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Oregon Battle of the Books 2026-27
 
Grades 3-5
Caterpillar Summer by Gillian McDunn
Caterpillar Summer
by Gillian McDunn

Cat and her brother Chicken have always had a very special bond--Cat is one of the few people who can keep Chicken happy. When he has a meltdown she's the one who scratches his back and reads his favorite story. She's the one who knows what Chicken needs. Since their mom has had to work double-hard to keep their family afloat after their father passed away, Cat has been the glue holding her family together. But even the strongest glue sometimes struggles to hold. When a summer trip doesn't go according to plan, Cat and Chicken end up spending three weeks with grandparents they never knew. For the first time in years, Cat has the opportunity to be a kid again, and the journey she takes shows that even the most broken or strained relationships can be healed if people take the time to walk in one another's shoes.--Provided by publisher.
Connect the Stars by Marisa De Los Santos
Connect the Stars
by Marisa De Los Santos

Acclaimed author duo Marisa de los Santos and David Tague return with a heartwarming middle grade adventure about two misfits discovering the importance of just being themselves, perfect for fans of Counting By 7's and Hello Universe. When thirteen-year-olds Aaron and Audrey meet at a wilderness camp in the desert, they think their quirks are enough to prevent them from ever having friends. But as they trek through the challenging and unforgiving landscape, they learn that they each have what it takes to make the other whole.Luminous and clever, Connect the Stars takes on some hefty topics of the day--bullying, understanding where you fit in, and learning to live with physical and mental challenges--all in a joyous adventure kids will love!
Dogtown by Katherine Applegate
Dogtown
by Katherine Applegate

A humorous and moving middle-grade, illustrated novel about a shelter that houses stray dogs - and robot dogs! - from powerhouse authors Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko.
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
Esperanza Rising
by Pam Munoz Ryan

Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great Depression.
Frindle: Special Edition by Andrew Clements
Frindle: Special Edition
by Andrew Clements

From bestselling and award-winning author Andrew Clements, a quirky, imaginative tale about creative thought and the power of language that will have readers inventing their own words--now available in a deluxe paperback edition! Is Nick Allen a troublemaker? He really just likes to liven things up at school--and he's always had plenty of great ideas. When Nick learns some interesting information about how words are created, suddenly he's got the inspiration for his best plan ever...the frindle. Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle? Things begin innocently enough as Nick gets his friends to use the new word. Then other people in town start saying frindle. Soon the school is in an uproar, and Nick has become a local hero. His teacher wants Nick to put an end to all this nonsense, but the funny thing is frindle doesn't belong to Nick anymore. The new word is spreading across the country, and there's nothing Nick can do to stop it.
The Guardian Test (Legends of Lotus Island #1) by Christina Soontornvat
The Guardian Test (Legends of Lotus Island #1)
by Christina Soontornvat

Young Plum is shocked to discover that she's been accepted to the Guardian Academy on Lotus Island, an elite school where kids learn how to transform into Guardians, magical creatures who are sworn to protect the natural world. The Guardian masters teach Plum and her friends how to communicate with animals and how to use meditation to strengthen their minds and bodies. All the kids also learn to fight, so they can protect the defenseless if needed. To her dismay, Plum struggles at school. While her classmates begin to transform into amazing creatures, Plum can't even seem to magic up a single feather! If she can't embrace her inner animal form soon, she'll have to leave school and lose the first group of real friends she's ever known--
It's the End of the World and I'm in My Bathing Suit by Justin A. Reynolds
It's the End of the World and I'm in My Bathing Suit
by Justin A. Reynolds

A hilarious new middle-grade from justin a. reynolds that asks: What happens when five unsupervised kids face the apocalypse under outrageously silly circumstances?--Provided by publisher.
A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll
A Kind of Spark
by Elle McNicoll

Ever since Ms. Murphy told us about the witch trials that happened centuries ago right here in Juniper, I can't stop thinking about them. Those people weren't magic. They were like me. Different like me. I'm autistic. I see things that others do not. I hear sounds that they can ignore. And sometimes I feel things all at once. I think about the witches, with no one to speak for them. Not everyone in our small town understands. But if I keep trying, maybe someone will. I won't let the witches be forgotten. Because there is more to their story. Just like there is more to mine. Award-winning and neurodivergent author Elle McNicoll delivers an insightful and stirring debut about the European witch trials and a girl who refuses to relent in the fight for what she knows is right.
Light and Air by Mindy Nichols Wendell
Light and Air
by Mindy Nichols Wendell

