50 Books for 50 States

Read your way across the United States with a book for every state in the union.

Alabama

Inside Out & Back Again BY THANHHA LAI

Alabama comes to life through the eyes of Hà, a Vietnamese immigrant whose family leaves everything familiar in Saigon to make a new life away from the Vietnam War. And it’s not easy — Alabama may not have soldiers on the street corners, but it has people who make fun of Hà’s accent and appearance, adults who don’t seem to understand that you can miss your home even if it isn’t a safe place, and food and culture that feel totally unfamiliar. I love the way the free verse structure of this book echoes the way that learning a new language can feel — metaphors and allusions make up the gap between the words we know and the words we're still learning.

Alaska

Sweet Home Alaska BY CAROLE ESTBY DAGG

It’s 1934, and in an effort to develop Alaska and improve lives during the Great Depression, President Roosevelt has offered farmer families the opportunity to start a new life in an Alaskan colony. Thirteen-year-old Terpsichore has grown up reading the Little House series and convinces her struggling family to seize the opportunity to start a new life where all her book-learned pioneer knowledge will prove to be a handy resource.

Arizona

Saving Lucas Biggs BY MARISA DE LOS SANTOS AND DAVID TEAGUE

When her father is sentenced to death (on the first page of the book!), 13-year-old Margaret uses her family’s ability to travel back in time through the history of her Arizona mining town to understand why Judge Lucas Biggs has targeted her father — and how she can change the past in order to return to a different future.

Arkansas

Where the Red Fern Grows BY WILSON RAWLS

Go into this story of Billy’s backwoods childhood and the two dogs who are his best friends knowing it’s a tear-jerker. Billy’s farm is in the Ozarks, which sprawl from Arkansas to Oklahoma and which remain a largely rural area even in the 21st century.

California

One Crazy Summer BY RITA WILLIAMS-GARCIA

It’s the summer of 1968, and three sisters from Alabama are spending it in Oakland, California with their artist mother. Their mother is more interested in her own life than in her kids and sends them off to a summer camp run by the Black Panthers. Williams-Garcia is at her best writing the relationship between the book’s three sisters, but she also conjures a vivid image of what life was like for northern California’s Black community during the 1970s.

Colorado

Father and I Were Ranchers BY RALPH MOODY

Flashback to turn-of-the-20th-century Colorado through the eyes of 8-year-old Ralph, who moves from New Hampshire with his family to start a “dirt ranch” in the Colorado foothills. Ralph learns how to be a rancher at his father’s side, and when the time comes, he’s ready to take over the work of ranching himself.

Connecticut

Night Of The Moonjellies BY MARK SHASHA

In this quiet picture book, 7-year-old Mark spends the day helping at his family’s hot dog stand at the Connecticut, and when night comes, he finds the perfect place to release the mysterious jelly creature he found on the way there.

Delaware

The Book of Unknown Americans BY CRISTINA HENRIQUEZ

Maribel’s family has a new home in a Delaware apartment block. They’ve immigrated from Mexico and everything they know, hoping that the United States will hold the cure for Maribel’s traumatic brain injury. Mayor Toro, the son of Panamanian immigrants living in the same complex, develops a deep relationship with Maribel, but the suspicion and uncertainty of immigrant life makes things complicated.

Florida

Chomp BY CARL HIAASEN

The Everglades are the latest destination for "Expedition Survival!," and Wahoo and his animal trainer dad have the increasingly difficult job of keeping the show’s clueless-about-animals star from getting mauled, maimed, or otherwise destroyed by the Florida swamp’s wildlife.

Georgia

Truth with a Capital T BY BETHANY HEGEDUS

Maebelle is crushed when she’s bumped out of her school’s gifted-and-talented program, and she’s counting on a summer at her grandparents’ antebellum Georgia mansion to cheer her up. Instead, she finds a talented cousin and a locked room mystery that only she can solve.

Hawaii

Night of the Howling Dogs BY GRAHAM SALISBURY

A Boy Scout camping trip on the Big Island goes awry when an earthquake strikes, causing a tsunami. Dylan and Louie team up in this adventure, which captures the beauty and danger of the Hawaiian wilderness and some of the nuances of Hawaiian culture and tradition. Amazingly, it's based on a true story that happened to a group of young campers in 1975.

Idaho

Walk Two Moons BY SHANNON CREECH

On a road trip with her grand- parents from Ohio to Idaho, 13-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle spins a story for her grandparents about the mysterious disappearance of her new friend’s mother. Sal is on her way to visit her own mother’s final resting place in Lewiston, Idaho, and her story spinning starts to intersect more and more with her own life.

