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The California Young Reader Medal Award is awarded each year by the California Library Association to the book that gets the most student votes. It is a "Kid's Choice" award. Nominees in various grade-level categories (primary picture books, intermediate chapter books Gr 4-5, middle school, young adult) are voted on by students. Maloney students enjoy voting for their favorite books each year!
If you are looking for peer-chosen popular books to read, you can look at the California Young Reader Medal website here for past nominees and winners. All of the books are good (even if not a winner that year!) as the nominees are very different - see what appeals to you. Explore new authors or genres and expand your reading horizons!
At Maloney, we read the five nominated primary picture books to grades TK-3rd during storytime. All primary students get to vote for their favorite book.
4th and 5th graders have the option to read the three nominated intermediate chapter books on their own if they would like to vote. Voting is mid-March - students who want to vote must have finished all three books by then in order to vote. We have a few copies of each at Maloney Library, but if students want to get them from the public library or read them via eBook, here are the three intermediate nominees for 2026-2027 (descriptions from Amazon):
Hope in the Valley by Mitali Perkins
by Mitali Perkins
Hope in the Valley, from National Book Award Nominee Mitali Perkins, is a middle-grade novel exploring grief, friendship, family, and growing up in a community facing a housing crisis.
Twelve-year-old Indian-American Pandita Paul doesn't like change. She's not ready to start middle school and leave the comforts of childhood behind. Most of all, Pandita doesn't want to feel like she's leaving her mother, who died a few years ago, behind. After a falling out with her best friend, Pandita is planning to spend most of her summer break reading and writing in her favorite secret space: the abandoned but majestic mansion across the street.
But then the unthinkable happens. The town announces that the old home will be bulldozed in favor of new--maybe affordable--housing. With her family on opposing sides of the issue, Pandita must find her voice--and the strength to move on--in order to give her community hope.
In the Beautiful Country
In the Beautiful Country
by Jane Kuo
For fans of Jasmine Warga and Thanhhà Lại, this is a stunning novel in verse about a young Taiwanese immigrant to America who is confronted by the stark difference between dreams and reality.
Anna can’t wait to move to the beautiful country—the Chinese name for America. Although she’s only ever known life in Taiwan, she can’t help but brag about the move to her family and friends.
But the beautiful country isn’t anything like Anna pictured. Her family can only afford a cramped apartment, she’s bullied at school, and she struggles to understand a new language. On top of that, the restaurant that her parents poured their savings into is barely staying afloat. The version of America that Anna is experiencing is nothing like she imagined. How will she be able to make the beautiful country her home?
This lyrical and heartfelt story, inspired by the author’s own experiences, is about resilience, courage, and the struggle to make a place for yourself in the world.
You Are Here: Connecting Flights: Twisted Tales of Young Asian Americans in a Chaotic Airport
You Are Here: Connecting Flights: Twisted Tales of Young Asian Americans in a Chaotic Airport
by Ellen Oh
A powerful and engaging exploration of contemporary Asian American identity through interwoven stories set in a teeming Chicago airport, written by award-winning and bestselling East and Southeast Asian American authors including Linda Sue Park, Grace Lin, Erin Entrada Kelly, Traci Chee, and Ellen Oh. Flying Lessons meets Black Boy Joy.
An incident at a TSA security check point sows chaos and rumors, creating a chain of events that impacts twelve young Asian Americans in a crowded and restless airport. As their disrupted journeys crisscross and collide, they encounter fellow travelers—some helpful, some hostile—as they discover the challenges of friendship, the power of courage, the importance of the right word at the right time, and the unexpected significance of a blue Stratocaster electric guitar.
Twelve powerhouse Asian American authors explore themes of identity and belonging in the entwined experiences of young people whose family roots may extend to East and Southeast Asia, but who are themselves distinctly American.
Written by Linda Sue Park, Erin Entrada Kelly, Grace Lin, Traci Chee, Mike Chen, Meredith Ireland, Mike Jung, Minh Lê, Ellen Oh, Randy Ribay, Christina Soontornvat, and Susan Tan, and edited by Ellen Oh.
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