In Brazil, the Pathfinder book of the year 2026 takes up one quiet line on the class card, item 4 of the general requirements, and it still sparks plenty of questions in the club group chat. The phrase is Brazilian shorthand for the Pathfinder title in the yearly Reading Course (Curso de Leitura) of the Casa Publicadora Brasileira (CPB), the publishing house of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Brazil. This guide pulls together what the CPB, the official class pages of the South American Division (DSA), and the Guidelines Manual of the 6th Campori DSA say: title, author, each class's task, and the deadline. The plot is yours to discover by reading; here is the path to closing the year with the requirement signed.
What is the Pathfinder book of the year?
Book of the year is the nickname for the book of the Reading Course (Curso de Leitura), the collection the Casa Publicadora Brasileira releases every year with titles for each audience. In its 2027 lineup, the CPB lists separate books for Adventurers, Pathfinders, Youth, and Adults. The 2026 Pathfinder book is recommended for ages 10 to 15, the age range of the six regular classes. Everything on this page describes that Brazilian program, which runs in Portuguese.
On the class card it shows up under its official name: item 4 of the general requirements of every regular class, from Friend to Guide, reads "Ler o livro do Curso de Leitura do ano" (read the Reading Course book of the year), sometimes followed by a written task. In the Grouped Classes, the wording is "livro do Clube de Leitura do ano em curso" (the Reading Club book of the current year).
Because the title changes every year, this requirement never gets old. A Pathfinder who does Friend in 2026 and Companion in 2027 reads two different books for item 4.
What is the Pathfinder book of the year for 2026?
In 2026, the Reading Course book is Servo de Deus e Amigo de Todos (meaning "Servant of God and Friend of All"), by Maksym Krupskyi, published by the CPB. The official product page presents it as "Curso de leitura juvenis e desbravadores 2026" (reading course for juniors and Pathfinders), recommended for ages 10 to 15, with 80 pages, a 14 x 21 cm format, paperback binding, and ISBN 978-85-345-3616-5.
The main character is Léo. According to the publisher's synopsis, he returns with new adventures at school and on a rafting trip with other Pathfinders, and the story deals with very real teenage questions, like friendships that drift apart and choosing a career. The ending is left for the reader.
That is the title that counts for item 4 on class cards completed in 2026, and its 80 pages fit into a few weeks of daily reading.
What is the Pathfinder book of the year for 2027?
For 2027, the CPB is already selling Quando Deus Acampou ("When God Camped"), by Charlote F. Lessa, under the label "Curso de leitura Desbravadores 2027". It runs 120 pages in paperback, 16.5 x 23.8 cm, ISBN 978-85-345-3794-0. The official synopsis describes a journey through the earthly sanctuary: Willy and his Pathfinder friends, together with Aunt Alícia, complete the Sanctuary honor over 10 meetings.
The theme ties in with Exodus 25:8, where God tells Israel: "And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them" (NKJV). To help the Unit come to the book already knowing what the courtyard, the Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place were, the article the sanctuary explained simply works as a warm-up.
Anyone doing Guide in 2027 gets a head start: item 4 of the class's Spiritual Discovery section asks Pathfinders to study the structure and service of the sanctuary in the Old Testament and connect them to the ministry of Jesus and the cross. The book opens the door to the subject, but it does not replace that study.
What does each class have to do with the book of the year?
The book is the same for every class; what changes is the task after the last page. The more advanced the class, the more the requirement asks the Pathfinder to show what they understood: first one paragraph, then two, and finally a one-page summary.
In the Grouped Classes, the DSA system for kids who join the club after age 10, the scale is similar: at 11, one paragraph; at 12, two paragraphs; from 13 on, a one-page summary. Either way, the text has to be the Pathfinder's own, because that is what the instructor evaluates before signing.
| Class (minimum age) | What item 4 asks with the book of the year | Class's fixed book (item 5) |
|---|---|---|
| Friend (10) | Read the Reading Course book of the year | Vaso de Barro |
| Companion (11) | Read it and write one paragraph about what stood out most | Um simples lanche |
| Explorer (12) | Read it and write two paragraphs about what stood out most | Além da magia |
| Ranger (13) | Read it and summarize it in one page | Expedição Galápagos |
| Voyager (14) | Read it and summarize it in one page | O fim do começo |
| Guide (15) | Read it and summarize it in one page | O livro amargo |
General requirements 4 and 5 of the regular classes, according to the South American Division's official pages in Portuguese, checked on October 6, 2026. Fixed books are listed by their original titles.
