The Rebecca Caudill Award is given each year to the author of the book voted for most by Illinois 4th-8th grade students. To learn more about the award and Rebecca Caudill herself, visit https://www.rebeccacaudill.org.
Come in to the library to check out one of the outstanding 2023 award nominees below!
| Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston | J ALS (2023 CAUDILL) | Ages 8-12 AR: 4.9 |
| A High Five for Glenn Burke by Phil Bildner | J BIL (2023 CAUDILL) | Ages 10-13 AR: 4.1 Lexile: 690L |
| The Blackbird Girls by Anne Blankman | J BLA (CAUDILL 2023) | Ages 9-12 AR: 4.8 |
| The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden | J BRA (2023 CAUDILL) PLAYAWAY J F BRA (CAUDILL 2023) | Ages 8-12 AR: 4.9 Lexile: 770L |
| Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley | J BRA (2023 CAUDILL) AUDIO CD J F BRA | Ages 10-12 AR: 3.6 |
| Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya | J CAR (2023 CAUDILL) AUDIO CD J F CAR | Ages 10+ AR: 3.9 Lexile: 580L |
| Efrén Divided by Erenesto Cisneros | J CIS (2023 BLUESTEM) AUDIO CD J F CIS (2023 CAUDILL) | Ages 8-12 AR: 4.5 Lexile: 710L |
| The Only Back Girls in Town by Brandy Colbert | J COL (2023 CAUDILL) AUDIO CD J F COL (2023 CAUDILL) | Ages 8-12 AR: 4.4 |
| The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez by Adrianna Cuevas | J CUE (2023 CAUDILL) AUDIO CD J F CUE (2023 CAUDILL) | Ages 8-12 AR: 4.7 Lexile: 740L |
| Scritch Scratch by Lindsay Currie | J CUR (2023 CAUDILL) | Ages 10-14 AR: 4.3 Lexile: 610L |
| A Thousand Questions by Saadia Faruqi | J FAR (2023 BLUESTEM) AUDIO CD J F FAR (2023 CAUDILL) | Ages 8-12 AR: 4.8 |
| Wink: Surviving Middle School with One Eye Open by Rob Harrell | J HAR (2023 CAUDILL) | Ages 9-12 AR: 3.9 Lexile: 580L |
| When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed | J GN JAM (CAUDILL 2023) PLAYAWAY J F JAM (2023 CAUDILL) | Ages 9-12 AR: 3.7 Lexile: 530L |
| This is Your Brain on Stereotypes: How Science is Tackling Unconscious Bias by Tanya Lloyd Kyi | J 303.385 KYI (CAUDILL 2023) | Ages 11-14 AR: 6.8 Lexile: 910L |
| Chirp by Kate Messner | J MES (2023 CAUDILL) PLAYAWAY J F MES (2023 CAUDILL) | Ages 10-14 AR: 4.6 |
| The Best at It by Maulik Pancholy | J PAN (2023 CAUDILL) PLAYAWAY J F PAN (2023 CAUDILL) | Ages 8-12 AR: 4 Lexile: 620L |
| Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes | J RHO (2023 CAUDILL) PLAYAWAY J F RHO (2023 CAUDILL) | Ages 8-12 AR: 3.4 Lexile: 400L |
| All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat | J 796.52 SOO (2023 CAUDILL) | Ages 8-12 AR: 7.2 Lexile: 1020L |
| Katie the Catsitter by Colleen A.F. Venable and Stephanie Yue | J GN VEN (2023 CAUDILL) | Ages 8-12 AR: 3 Lexile: 340L |
| Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson | J WOO (CAUDILL 2023) AUDIO CD J F WOO (2023 CAUDILL) | Ages 10+ AR: 4.5 |
UPCOMING TWEEN EVENTS
July 1-30
TinkerCAD Challenge: Create a Derby Car
4th Grade & Up
Registration begins July 1
July 11
Wild Explorers: Rockss + Geology | 10:30-11:15am
Grades 3-6 with a caregiver
Registration begins June 27
July 11
Mad Science: Growing Geodes | Video posted at 4:30pm
Kindergarten-6th Grade
Registration begins June 27
July 15
Chalk the Walk | 11-11:45am
All Ages
No registration required
Happy Reading!