Thanks to everyone who entered the Scout Life 2025 “Say Yes to Reading!” contest. We received so many awesome entries, it was tough to pick the winners. Here are the winners from each age group:
8-YEARS OLD AND UNDER CATEGORY
Trevor S., (8), Clermont, Florida
Book: Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret Pitch by Donald J. Sobol
Encyclopedia Brown is a very smart boy who lives in Idaville. He is so smart because he reads so many books and uses his brain to solve problems. He helps his father, the police chief, solve cases, but they keep it a secret that Encyclopedia Brown is helping solve them all.
Encyclopedia’s real name is Leroy, but everybody calls him Encyclopedia. He also helps his friends solve problems in the office in his garage. His friend Speedy Flanagan came to him because a dishonest boy named Bugs Meany had tricked everyone into believing that he had sold a secret trick pitch to the New York Yankees for $100 dollars. The name of the secret pitch is the cross-eyed special.
Encyclopedia and Speedy went to see Bugs and his gang about the letter from the New York Yankees pitcher thanking Bugs for the secret pitch. Encyclopedia discovered that the letter and the check for $100 were fake. They were both dated June 31st, but there is no such date.
Encyclopedia Brown caught Bugs lying and solved the case.
One evening, he was riding with his father on patrol when a call came that the bank had been robbed. They drove, hoping to find the getaway car. They stopped to ask a man if he had seen the car. The man said he had been standing there for an hour and saw the car go by. The man got into the police car to help find the robbers and gave Encyclopedia a hard-to-break piece of chocolate. Encyclopedia knew he was one of the robbers because it was hot outside and the chocolate should be melted. His father arrested the robber.
Encyclopedia Brown is like a Scout because he tells the truth, is very honest and is smart. I enjoyed reading this book because I learned good things from what Encyclopedia Brown did.
SECOND PLACE: Chloe R., 8, Cypress, Texas (The Wild Robot by Peter Brown)
THIRD PLACE: Charles H., 8, Pinehurst, North Carolina (I Funny by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein)
9- AND 10-YEARS OLD CATEGORY
Rosalina R., (10), Rockford, Michigan
The book Baby Island was published in 1937 by Carol Ryrie Brink. Two girls, Mary and Jean, are on a ship bound for Australia, but it is sinking. They take four babies into a lifeboat with them. The babies were Ann Elizabeth, the twins Elisha and Elijah, and the twins’ baby brother, Jonah.
Later, they end up on a desert island alone. The lifeboat only had so many cans of milk. They build a shelter and find coconuts, fish and fruit to eat. They seem to be settling in fine until they find huge footprints in the sand. Are they really alone? Later, they find out the footprints came from a man named Mr. Peterkin. At first, they were afraid of him and his mysterious pirate chest. Mary cleans his house and cooks for him, and in return, he gives them goat milk for the babies.
Mr. Peterkin gets a bit friendlier when the one-year-old Ann Elizabeth calls his beard pretty. Here is evidence from the text: “Pitty,” says Ann Elizabeth, his fierce black whiskers. “Pitty-pitty.”
He helps them by cutting a path through the forest so they can reach his old shack more quickly. They had Christmas at Mr. Peterkin’s house. He fills the socks they used as stockings with gold from his sea chest. The girls were so delighted to finally see what was in it.
One day, a boat arrived at the island, and a few men got out. Among the men was Mary and Jean’s father! The babies reunited with their parents, and Mary and Jean went to their father’s farm in Australia.
This book inspires me because the girls, Mary and Jean, were so brave, even though it was terrifying. It reminds me of Scouts because they were brave and loyal and never gave up. They were friendly to Mr. Peterkin, even though he was kind of difficult at first. It is amazing that they were able to help others and keep themselves and the babies alive. They used their resources wisely and even built fires. Overall, I think this is a really cool and inspiring book for young readers.
SECOND PLACE: Liam V., 10, Whiting, Indiana (Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis)
THIRD PLACE: Aidan M., 9, Greeley, Colorado (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum)
11- TO 17-YEARS OLD CATEGORY
Shivanshi M., (11), Brunswick, New Jersey
From the beginning, this book had me hooked! It Wasn’t Me by Dana Alison Levy is so interesting. The plot is suspenseful and fun at the same time. It’s about a boy named Theo, who’s into photography. He enters his photo into the gallery, but the next day, his photos are vandalized, ruined — whatever you want to call it.
We know from the start that Theo wants to find out who did it, but really, he doesn’t. He just wants to move on — you know, as they say, “What’s done is done.” The principal is ready to suspend the suspects, five people who were seen in the gallery after the incident, but that’s not what happened. Another teacher, Ms. Lewiston, didn’t want them to get suspended. Instead, she had a unique idea to do a justice circle. The idea was that the suspects and the victim (Theo) would spend vacation week together at school, getting to know each other better and, hopefully, getting answers.
Everyone obviously didn’t want to come, but Theo said yes because his favorite teacher is Ms. Lewiston, and he wants to support her. But is spending vacation week with who Theo liked to call “The Nerd, the Princess, the Jock, the Weirdo and the Screw-Up” a good idea?
This book taught me a lot, and if you read it (which you should), you will probably learn them too. I’ve identified two similar themes that are clearly shown in the book.
The first theme I observed is to never judge a book by its cover. A good example in the book is when Theo thought Erik (the Jock) did it because his friends were the kind of people who would do those things, but Theo didn’t have any evidence against him. He just thought so because of what he liked: sports. And who his friends were: bullies.
The second theme I thought of, which they discuss in the book, is that everyone is fighting unseen battles. This applies to all the suspects. Theo thought that he was the only victim, but he had no idea what the others were going through. For example, Molly (the Princess) seemed perfect, but what others didn’t know was that her brother had died last summer, and her parents were too sad to even take care of her. She has to do everything herself. That’s a lot worse than what Theo is going through. These examples prove the two themes.
I also relate to this book because sometimes, when my brother and I fight, someone comes to separate us, and then they ask what happened, and we both have different perspectives. This mirrors the fact that every victim in the book had a different perspective. All these reasons are why I think this book is the best book I have read this summer. I hope you try out this book too.
SECOND PLACE: Annabel L., 11, Elk Grove, California (Brother’s Keeper by Julie Lee)
THIRD PLACE: Malakai M., 13, Johnston, Rhode Island (The Giver by Lois Lowry)
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