Read alsoWhat Are the Pathfinder ClassesAre the book of the year and the class book the same thing?
Each regular class has two books on the card, and that is where the confusion starts. The item 4 book is the Reading Course one, which changes every year and is the same for every class. The item 5 book is fixed, chosen for that specific class, and only changes when the DSA publishes a new rule.
The most recent rule is OMD 021/2024 (a Pathfinder Ministry guideline, Orientação do Ministério de Desbravadores), dated December 17, 2024, which replaced the fixed books of four classes and allowed one transition year: since 2026, only the new titles count. The old and new books are compared side by side in the article on answered class cards and the requirements that changed.
Sometimes the two lists cross paths. Vaso de Barro, by Neila D. Oliveira, was the Pathfinder book in the 2018 Reading Course and is now the fixed book of the Friend class. O livro amargo, by Denis Cruz, took the same route: a 2012 title, now the fixed book of the Guide class.
How long has there been a reading course for Adventist youth?
The idea is much older than the class card. In August 1907, the Northern Union Reaper, a periodical in the United States, announced that the General Conference's Missionary Volunteer Department, the Adventist Church's youth department at the time, had created a reading course to help young people choose good reading and read with a clear purpose. The first title on the list was Early Writings, by Ellen G. White.
In the report read at the General Conference session in May 1913, the department said there were already courses for youth and for younger readers, that a Spanish-language course had been launched in South America in January of that year, and that anyone who finished the reading and wrote the required review received a certificate. Reading and then writing about what you read is still the logic behind the class card.
What is the book of the year deadline for the Campori DSA 2027?
In 2026, the book of the year took on extra weight. The Guidelines Manual of the 6th Campori DSA (the South American Pathfinder Camporee), scheduled for Parque do Peão in Barretos, São Paulo state, in two editions (January 5 to 10 and January 12 to 17, 2027), includes requirement 13, Reading Course, in Stage I: at least 40% of the club must finish reading the Pathfinder Reading Course book by October 30, 2026. The item is worth 100 points. The manual does not say which title counts. Since the deadline falls within 2026, the most logical inference points to the 2026 book, Servo de Deus e Amigo de Todos, but that is our reading of the calendar, not a written rule.
Starting from the 2026 book, run the numbers for your club. With 30 members, 40% is 12 people. Counting from October 6, 2026, the date of this check, there are 24 days left, and the 80 pages of Servo de Deus e Amigo de Todos spread over three weeks come to fewer than 4 pages a day.
Stage I requirements are proven in the Club Management System (SGC) during 2026 and validated by the Regional Coordinator, or by the Field's secretary, by December. Since the manual neither names the title nor explains what proof the SGC accepts, confirm both with your Regional Coordinator before the deadline. The full list is in the Campori DSA 2027 requirements, and another item in the same stage asks for 50% of the club to be up to date with the Pathfinder Bible Year (or the Junior version) by November 30, 2026.
How do you read the book of the year as a Unit, and where do you buy it?
Reading as a group moves faster. A simple routine: the Counselor splits the book across the weeks that are left, each meeting opens with ten minutes of reading aloud, taking turns, and the week wraps up with two or three questions from the Counselor. For the 2027 book, 120 pages over 12 weeks comes to 10 pages a week.
The paragraph or summary comes out better right after the last page, while the story is fresh. Each Pathfinder writes by hand or on a phone, in their own words, and takes it to the instructor. For kids who struggle with reading, shared reading is a bridge; the article on the Pathfinder with dyslexia offers adaptations that do not lower the bar for the requirement.
To buy it, the direct route is the CPB online store, which lists phone sales and WhatsApp on each product page. When it covers the classes' fixed books, OMD 021/2024 notes that those CPB titles are also sold at the SELS store of your local Field (Conference or Mission); ask there for the book of the year. A group order placed through the club secretary makes delivery simpler.
Scanning the book and sharing the PDF in a messaging group without permission is illegal copying: Brazil's copyright law, Law No. 9,610/1998, requires the author's prior and express authorization to reproduce and distribute a work.