On Oct 2, a group of book readers joined together in the media center to talk and learn more about newer books. Through discussion, certain books were chosen as the best and were celebrated as Pirate Picks for the 2026 school year.
Pirate Picks is a program at PHS that picks out a group of newer books for students to read. It replaces a more generic program like the Abe Lincoln list or Rebecca Caldwell. Their goal instead is to choose specific books to help guide PHS’s very own students.
“We try to find books that will fit the needs of our students here at Palatine High School,” PHS assistant librarian Meredith Quick said.
This year there are 15 books in total, including three historical fictions, three mystery stories, two romances, two novels in verse and more.
One example is “The Brightwood Code,” written by Monica Hesse. It takes place in 1918, following a girl named Hedda’s life after being a World War I spy trying to stay hidden and forget.
Students and teachers get to recommend books they have read before and have the opportunity to share it with others.
“It’s all student driven,” Quick said. “I’m really proud of the fact that we try to engage students and to have them help us curate what’s in the library, they help curate what’s a pirate pick.”
This year Luke Gimmler, a teacher in credit recovery, recommended a book he read called “The 6:20 Man,” a current Pirate Pick this year. It is about a boy who finds himself in the middle of a white collar crime, and murder.
The program was first started 20 years ago by the head librarian, Elizabeth Broemmelsiek. She collected a handful of current books one to two years old with high interest at the time ‘geared to young adults.’
Since then more students have joined in, by reading the books, and recommending. Not all books become a Pirate Pick though. It has to meet a list of criteria and Broemmelsiek’s passing.
Pirate Picks have grown to be a special part of the PHS, as a physical shelf with multiple copies of each book and even a huge part of some clubs, like the book club.
