2025 Red Maple Award™ NomineesLike this list

10 items

• 40 Days in Hicksville

  Kilbourne, Christina

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  Kate doesn’t want to spend one minute in the “Hicksville” her mother moved them to, much less the entire year she’s stuck here in the decaying house they inherited from her grandparents. She misses her boyfriend and sneaking out at night…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Book of Screams

  Szpirglas, Jeff

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  Tanya is a huge fan of horror author Joel Southland… AND he’s coming to visit her school! Even though she is his biggest fan, she barely gets a chance to say hello. But he does give her a signed bookmark: For Tanya. Stay Scared! Reading…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Call Me Al

  Shah, Wali

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  Ali is an eighth-grade kid with a lot going on. Between the pressure from his immigrant parents to ace every class, his crush on Melissa, who lives in the rich area of town while he and his family live in a shabby apartment complex, and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Cricket War

  Pham, Tho

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  It’s 1980, and 11-year-old Tho Pham lives with his family in South Vietnam. He spends his afternoons playing soccer and cricket fighting with his friends, but life is slowly changing under the Communists. His parents are worried, and Tho…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Escape to Ponti

  Slattery, Brian

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  Fourteen-year-old Bec learned a lesson that day. Be careful whom you rob. A slave on the run from his vicious master, Bec is desperate for money. But when he mugs Tien Nu, he gets more than he bargained for. Tien Nu isn’t just a superb…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Hopeless in Hope

  John-Kehewin, Wanda

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  We live in a hopeless old house on an almost-deserted dead-end street in a middle-of-nowhere town named Hope. This is the oldest part of Hope; eventually it will all be torn down and rebuilt into perfect homes for perfect people. Until…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Outsmarters

  Ellis, Deborah, 1960-,

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  Kate opens a Philosophy Booth (“Get answers to life’s big and little questions — $2 a question”) and ends up asking some tough questions of her own. Suspended from school and prone to rages, twelve-year-old Kate finds her own way to get…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Tig

  Smith, Heather, 1968-,

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  A new heartwarming middle-grade story from the critically acclaimed author Heather Smith featuring Tig, a young girl struggling to find peace within herself and in her new family. For fans of Rebecca Stead, Wendy Mass and Lynda Mullaly…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Today I Am

  10 Stories of Belonging

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  In this timely, thought-provoking, funny and heartbreaking collection, ten acclaimed BIPOC authors explore the theme and concept of home. From awkward family dinners to moving to a new town, each of these stories provides a unique…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Why We Play With Fire

  Vriesen, Giselle

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  In a thrilling journey of self-discovery and magical intrigue, Thea finds herself transported to a house for the children of gods, where she must retrieve lost keys while navigating secrets, rival schools, and her own doubts, all before…Read moreRead more of this annotation