Illinois

The Ambrose Deception BY EMILY ECTON

Chicago becomes a giant game board in this book about three middle schoolers competing for a mysterious scholarship that sends them around the city following cryptic clues to city landmarks. Of course, the shadowy figures behind the competition may be up to more than an innocent scavenger hunt.

Indiana

The Fault in Our Stars BY JOHN GREEN

When they aren’t on a quest to Amsterdam, Hazel and Gus call Indianapolis home: The action in these teen love-story-tearjerker takes place at 100 Acres at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Castleton Square Mall, Holiday Park... and Crown Hill Cemetery.

Iowa

Tomás and the Library Lady BY PAT MORA

In this warm picture book, a transplanted-from-Texas boy who has come with his family to do seasonal work finds his Iowa home at the library, where a kind librarian gives him books — but also compassion, support, and the occasional glass of cold water. (Tomás is based on the real-life Tomás Rivera, who would grow up to become the chancellor of the University of California at Riverside.)

Kansas

May B. BY CAROLINE STARR ROSE

In this novel-in-verse, 12-year- old May B.’s parents hire her out to a homesteading couple on the Kansas prairie. She’s already upset about missing months of school, where she struggles but dreams of becoming a teacher, and lonely without her family, when she realizes that she’s been abandoned, 15 miles from home with winter bearing down on her. As May’s story becomes a tale of survival and inner strength, this book takes its place with other 19th century pioneer stories like Little House on the Prairie and Hattie Big Sky, as a novel that captures the beauty and danger of the wild in the west.

Kentucky

Chasing Redbird BY SHARON CREECH

I usually try not to duplicate authors on my lists, but I’m making an exception for Sharon Creech and this heart- wrenching story about a girl coming to terms with the loss of two people she loved. The Kentucky woods — and an ancient trail she discovers in them — play an important role in Zinny’s story.

Louisiana

A Place Where Hurricanes Happen BY RENÉE WATSON

The mixed media illustrations and free-verse storytelling make this story of Hurricane Katrina compelling for young readers. Adrienne, Keesha, Michael, and Tommy have lived on the same street in New Orleans for their whole lives, but everything changes after the hurricane strikes. The kids’ perspective brings a fresh hopefulness to this true story.

Maine

Welcome Home or Someplace Like It BY CHARLOTTE AGELL

Aggie and Thorne are used to getting dropped off in random places by their writer-mother, so it’s no surprise when she leaves them with their estranged grandfather in the quirky hamlet of Ludwig, Maine. Aggie is surprised when this strange and temporary place starts to feel like home. (Bonus points to this book for highlighting that classic soda of Maine life: Moxie!)

Maryland

Dicey's Song BY CYNTHIA VOIGT

In this sequel to Homecoming, Dicey and her siblings find a home with their grandmother on a rundown farm on Chesapeake Bay. Dicey, who is used to carrying the responsibilities her mentally ill mother can’t handle, doesn’t know what to do with herself now that she is free to be a regular teenager.

Massachusetts

Make Way for Ducklings BY ROBERT MCCLOSKEY

Boston landmarks are the backdrop for this classic picture book about a family of ducks on their way to the Public Gardens.

Michigan

Bud, Not Buddy BY CHRISTOPHER PAUL CURTIS

Ten-year-old Bud is in Flint, Michigan on the trail of his long-lost father, who he’s convinced plays in a band whose posters he’s seen in his mom’s things. Depression-era Michigan is a tough place for a boy on the run, but Bud’s a tough boy, and he’s determined to change his life for the better.

Minnesota

Emily of Deep Valley BY MAUD HART LOVELACE

Unlike Lovelace’s other heroines, Emily is a loner without a big, busy family. Instead, she lives with her beloved grand- father, taking care of him and trying to model her life after her hero Jane Addams. In that spirit, she finds a surprising sense of connection and be- longing when she starts working with the growing population of Syrian immigrants in her neighborhood.

Mississippi

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry BY MILDRED D. TAYLOR

This book perfectly captures the racial tensions in 1930s Mississippi, which means it’s not always an easy book to read. Racism stinks. But the Logans are a caring, intelligent, inspiring family to spend some time with, and talking about racism with our kids is more important now than ever.

Missouri

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer BY MARK TWAIN

No one captures the small town, old-fashioned charm of childhood in rural Missouri the way Mark Twain does. Nobody likes Tom Sawyer, who’s all privilege and swagger, but it’s impossible not to enjoy his antics. Importantly, this book also captures some of the racism against Native Americans that permeated U.S. history, making it a great conversation starter for your family.

