2021-2022 Texas Bluebonnet Award Reading List Annual award list of 20 recommended titles for youth in grades 3-6 and selected by a committee comprised of librarians, teachers, parents, and students.

TITLE, CALL NUMBER & BRIEF DESCRIPTION

ACT Author: Kayla Miller Call Number: GN J ACT Olive is excited to start sixth grade: new teachers, new experiences, and a field trip to the big city with her best buds! But when Olive finds out that a school policy is keeping some kids from going on the trip, she decides to act.

THE BEST OF IGGY Author: Annie Barrows Call Number: J BARROWS Relates three times that nine-year-old Iggy got into trouble, two of which he does not regret and one for which he is very, very sorry.

BLACK BROTHER, BLACK BROTHER Author: Jewell Parker Rhodes Call Number: J RHODES Suspended unjustly from elite Middlefield Prep, Donte Ellison studies fencing with a former champion, hoping to put the racist fencing team captain in his place.

THE CANYON’S EDGE Author: Dusti Bowling Call Number: J BOWLING A year after the death of her mother in a restaurant shooting, Nora is left struggling to stay alive when a climbing trip with her father goes terribly wrong.

EFREN DIVIDED Author: Ernesto Cisneros Call Number: J CISNEROS While his father works two jobs, seventh-grader Efrén Nava must take care of his twin siblings, kindergartners Max and Mia, after their mother is deported to Mexico. Includes glossary of Spanish words.

THE ELEPHANT’S GIRL Author: Celesta Rimington Call Number: J RIMINGTON Twelve-year-old Lexington, a foundling raised in a zoo, spends a summer cementing friendships, growing closer to the elephant that saved her life, and learning about her family and herself.

FOLLOW THOSE ZEBRAS: SOLVING A MIGRATION MYSTERY Author: Sandra Markle Call Number: J 599.66 MAR Every year in Namibia, about two thousand zebras suddenly disappear from their grazing area along the Chobe River. Months later, the herd returns. Where do they go? And why? Thanks to satellite-tracking collars, scientists were able to solve the mystery.

A HATFUL OF DRAGONS: AND MORE THAN 13.8 BILLION OTHER FUNNY POEMS Author: Vikram Madan Call Number: J 811.6 MAD Warning: this book has dragons, robot uncles, aliens, a combative mosquito and, most dangerous of all, more than 13.8 billion poems, conveniently fit into 64 pages of pure silliness. You may never stop reading! HONEYBEE: THE BUSY LIFE OF APIS MELLIFERA Author: Candace Fleming Call Number: J 595.7 FLE Describes the life cycle of the hard-working honeybee.

THE INCREDIBLY DEAD PETS OF REX DEXTER Author: Aaron Reynolds Call Number: J REYNOLDS Cursed by an old carnival game, sixth-grader Rex Dexter uses his new ability to communicate with dead animals to investigate the mysterious deaths of endangered zoo animals.

LEXI MAGILL AND THE TELEPORTATION TOURNAMENT Author: Kim Long Call Number: J LONG Twelve-year-old physics whiz Lexi Magill won't let anything stop her from winning Wisconsin's Teleportation Tournament-- the annual competition where teams teleport around the world to solve STEAM-based puzzles. She needs the prize money if she wants to re-enroll in the science academy her parents can no longer afford. Added bonus: she'll be able to reconnect with her best friend Haley.

THE OLDEST STUDENT: HOW MARY WALKER LEARNED TO READ Author: Rita Lorraine Hubbard Call Number: J 92 WALKER A picture book biography sharing the inspiring and incredible true story of the nation's oldest student, Mary Walker, who learned to read at the age of 116.

OUR FRIEND HEDGEHOG: THE STORY OF US Author: Lauren Castillo Call Number: J CASTILLO When a storm separates Hedgehog from her lifelong friend, Mutty, she bravely sets out to find him and makes some very good new friends in the process.

SCARY STORIES FOR YOUNG FOXES Author: Christian McKay Heidicker Call Number: J HEIDICKER A collection of six connected stories that follows a group of fox kits as they fight to survive in an unforgiving wilderness.

THE SECRET GARDEN OF GEORGE WASHINTON CARVER Author: Gene Barretta Call Number: J 92 CARVER The inspirational story of George Washington Carver and his childhood secret garden.

SHARUKO: EL ARQUEOLOGO PERUANO JULIO C. TELLO Author: Monica Brown Call Number: J 92 TELLO Una biografía ilustrada de Julio C. Tello, considerado el fundador de la arqueología peruana moderna y quien llegó a ser el científico social indígena más distinguido del siglo XX.

SOMEPLACE TO CALL HOME Author: Sandra Dallas Call Number: J DALLAS In 1933, when twelve-year-old Hallie Turner and her brothers, Tom and Benny, take to the road seeking whatever work they can get, they find kindness in small-town Kansas.

TRISTAN STRONG PUNCHES A HOLE IN THE SKY Author: Kwame Mbalia Call Number: J MBALIA Seventh-grader Tristan Strong feels anything but strong ever since he failed to save his best friend when they were in a bus accident together. All he has left of Eddie is the journal his friend wrote stories in. Tristan is dreading the month he's going to spend on his grandparents' farm.

WAYS TO MAKE SUNSHINE Author: Renee Watson Call Number: J WATSON The Hart family of Portland, Oregon, faces many setbacks after Ryan's father loses his job, but no matter what, Ryan tries to bring sunshine to her loved ones.

WORDS ON FIRE Author: Jennifer A. Nielsen Call Number: J NIELSEN Danger is never far from Audra's family farm in Lithuania. She always avoids the occupying Russian Cossak soldiers, who insist that everyone must become Russian - they have banned Lithuanian books, religion, culture, and even the language. But Audra knows her parents are involved in something secret and perilous.

