“Reading takes me places I’ve never been before,” said a third-grade student from Riverview Elementary School.
The Sno-Isle Libraries Third Graders Read Together program makes reading fun, prepares students to thrive in school, and sparks a lifelong love of learning. The program features book nominees from the Washington Library Association’s OTTER Award, known for their motto, “books kids like, not books adults think kids should like.”
“When you read, it feels like you’re inside of the book and you can imagine all of the things,” said a third-grade student from Little Cedars Elementary School.
Since its start in 2013, the Third Graders Read Together program has grown from 29 to 87 participating schools, with an estimated 7,205 students engaged during the 2025-26 school year. The Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation helps support the program each year by providing OTTER books to schools and classrooms throughout Snohomish and Island counties, including 4,122 books this year.
A teacher from Olivia Park Elementary School said, “I am so grateful for this opportunity! Many of our kids do not have books at home and this program allows us to offer more copies of the ever so popular OTTER award nominee books.”
Third grade is considered a pivotal point in a child’s education because it marks a transition from ‘learning to read’ to ‘reading to learn.’ Voting for their favorite book was one of many exciting activities for participating third graders. The winning OTTER book for 2026 is "Welcome to Scare School" by Jarrett Lerner.
In 2026 Sno-Isle Libraries also hosted two online author and illustrator events for an estimated 3,260 students. Liz Garton Scanlon, author of the Bibsy Cross series, was one of the featured speakers. The other was Jarrett Lerner, author and illustrator of the Scare School Diaries series.
“I had so many students go out and buy journals so they could write their own graphic novels!” said a teacher from Fairmount Elementary.
Sno-Isle Libraries celebrates the accomplishments of this year's third graders and looks forward to sparking that same lifelong love of reading in next year’s third graders. Children can continue to build upon their momentum with the Summer Reading program, which encourages them to keep reading to maintain reading skills over the summer.
Watch highlights from the 2026 Third Graders Read Together program: