by Beth Staats
Quick Summary
The 2026 Minnesota Youth Reading Award nominees—both Maud Hart Lovelace and Star of the North titles—are now available in Ebooks Minnesota, giving students across the state free digital access to this year’s most celebrated youth reads.
Every year, Minnesota Youth Reading Awards (administered by MYRA — Minnesota Youth Reading Awards, Inc.) invites students across the state to read from curated nominee lists and cast votes for their favorites. For 2026, most of the Maud Hart Lovelace (MHL) and Star of the North (SOTN) nominees are now available digitally via Ebooks Minnesota, the statewide ebook program administered by Minitex. This is a great opportunity for school and public libraries across Minnesota to promote access, equity, and enthusiasm around the MYRA reading programs.
The 2026 Nominees
Maud Hart Lovelace (MHL) Division I & II — Grades ~3–8
The 2026 MHL nominees include titles such as Anybody here seen Frenchie? by Leslie Connor, Honestly Elliot by Elliott Gillian McDunn, Just keep walking by Erin Soderberg Downing, Wayward creatures by Dayna Lorentz, The lost library by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass, The unforgettable Logan Foster by Shawn Peters, Legends of Lotus Island: The guardian test by Christina Soontornvat, Just right Jillian by Jillian Nicole D. Collier, Hoops by Matt Tavares, A royal conundrum: The misfits by Lisa Yee, The fort by Gordon Korman, And then, boom! by Lisa Fipps, Mexikid, by Pedro Martin, What happened to Rachel Riley? by Claire Swinarski, Not nothing by Gayle Forman, Louder than hunger by Kate DiCamillo and John Schu, Meet me halfway by Anika Fajardo, and The labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt.
Star of the North (SOTN) — Picture Book / Early Readers
The 2026 SOTN list features titles such as The book that almost rhymed by Omar Abed & Hatem Aly, Ursula upside down by Corey Tabor, The rock in my throat by Kao Kalia Yang & Jiemei Lin, The last stand by Antwan Eady & Jarrett & Jerome Pumphrey, Touch the sky by Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic and Chris Park, and Millie Fleur’s poison garden by Christy Mandin.
The following titles are not available for inclusion in Ebooks Minnesota:
Looking for happy by Ty Chapman & Keenon Ferrell, Rock your mocs by Laurel Goodluck & Madelyn Goodnight, Miguel must fight! by Jamie Ofelia & Sara Palacios, and Star party by Polly Carlson-Voiles & Consie Powell.
As with past years, these selections offer a range of voices, genres, topics, and representation — providing students with a robust menu of reading choices.