2020-2021 Texas Bluebonnet Award Reading List Annual award list of 20 recommended titles for youth in grades 3-6 and selected by a committee comprised of librarians, teachers, parents, and students.

TITLE, CALL NUMBER & BRIEF DESCRIPTION

A PLACE TO LAND: MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. AND THE SPEECH... Author: Barry Wittenstein Call Number: J 323 WIT The true story behind the writing of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

A WOLF CALLED WANDER Author: Rosanne Parry Call Number: J PARRY A young wolf cub, separated from his pack, journeys 1000 miles across the Pacific Northwest, dealing with forest fires, hunters, highways, and hunger before finding a new home. Based on the true story of a wolf called OR-7.

BERNICE BUTTMAN, MODEL CITIZEN Author: Niki Lenz Call Number: J LENZ Bernice Buttman is tired of being labeled a 'bully, ' so when her mom leaves her with her aunt, who is a nun, Bernice decides to mend her ways and become a model citizen.

CATERPILLAR SUMMER Author: Gillian McDunn Call Number: J MCDUNN When a summer trip doesn't go according to plan, Cat and Chicken end up spending three weeks with grandparents they never knew. For the first time in years, Cat has the opportunity to be a kid again, and the journey she takes shows that even the most broken or strained relationships can be healed if people take the time to walk in one another's . CHARLIE HERNANDEZ AND THE LEAGUE OF SHADOWS Author: Ryan Calejo Call Number: J CALEJO Steeped in Hispanic folklore since childhood, middle schooler Charlie Hernández learns the stories are true when, shortly after his parents disappearance, he grows horns and feathers and finds himself at the heart of a battle to save the world.

FRANKIE SPARKS & THE CLASS PET Author: Megan Fraser Blakemore Call Number: J BLAKEMORE Frankie Sparks, the self-proclaimed "best inventor in the third grade," does research and creates a tool to try to persuade her classmates that a rat would make the best class pet.

FROM AN IDEA TO DISNEY: HOW BRANDING MADE DISNEY... Author: Lowey Bundy Sichol Call Number: J 384.80979494 SIC From an Idea to Disney is a behind-the-movie-screen look into the history, business, and brand of the world's largest entertainment empire. With humorous black & white illustrations throughout, learn about the company behind the world's favorite mouse, Mickey!

GREYSTONE SECRETS #1: THE STRANGERS Author: Margaret Peterson Haddix Call Number: J HADDIX Told from separate viewpoints, Chess, Emma, and Finn Greystone, ages twelve, ten, and eight, investigate why their mother went missing and uncover their ties to an alternate world.

IF I BUILT A SCHOOL Author: Chris Van Dusen Call Number: E VANDUSEN Imaginative Jack describes the kind of school he would build--one full of animals, with tubes to transport students directly to their classrooms, and library books that come alive.

NEW KID Author: Jerry Craft Call Number: J CRAFT Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds--and not really fitting into either one.

NIGHTBOOKS Author: J.A. White Call Number: J WHITE Imprisoned by Natacha, a witch, in a apartment, Alex must tell her a new scary story every night in order to stay alive. NO MORE POEMS! A BOOK IN VERSE THAT JUST GETS WORSE Author: Rhett Miller Call Number: J 811 MIL Shares humorous poems about such subjects as disco baths, sneaky sisters, nose hairs, and wanting a dog.

PASS GO AND COLLECT $200: THE REAL STORY OF HOW ... Author: Tanya Lee Stone Call Number: J 794 STO A nonfiction picture book history of Monopoly, one of the world's most famous games.

ROCKET TO THE MOON (BIG IDEAS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD) Author: Don Brown Call Number: J 629.454 BRO On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong took "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" when the Apollo 11 landed on the moon. But it wasn't just one man who got us to the moon. The Moon Landing explores the people and technology that made the moon landing possible.

STAY Author: Bobbie Pyron Call Number: J PYRON Piper's life is turned upside down when her family moves into a shelter in a whole new city. She misses her house, her friends, and her privacy--and she hates being labeled the homeless girl at her new school.

SWEEP: THE STORY OF A GIRL AND HER MONSTER Author: Jonathan Auxier Call Number: J AUXIER In nineteenth-century England, after her father's disappearance Nan Sparrow, ten, works as a "climbing boy," aiding chimney sweeps, but when her most treasured possessions end up in a fireplace, she unwittingly creates a golem.

THE BRIDGE HOME Author: Padma Venkatraman Call Number: J VENKATRAMAN Life is harsh in Chennai's teeming streets, so when runaway sisters Viji and Rukku arrive, their prospects look grim. Quickly, 11-year-old Viji discovers how vulnerable they are in this uncaring, dangerous world. Fortunately, the girls find shelter--and friendship--on an abandoned bridge. With two homeless boys, Muthi and Arul, the group forms a family of sorts. And while making a living scavenging the city's trash heaps is the pits, the kids find plenty to laugh about and take pride in too.

THE RHINO IN THE RIGHT FIELD Author: Stacy Dekeyser Call Number: J DEKEYSER In 1948, Nikko Spirakis, twelve, loves baseball but must get past his hard-working immigrant parents--and the rhino in the outfield--to become a batboy for the local minor league team. THEY CALL ME GUERO: A BORDER KID’S POEMS Author: David Bowles Call Number: J BOWLES Twelve-year-old Güero, a red-headed, freckled Mexican American border kid, discovers the joy of writing poetry, thanks to his seventh grade English teacher.

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A VOICE LIKE THAT? Author: Chris Barton Call Number: When six students are chosen to participate in a weekly talk with no adults allowed, they discover that when they're together, it's safe to share the hopes and fears they have to hide from the rest of the world