Montana

The Miseducation of Cameron Post BY EMILY DANFORTH

After her parents die in a car accident, still-in-the-closet Cam moves to Montana to live with her very old-fashioned grandmother and aunt. She’s determined to just blend in, but then she meets the cowgirl of her dreams, and she realizes that she doesn’t want to spend the rest of her life hiding who she really is.

Nebraska

Savvy BY INGRID LAW

Everyone in the Beaumont family has a superpower — Grandpa can move mountains. Fish can control the weather. And almost-13-year- old Mibs is about to discover her own superpower when word comes that her beloved Poppa has been in an accident. Mibs travels through the Nebraska countryside to reach her father, convinced that her still-to-be-revealed power can save him.

Nevada

Riding Freedom BY PAM MUÑOZ RYAN

Charlotte is supposed to be a proper Victorian-era young lady, but she’d rather just hang out with horses. After being raised in a boys’ orphanage, the idea of settling into the role of a young lady is enough to drive her to an inspired solution: She’ll disguise herself as a boy and run away to Nevada to become a horse rancher.

New Hampshire

The Enormous Egg BY OLIVER BUTTERWORTH

In Freedom, New Hampshire, a very unusual egg hatches into a baby dinosaur — and suddenly, the cozy little 1950s town is front-page news every- where. The little town of freedom is a picture-perfect flashback to the kind of small New England town that we still look back at nostalgically (even as we realize that it might not have actually existed for most people).

New Jersey

Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal BY G. WILLOW WILSON

Kamala’s parents are super-strict Muslim immigrants, but Kamala’s just your average Jersey City girl — until she walks into a strange mist and emerges with shape-shifting super powers.

New Mexico

Kepler's Dream BY JULIET BELL

While her mother is in the hospital receiving an experimental cancer treatment, Ella has to go stay with her buttoned-up, book-obsessed grandmother in Albuquerque. Ella’s not sure how she’ll survive the heat, the boredom, or the endless list of rules — much less worrying about what’s happening with her mom. Then a book disappears from her grandmother’s be- loved library, and Ella teams up with a new friend to solve the mystery and get her grandmother's book back.

New York

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street BY KARINA YAN GLASER

Five kids, two parents, and a host of pets call the first two floors of a Harlem brownstone home — and they can’t imagine living anywhere else. So when their landlord declines to renew their lease, Jessie, Isa, Oliver, Hyacinth, and Laney are determined to convince him that he’s making a big mistake. I love the way this book brings the small-town-in- a-big-city feel of Harlem to life.

North Carolina

Serafina and the Black Cloak BY ROBERT BEATTY

Serafina lives (secretly) in the basement of the Biltmore Estate with her grandfather, who is Vanderbilt family’s maintenance man. When children begin disappearing from the house, Serafina and her friend young Braeden Vanderbilt risk the perils of the surrounding forest to investigate — but the forest is full of secrets.

North Dakota

Apple In the Middle BY DAWN QUIGLEY

Apple is nonplussed to spend a summer on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation with her late mother’s family, but her dad doesn’t give her much of a choice. As Apple learns about her Native heritage — and comes to appreciate its emphasis on family, faith, nature, and humor — she also learns more about the mother she never knew and about herself.

Ohio

Unwind BY NEAL SHUSTERMAN

Ohio is the backdrop for this speculative fiction novel in which abortion is illegal but parents can “unwind” their teens’ lives between age 13 and 18 as long as their organs are donated to another person. Three kids scheduled to be unwound go on the lam across Ohio, determined to stay undercover until they turn 18 and can no longer be terminated.

Oklahoma

The Outsiders BY S.E. HINTON

The Greasers and the Socs face off in 1960s in Tulsa in this classic coming-of-age story about class, friendship, and hope. Teenage Ponyboy is a working class kid who gets caught up in the escalating violence between the city’s two socioeconomic factions. This was one of the first books to feature a teen protagonist with an authentic voice, and it’s been banned as often as it’s been praised since it was published.

Oregon

Roller Girl BY VICTORIA JAMIESON

Astrid’s roller derby team practices in Portland’s Oaks Park, and she’s determined to make her mark on the team, even though she’s not the best skater and even though her best friend doesn’t seem interested in being best friends anymore. This graphic novel charts a tough season in the life of a middle schooler, but Astrid’s persistence — and a little support from the people who love her — carries the day.

Pennsylvania

Maniac Magee BY JERRY SPINELLI

Jeffrey Magee achieves folk hero status in Two Mills, Pennsylvania, thanks to his amazing athletic abilities, but that doesn’t protect him from racism or the problems of growing up in poverty. This is an odd little book that bounces between slapstick and heartstring-tugging, but somehow, it all works.

