little kid games of make-believe, and more recently with the fantasy roleplaying game, Dungeons & Dragons. When they play, Olivia runs the game as Dungeon Master and Jess is the solo party member, playing a take-no-prisoners,...

**National Book Award Longlist Title****Asian/Pacific American Award Honor Book**This funny, fast-paced, and heartrending story about three siblings living on their own as undocumented new immigrants is perfect for fans of New Kid and Front Desk.A DREAM TRIP TO AMERICA TURNS INTO A NIGHTMARE!Feng-Li can't wait to discover America with her family! But after an action-packed vacation, her parents deliver shocking news: They are returning to Taiwan and...