It's 1935, and tuberculosis is ravaging the nation. Everyone is afraid of this deadly respiratory illness. But what happens when you actually have it?When Halle and her mother both come down with TB, they are shunned--and then they are sent to the J.N. Adam Tuberculosis Hospital: far from home, far from family, far from the world.Tucked away in the woods of upstate New York, the hospital is a closed and quiet place. But it is not, Halle learns, a prison. Free of her worried and difficult father for the first time in her life, she slowly discovers joy, family, and the healing power of honey on the children's ward, where the girls on the floor become her confidantes and sisters. But when Mama suffers a lung hemorrhage, their entire future--and recovery--is thrown into question....
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book One: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book One: The Lightning Thief
by Rick Riordan

After learning that he is the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea, twelve-year-old Percy is sent to a summer camp for demigods like himself, and joins his new friends on a quest to prevent a war between the gods.
The Magic Misfits by Neil Patrick Harris
The Magic Misfits
by Neil Patrick Harris

 From award-winning actor Neil Patrick Harris comes the magical first book in a series with plenty of tricks up its sleeve. When street magician Carter runs away, he never expects to find friends and magic in a sleepy New England town. But like any good trick, things change instantly as greedy B.B. Bosso and his crew of crooked carnies arrive to steal anything and everything they can get their sticky fingers on. After a fateful encounter with the local purveyor of illusion, Dante Vernon, Carter teams up with five other like-minded illusionists. Together, using both teamwork and magic, they'll set out to save the town of Mineral Wells from Bosso's villainous clutches. 
The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher by Dana Alison Levy
The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher
by Dana Alison Levy

The start of the school year is not going as the Fletcher brothers hoped. Each boy finds his plans for success veering off in unexpected and sometimes diastrous directions. And at home, their miserable new neighbor complains about everything. As the year continues, the boys learn the hard and often hilarious lesson that sometimes what you least expect is what you come to care about the most. 
Montgomery Bonbon: Murder at the Museum by Alasdair Beckett-King
Montgomery Bonbon: Murder at the Museum
by Alasdair Beckett-King

Bonnie Montgomery is the world's greatest detective. Not that anyone-other than Grampa Banks-has heard of her. But they will have heard of Montgomery Bonbon, the gentleman detective with the bristly mustache, fashionable beret, and accent that's hard to place. Montgomery Bonbon is responsible for solving many high-stakes crimes, including unmasking the Emmental Bandit, restoring the Rusakova diamonds to their rightful owner, and busting an international owl-smuggling ring, resulting in the arrest of over twelve owls. But now Montgomery Bonbon is needed on a case much closer to home, at the Hornville Museum in Bonnie's hometown of Widdlington, where a mysterious death has occurred. Don't look too carefully, however-from certain angles, Montgomery Bonbon looks suspiciously like a ten-year-old girl . . . Brimming with charm and wit, this debut offering from comedian and writer Alasdair Beckett-King and best-selling illustrator Claire Powell is a delightful modern take on the classic whodunit.--
Snow & Rose by Emily Winfield Martin
Snow & Rose
by Emily Winfield Martin

Snow and Rose didn't know they were in a fairy tale. People never do... Once, they lived in a big house with spectacular gardens and an army of servants. Once, they had a father and mother who loved them more than the sun and moon. But that was before their father disappeared into the woods and their mother disappeared into sorrow. This is the story of two sisters and the enchanted woods that have been waiting for them to break a set of terrible spells.
The Witch Boy: A Graphic Novel (the Witch Boy Trilogy #1) by Molly Knox Ostertag
The Witch Boy: A Graphic Novel (the Witch Boy Trilogy #1)
by Molly Knox Ostertag

.In thirteen-year-old Aster's family, all the girls are raised to be witches, while boys grow up to be shapeshifters. Anyone who dares cross those lines is exiled. Unfortunately for Aster, he still hasn't shifted . . . and he's still fascinated by witchery, no matter how forbidden it might be. When a mysterious danger threatens the other boys, Aster knows he can help -- as a witch. It will take the encouragement of a new friend, the non-magical and non-conforming Charlie, to convince Aster to try practicing his skills. And it will require even more courage to save his family . . . and be truly himself.

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