Rhode Island

The Amazing Adventures of John Smith, Jr., a.k.a. Houdini BY PETER JOHNSON

John’s friends call him Houdini because he’s obsessed with magic, but he finds a new ob- session when an author visits his school in the rundown part of Providence. Houdini finds that his adventures with his friends make good literary fodder, but it’s harder to write about his dad’s job loss or his brother’s military PTSD.

South Carolina

Brown Girl Dreaming BY JACQUELINE WOODSON

The contrast between life as a young Black girl in 1960s in South Carolina and Brooklyn, New York, is the heart of this lyrical memoir in verse, based on Woodson’s own life. It’s simple enough to read with an elementary student, but it’s rich enough to be a rewarding read with a high schooler, too.

South Dakota

The Trickster and the Troll BY VIRGINIA DRIVING HAWK SNEVE

The cultural convergence is part of what makes North Dakota so interesting, and this picture book — featuring a Lakota trickster and a Norwegian troll — captures both. While trying to track down his recently immigrated family from Norway, a troll meets Iktomi, whose people have also gone missing.

Tennessee

A Snicker of Magic BY NATALIE LLOYD

There’s been no magic in Midnight Gulch, Tennessee, since the Brothers Threadbare left the town drained of magic and under a curse. Newcomer Felicity doesn't really care, though, since she’s never lived anywhere long enough to feel at home. But when she discovers an ability that suggests Midnight Gulch could be her real home, she’s determined to get to the roots of the town’s magical problem.

Texas

Love, Sugar, Magic: A Dash of Trouble BY ANNA MERIANO

Leo’s always getting told she’s too young to help with her family’s Rose Hill, Texas, bakery, but she’s thrilled when she accidentally discovers that her mom, aunt, and big sisters are all pastry brujas with the power to mix magic into everything they bake. Leo thinks that seems pretty cool — so cool that when her best friend comes to her with a problem, Leo decides to whip up a magical solution for her.

Utah

The Great Brain BY JOHN D. FITZGERALD

Tom — a.k.a. the Great Brain — and his brothers get up to all kinds of mischief in 1896, shortly after Utah officially joined the United States. The Great Brain isn’t a nice kid, exactly, but he’s a very entertain- ing one — and his stories paint a vivid picture of turn-of-the- 20th-century Utah.

Vermont

Witness BY KAREN HESSE

In this powerful novel-in-verse, 11 different characters tell the story of the year the Klu Klux Klan arrives in a small Vermont town, changing its in- habitants’ lives forever. Though the (true) story is set in 1924, readers will identify with the choice between fear and acceptance that permeated this book.

Virginia

Bridge to Terabithia BY KATHERINE PATERSON

Jess doesn’t love much about his life in rural Virginia until Leslie moves in next door and teaches him to see the world in new ways. This tearjerker classic about a boy and girl who imagine a magical world in the Virginia wilderness is a moving meditation on friendship, belonging, and identity.

Washington

Jackie's Wild Seattle BY WILL HOBBS

When their parents head overseas for the summer to work with Doctors Without Borders, Cody and Shannon stay in Seattle with their uncle, who drives the ambulance for a local wildlife rescue center. When their uncle is injured by a rescued hawk, the kids take over his job, and Seattle be- comes a backdrop for their animal adventures.

West Virginia

Shiloh BY PHYLLIS REYNOLDS NAYLOR

When Shiloh runs away from his abusive owner, Marty finds him and immediately knows the beagle is meant to be his dog. Marty's determined to keep Shiloh — and keep him safe — but in his rural West Virginia town, stealing someone else’s dog is something you shouldn’t do. Marty finds himself asking hard questions about what the right thing to do is when it feels like the rules should be broken.

Wisconsin

The Westing Game BY ELLEN RASKIN

A shiny new apartment building on the Wisconsin side of Lake Michigan is the setting for this classic mystery, in which an unconnected group of residents find they have a mystery in common. The millionaire Sam Westing has been murdered in his nearby mansion, and the resident who solves the mystery will inherit the Westing fortune.

Wyoming

My Friend Flicka BY MARY O’HARA

Ten-year-old Ken meets the untrained horse Flicka on his family’s horse ranch in Wyoming. As Ken trains Flicka, he gains confidence and comes to understand himself and his family better. The wildness and wide open spaces of Wyoming are almost a secondary character in the story.

This reading list was originally published in the fall 2019 issue of HSL.

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