2024 Pennsylvania Great Read for young readers 

Ty's Travels: Camp-Out!, written by Kelly Starling Lyons and illustrated by Niña Mata, published by HarperAlley, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.  

The Ty’s Travels series is part of HarperCollins’ I Can Read Comics series and is intended for beginning readers, ages 4 to 6 years old. Published in 2022, "Camp Out" shows Ty’s and his family’s pluck when bad weather seems to quash their plans for a camping trip. Ty’s imagination saves the day and family fun is shared in this high interest, vibrantly illustrated comic narrative for beginning readers.  

2024 Pennsylvania Great Read for adult readers 

An Unspeakable Hope: Brutality, Forgiveness, and Building a Better Future for My Son, written by Leon Ford with Jeffrey Renard Allen, published by Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Publishing. 

"An Unspeakable Hope: Brutality, Forgiveness, and Building a Better Future for My Son" chronicles the journey of Pittsburgh native Leon Ford from his adolescent experiences in the drug trade, to the life-changing moment when he was shot by a police officer and the aftermath of those experiences. Through reading both Ford’s raw portrayals of the violence, traumas and anger he experienced, and the wisdom he gleaned from his family, mentors, hard work and soul-searching, Ford shares valuable insights on masculinity, poverty, mental health, social activism and many other topics.