Sora Sweet Reads 2026

Summer reading season is quickly approaching, and the decisions made now can have a lasting impact on student engagement, confidence, and learning.

We know that consistent access to reading during the summer months is one of the most effective ways to support literacy growth , prevent learning loss, and keep students connected to stories they care about. When students can easily find books they’re excited to read—without waitlists or access barriers—they’re far more likely to read often and read joyfully.  

This summer, Sora Sweet Reads is one way schools can support reading success by offering always available ebooks and select audiobooks students can access May 18 through August 24 - no holds, no barriers. With unlimited, simultaneous access, Sweet Reads helps ensure that every student can open a book whenever curiosity strikes.  

New for this Year: Curated Content Groupings

• This year’s Sweet Reads collection is organized into seven themed content groupings—designed to reflect a wide range of interests, learning goals, and reading preferences across grades K–12. Each grouping can also be expanded with additional titles available for purchase, allowing you to further tailor your collection to your students’ needs.  

• The seven themed content groupings for this year are:
  • America 250
  • Unearth a Story
  • Comics & Graphic Novels
  • Curiosity Lab
  • Everyday Adventures
  • High Energy Summer
  • Sleuths, Scares & Puzzles

For School Librarians:

• As you plan for summer reading, your account manager is available to help with questions about Sora Sweet Reads, expanding your digital collection, or aligning resources to your summer reading goals. If you’d prefer not to participate in the Sweet Reads program, please contact your account manager by May 12th so Sora can update your settings accordingly.

Sora Spring 2026 updates

• Join Text and Tech: Reading Together from Sora and NCTE
• Live and on-demand PD from Sora and TeachingBooks
• Webinar: Join Sora & Oxford Languages for the future of digital reading & inclusive learning
• Librarians: Log into your Advantage Account to:
  • Save big on Scholastic ebooks and audiobooks, as well as more mystery & more mayhem (books, that is!) for less for grades K-5, 6-8, 9-12
  • View recommended reads for Baseball, April is National Poetry Month, Celebrate Spring!, Passover & Easter

Podcast: How educators use Sora to support diverse reading

What does Sora look like in real classrooms? In this inaugural episode of the Classroom Book Talk podcast, Andrea from @theliteracyjunky shares how she uses Sora to support choice, access, and diverse reading

Classroom Book Talk Podcast

Get Sora Ready for the New School Year!

Below are some resources to help promote your district's Sora collection when it's time to welcome students and teachers back to the new school year!

Sora Must-Haves

• Promotional Graphics
• New Sora Users - Getting Started Guides
• Informational Handouts for Teachers and Parent
• Promotional Videos - like the one above
• Sora Content Graphics for Social Media - like the one below

Printables & Posters

It’s important to give your Sora collection a physical presence. Highlighting it during events meant for parents and guardians reminds them that their students have books available to them 24/7.   

• Sora at Home Flyer
• Promoting positive screentime with Sora  
• Sora ID Cards
• Sora reading challenge worksheet
• Coloring pages:
  • Sora tablet or Sora space
• Posters:
  • Open a World of Reading,
  • Adventure Begins (YA readers) or
  • Adventure Begins (Juvenile readers)  

Digital Displays

• Director Dashboard – show all-time circulation stats alongside real-time checkouts and holds
• Sora Showcase – set up interactive touchscreen displays that allow guests to browse your digital collection

For assistance? 

• your dedicated IU13 Sora Account Manager, Ben Kowalczyk at bkowalczyk@overdrive.com, or
• your dedicated Sora Librarian, Katherine Assink at kassink@overdrive.com 

Sora Sweet Reads kicks off on May 12th!

Sora Sweet Reads is designed for schools to encourage students to keep reading all year long! This year’s selection from Sora is a mix of more than 200 ebooks (and select audiobooks) spanning grades K-12 – available for FREE AND SIMULTANEOUS USE until August 25th. All titles will be prominently displayed on your school’s Sora Explore page – with the option for librarians to weed out the collection as needed. There are 190 Elementary titles, along with 27 titles for middle school and 24 for high school.

How to get started?

• View the Sora Sweet Reads 2025 Collection
• Download the new Sora Sweet Reads Kit filled with social graphics and print materials on the Sora Sweet Reads Resources page.  

Reach out to your Sora Account Team with any questions or if you want to opt out of the program.

The next Big Library Read kicks off on November 7th with a mystery for the whole family to enjoy!

The Sora Big Library Read is occurring again this year from November 7 - 21

• Have your students join and participate in a worldwide book club this November! Montgomery and the Case of the Golden Key by Tracy Occomy Crowder will become available for simultaneous use in ebook and audiobook formats between November 7-21. The title, along with a promotional spotlight on Sora, will be added at no cost. 

• Like past Big Library Read programs, you can download free marketing materials and use #BigLibraryRead on social media to get the word out. There is a letter from the author and a reader group guide available for parents and educators. 

• Legler Regional Library in Chicago, Illinois will be hosting a live event on November 21 from 5-7 PM CDT. Author, Tracy Occomy Crowder will be attending from 6-7 PM for a live reading, audience Q&A, and story writing activity. Any readers that are interested in attending virtually can register here or via Legler Regional’s website!

• The Content Access Level for this title is set at "Juvenile"

Summary

• "In 2008 Chicago, in the Southside community of Washington Park, Montgomery “Monty” Carver had hopes for the best summer ever! Unfortunately, things aren’t going as planned. Monty is struggling to prove to his parents that he’s old enough to be without adult supervision - especially after a very embarrassing incident with a metal detector. Man! So when Monty finds a golden key in Old Lady Jenkins’s sunflowers, he decides he’s going to unravel the key’s mystery all by himself, thank you very much. No parents allowed. Besides, he’s ten years old now, and he’s mastered the perfectly round ‘fro! (It takes a protractor, you see.) Soon Monty’s hunt to determine the origin of the key leads him to discover the rich history—like famous Black jockeys!—of his Chicago community, which has been speculating its future since one of their residents, Barack Obama, is running for president and the Olympics might come to town in 2016.
  
  On top of all that speculating, there are rumors going around that a ghost is hanging out behind their apartment building, and that Monty’s elementary school may have to close. So much to solve! Should the Olympics come to Washington Park? What happens if his school closes? Is there really a ghost? And where, oh where, did the key come from anyway? Monty is determined to find out."