Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award

Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award references 131 books assigned across applicable K-12 grade levels in US schools.

Try it on audio — free. Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

Listen free on Audiblestarts instantly

New members only · many assigned titles are included with the membership. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you.

The Young Reader's Choice Award (YRCA) is the oldest children's-choice book award in the United States, given by the Pacific Northwest Library Association (PNLA) since 1940. It spans five member states — Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska (plus British Columbia and Alberta in Canada). Each year a committee selects nominees in Junior, Intermediate, and Senior divisions; students across the region read from the list and vote for their favorite. Its decades-long winner list is read in classrooms and libraries statewide and features widely loved reading such as Old Yeller, Rascal, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Holes, Because of Winn-Dixie, Frindle, Wonder, and Refugee.

Primary source: www.pnla.org

Read in these states

Narrow by grade

131 books referenced

Show all 131 titles

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Reading the whole Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award reading list? Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

Listen free on Audiblestarts instantly

New members only · many assigned titles are included with the membership. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you.

Know a parent or teacher who needs this? Share it:FacebookPinterest

About this curriculum framework

This curriculum is one of dozens of named English Language Arts frameworks tracked across US public-school districts. Frameworks differ in scope (district-level vs state-level vs national), in mandate (required vs recommended vs elective), and in how prescriptive their reading lists are (single fixed text list vs broad reading-pool selection).

The book list below represents titles cited as required, recommended, or commonly assigned within this framework, sourced from the framework's primary documentation (or, where the framework is administered at district level, from public district curriculum pages). Each book's detail page links the specific source document for that citation.

How to use this Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award reading list

The book list above represents titles ReadingList has confirmed as referenced by Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award— either through the framework’s own published documentation, through audited classroom syllabi citing the framework, or through US state and district curriculum guides that map their reading expectations to it. Each book’s detail page links the specific primary source so parents, teachers, and students can verify the citation and locate the official document.

Reading lists evolve. Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award citations on ReadingList are reviewed on a rolling basis as primary sources publish updates. If you teach or learn under this framework and a title on this page is no longer used (or you know of one that should appear), the ReadingList methodology page explains how to submit a correction with a citation.

Related on ReadingList

▸Embed this list on your site

Copy + paste this snippet into any school newsletter, classroom blog, library site, or homeschool resource page. The embed shows the top 12 titles and links back to the full list. Updates automatically when ReadingList’s data changes.

<iframe src="https://readinglist.school/embed/curriculum/pacific-nw-young-readers-choice-award" width="100%" height="540" style="border:1px solid rgba(0,0,0,0.1);border-radius:6px;max-width:640px" loading="lazy" title="Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award reading list — ReadingList.school"></iframe>

Preview: /embed/curriculum/pacific-nw-young-readers-choice-award · License: CC BY 4.0 (please credit “ReadingList.school”).

Frequently asked questions

What books does Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award include?

131 books are referenced by Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award across applicable K-12 grade levels. Each book page cites the primary source assignment (the official curriculum standard, exemplar list, or syllabus where the title appears).

What grades does Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award cover?

Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award is a reading-program curriculum spanning applicable K-12 grade levels via the standards framework. Browse by grade using the grade-filter links on this page or visit /grade for the full grade index across all curricula.

Where does Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award data come from?

Primary source: www.pnla.org/yrca. Cross-referenced with Common Core exemplars at achievethecore.org. Every book page on ReadingList.school cites the standards origin for that assignment.

Is Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award required reading?

Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award provides recommended exemplars + assignments — adoption varies by district and teacher. Always check with your school's English department for the specific required vs recommended list at your grade level.

Was this page helpful?

Browse by another angle

Citations to Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award are based on the publicly available course framework, reading list, or prescribed text list. Each book page links to the specific source document. Last reviewed: 2026-09-11.