Bluebonnet Award List 2013-2014
The Texas Bluebonnet Award reading program encourages Texas children to read more books, explore a variety of current books, develop powers of discrimination, and identify their favorite books. The award process provides librarians, teachers, parents, and writers with insight into young students' reading preferences. It further affords an opportunity to honor and encourage imaginative authors who create books with high appeal to children. Children vote on their favorite title from the list each January.
For more information about this award visit the Texas Bluebonnet Award Web page.
Recommended for grades 3-6.
Book List Category:
By written by Jorge Aguirre ; illustrated by Rafael Rosado.
Claudette wants nothing more than to slay a giant but her little village is too safe and quiet.
By Katherine Applegate.
When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-out circus-themed mall, meets Ruby, a baby elephant that has been added to the mall, he decides that he must find her a better life.
By Shana Burg.
Massachusetts thirteen-year-old Clare, grieving after her mother's recent death, reluctantly travels with her father to spend nine weeks in a remote village in Malawi, where new friends and experiences help open her mind and heart.
By Jason Chin.
A young girl gets quite a surprise when the text of a library book she is reading transforms her surroundings into those of a teeming-with-life coral reef!
By Lutricia Clifton.
Twelve-year-old Frankie Joe Huckaby, forced to live with the father he never knew, a stepmother, and four half-brothers in Illinois, starts a delivery service to finance his escape back to his mother in Texas, not realizing he is making a better life for himself than he ever had with her.
By Tracey Fern ; pictures by Boris Kulikov.
Documents the work of an early twentieth-century paleontologist, named after the famous circus icon by his ambitious parents, who grew up to work for the American Museum of Natural History and discovered the first documented skeletons of the Tyrannosaurus Rex and other noteworthy species.
By by John Grandits ; illustrated by Michael Allen Austin.
Before Kyle rides a school bus for the first time, his older brother gives him a list of rules he must follow but after breaking every single one the first day, Kyle discovers the rule his brother left out.
By by R.P. Harris ; illustrated by Taeeun Yoo.
In Chiang Mai, Thailand, nine-year-old Tua releases an abused elephant from its chains--can she complete the rescue by getting it to an elephant refuge without being caught herself?
By Maira Kalman.
A brief look at the life of United States president Abraham Lincoln.
By Natalie Dias Lorenzi.
When Skye's cousin Hiroshi and his family move to Virginia from Japan, the cultural differences lead to misunderstandings and both children are unhappy at the changes in their lives--will flying the dragon kite finally bring them together?
By Patricia MacLachlan ; illustrated by Amy June Bates.
When Papa goes away for a little while, his family tries to cope with the separation by adopting four dogs and a cat.
By Sarah Mlynowski.
After moving to a new house, ten-year-old Abby and her younger brother Jonah discover an antique mirror that transports them into the Snow White fairy tale.
By by G. Neri ; illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson.
Twelve-year-old Cole's behavior causes his mother to drive him from Detroit to Philadelphia to live with a father he has never known, but who soon has Cole involved with a group of African-American "cowboys" who rescue horses and use them to steer youths away from drugs and gangs.
By R.J. Palacio.
Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to survive, goes from being home-schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan, which entails enduring the taunting and fear of his classmates as he struggles to be seen as just another student.
By Ellen Potter.
Twelve-year-old orphan Roo Fanshaw is sent to live with an uncle she never knew in a largely uninhabited mansion on Cough Rock Island and discovers a wild river boy, an invalid cousin, and the mysteries of a hidden garden.
By Augusta Scattergood.
In the summer of 1964 as she is about to turn twelve, Glory's town of Hanging Moss, Mississippi, is beset by racial tension when town leaders close her beloved public pool rather than desegregating it.
By David Shannon.
A father relates to his son the tale of his encounter--and friendship--with a gigantic trout whose enormous jaw is covered with so many lures and fish hooks that he jangles when he swims, but who has never been caught.
By Maureen Sherry ; illustrated by Adam Stower.
When the Smithfork family moves into a lavish Manhattan apartment building, they discover clues to a decades-old mystery hidden behind the walls of their new home.
By written and illustrated by Melissa Sweet.
Award-winning artist Sweet tells the story of the puppeteer Tony Sarg, capturing his genius, his dedication, his zest for play, and his long-lasting gift to America--the inspired helium balloons that would become the trademark of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
By Sara Varon.
Cupcake runs a successful bakery with his best friend, Eggplant, but dreams of going abroad to meet his idol, Turkish Delight, who is the most famous pastry chef in the world.
