Announcing the 2025 Gift of Reading Essay Contest Winners!
We are proud to announce the winners of our 2025 Gift of Reading Essay Contest, presented by BookSmart Community Advantage. This essay contest serves as the kick-off to our annual Gift of Reading program, which celebrates the power of books and our shared commitment to nurturing young readers throughout the year.
This year, students were invited to respond to the following prompt:
If you could give one book to every kid in your school, what would it be — and why?
Maybe it’s a story that made you laugh, cry, or think.
Maybe it taught you something important, or helped you see the world in a new way.
Maybe it made you feel understood, seen, or special — like the author somehow knew you.
Or maybe it’s just a book you can’t stop talking about and want everyone to enjoy.
The responses were thoughtful, heartfelt, and inspiring. Students shared essays filled with empathy, curiosity, humor, and a deep love of reading—making the judging both meaningful and challenging.
2nd Grade Winners
1st Place: Elizabeth Miguel
2nd Place: Sofia Jimenez
3rd Grade Winners 1st Place: Juniper Braden 2nd Place: Manyu Iyer
4th & 5th Grade Winners 1st Place: Dominic Serrano 2nd Place: Harper Eaton
Middle School Winners 1st Place: Nikolina Perunicic 2nd Place: Gryphen Dietz
High School Winners 1st Place: Dymphna William 2nd Place: Anthony Castaneda
Each winner will receive a BookSmart Gift Certificate and a Certificate of Accomplishment in recognition of their thoughtful work and outstanding effort.
These students beautifully expressed how books can spark imagination, build understanding, and help us feel connected—capturing the very heart of the Gift of Reading program.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to all participating students, along with the teachers, families, and schools who encourage a love of reading every day. And to our community supporters: your generosity makes programs like this possible.
For more than 20 years, BookSmart’s Gift of Reading program has worked to ensure that children in our community have access to books of their own. Over that time, we have donated thousands of books to local schoolchildren, helping to build home libraries and a lifelong love of reading. This work would not be possible without the generous support of the Rotary Club of Morgan Hill, AAUW of Morgan Hill, the Morgan Hill Community Foundation, Friends of the Morgan Hill Library, and the many individual donors who believe—like we do—that reading can change lives.
For more information about the Gift of Reading program, to read the winning essays, and to explore the books recommended by participating students, please visit booksmartcommunityadvantage.org or stop byBookSmart. (Winning essays and book lists will be posted on the site.)
Congratulations to all of our winners—and thank you for helping us launch another year of the Gift of Reading!
Check out the books our essay contest writers suggested!
