Mark Twain Readers Award 2026–27: a parent guide to all 12 books

Carter Avery’s Tricky Fourth-Grade Year

Fourth grader Carter has no filter, and his teacher is called the meanest. When parents gossip about her, he sets out to prove she’s a good teacher.

Heads-up: Carter’s parents died, and his grandma raises him. The story explains donor insemination in simple terms.

The Sherlock Society

Alex, 12, his sister and two friends start a summer detective agency in Miami. Hunting Al Capone’s lost fortune, they uncover toxic waste in the Everglades.

Heads-up: A boat explodes, but no one is hurt. Dumped toxic waste kills birds, alligators and fish.

The Pumpkin Princess and the Forever Night

On Halloween, an orphan meets the Pumpkin King, and he adopts her. Eve becomes a princess in a valley of vampires, werewolves and witches.

Heads-up: Eve’s parents died before the story starts. The monsters are spooky, but the tone is cozy.

Slugfest

A new rule sends eighth graders without a PE credit to summer school. This mismatched class ends up in a citywide flag football tournament.

Heroes

Frank and Stanley, both 13, are touring a battleship when Japan attacks Pearl Harbor. Then neighbors turn on Stanley, who is Japanese American.

Heads-up: The attack is vivid and nearly nonstop: sailors drown, burn and are shot. Characters use the slur “Japs,” plus one “damn.”

The Night War

Paris, 1942. Miri, 12, escapes a roundup of Jewish families with a neighbor’s toddler. At a convent school, she helps refugees cross to safety.

Heads-up: Nazis round up Jewish families, and a shooting is described. Some families are presumed dead.

Light and Air

New York, 1935. Halle’s mother enters a tuberculosis hospital. Then Halle, 10, becomes a patient too.

Heads-up: Mama coughs up blood, and classmates shun Halle. Reviewers note unflinching scenes of tragedy.

The Night Librarian

Twins take their dad’s precious first-edition Dracula to the New York Public Library. They lose it, and book characters start escaping.

Heads-up: Lots of action but little real violence: Dracula and Captain Hook give chase. Words like “stupid” and “idiot.”

The Misfits: A Royal Conundrum

Olive, 12, is sent to an unusual boarding school in an old prison. She and four other misfits become secret crime fighters.

Heads-up: Olive misses her grandmother, who died. Fights stay mild, and a girl nearly drowns but is saved.

And Then, Boom!

Joe, 11, and his grandmum lose their house and live in their car. Two loyal best friends help him through.

Heads-up: Poverty, homelessness and the death of his grandmother. A poem hints that his mom hits him. Mild words like “crap.”

Popcorn

Seventh grader Andrew has the worst picture day ever, and his anxiety boils over. Doodles and comics keep it funny.

Heads-up: Andrew has anxiety, panic attacks and OCD. His grandma has Alzheimer’s and goes missing, and a bully targets him.

On a Wing and a Tear

Great-Grandfather Bat has a hurt wing and a big rematch in Georgia. So Ray’s grandpa drives him there from Chicago.

Heads-up: Two vloggers try to kidnap Bat along the way. Mel’s school project follows the Trail of Tears.