[Ohiodig] Twenty Books Selected for the 2026 Choose to Read Ohio Booklist

[marshams at library.ohio.gov]

The State Library of Ohio and the Ohioana Library Association, with the Ohio Center for the Book and the Choose to Read Ohio Advisory [cid:image001.jpg at 01DC62CA.6B501B00] <https://library.ohio.gov/libraries/library-programs-and-development/ctro> Council, are pleased to announce the 2026 Choose to Read Ohio (CTRO) booklist.

CTRO spotlights books by exciting, talented creators who write across genres, explore a wide array of topics, and appeal to all age groups.

Each CTRO booklist features 20 representative titles for all ages by creators born in, residing in, or associated with Ohio. Previous CTRO booklists have spotlighted titles by Ohio authors and illustrators including Toni Morrison, Susan Orlean, Wil Haygood, Hanif Abdurraqib, Margaret Peterson Haddix, Jasmine Warga, Drew Daywalt, Louise Borden, Denise Fleming, Angela Johnson, Paula McLain, J. Patrick Lewis, Oge Mora, Daniel Kirk, Dav Pilkey, Katrina Kittle, and many others.

The 2026 CTRO booklist was developed by an advisory council<https://library.ohio.gov/about/committees-and-councils/committees-councils> representing schools, libraries, and literary organizations, with input from 55 Ohio teachers, librarians, and other advocates for readers and reading who served as CTRO electors. 

2026 Choose to Read Ohio Booklist

Books for Adults
[cid:image002.jpg at 01DC62CA.6B501B00]<https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/v1738163436/library.ohio.gov/logos-graphics/CTRO-2025-Poster-11x14.jpg>Ian Adams* and Randall Lee Scheiber*, This Place of Silence: Ohio's Cemeteries and Burial Grounds, Text by Robin L. Smith*
Taylor Byas, I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times: Poems
Keith O’Brien, Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball
Nnedi Okorafor, She Who Knows
Ghassan Zeineddine, Dearborn: Stories
 
Books for Teens
Kara H.L. Chen, Asking for a Friend
Mindy McGinnis, Under This Red Rock
G. Neri, Safe Passage, illustrated by David Brame*
Adam Rex, A Little Like Waking
Alison Stine, Dust
 
Books for Middle Grades/Tweens
Jenn Bishop, Free Throws, Friendship, and Other Things We Fouled Up
Kate Messner, The Next Scientist: The Unexpected Beginnings and Unwritten Future of the World’s Great Scientists, illustrated by Julia Kuo*
Tricia Springstubb, How to Tell a True Story
Phil Stamper, Eli Over Easy
Andrea Wang, Summer at Squee
 
Books for Young Children
Jashar Awan, Every Monday Mabel
Kellie DuBay Gillis*, If You Find a Fawn: A What-to-Do for Wild Wanderers, illustrated by Wazza Pink
Jacob Grant, Umami
Quartez Harris*, Go Tell It: How James Baldwin Became a Writer, illustrated by Gordon C. James
Barb Rosenstock, The Great Lakes: Our Freshwater Treasure, illustrated by Jamey Christoph*

*Asterisk denotes Ohio creator of co-created book.

Download the new 2026 CTRO booklist<https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/library.ohio.gov/ctro-files/2026/CTRO_2026_Booklist_Flyer.pdf> formatted for printing and sharing.

Teachers, librarians, and other experts graciously offered their time, support, and expertise as 2026 CTRO booklist electors. CTRO electors evaluate the nominated books for one or more age groups and vote for those they consider best suited to CTRO. The CTRO Advisory Council and the CTRO partner organizations are indebted to these individuals for their generous participation. See the State Library website for a complete list of 2026 electors<https://library.ohio.gov/about/committees-and-councils/committees-councils>.

CTRO is a project of the State Library of Ohio and the Ohioana Library Association, in collaboration with the Ohio Center for the Book and Ohio’s libraries. Learn more: https://library.ohio.gov/ctro.

Read and share this announcement on the State Library of Ohio website<https://library.ohio.gov/home/news-and-events/all-news/20-books-selected-2026-ctro>.

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Marsha McDevitt-Stredney
Director, Marketing & Communications
State Library of Ohio
274 E. 1st Avenue
Columbus, OH 43201
Tel: 614.644.6875
marshams at library.ohio.gov<mailto:marshams at library.ohio.gov>
library.ohio.gov<https://library.ohio.gov/>
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