Texas Bluebonnet Award
2009-2010 Master List
The Texas Library Association sponsors the
Texas Bluebonnet Award reading list
solely to encourage free voluntary reading.
A student reading all the Bluebonnet books for the school year and passing
the A/R test for each book receives a beautiful trophy at the end of the
school year awards ceremony.
Birdsall, Jeanne The Penderwicks on Gardam Street
The Penderwick girls discover that before their mother died, she left
instructions with her sister to make sure her husband, their Dad, remarries.
The girls come up with a “Save Daddy Plan” so they will not have to have a
stepmother. The plan: get him dates with women they know he will detest.
Each girl also deals with her own situations such as Jane doing Skye’s
writing assignments, and Batty spying on the new neighbors.
Birney, Betty Surprises According to Humphrey
Humphrey loves being the classroom pet at Longfellow Elementary--Room 26 in
Mrs. Brisbane’s classroom. All the children, including Don’t Complain-Mandy
Payne, Sit-Still-Seth Stevenson, and Lower-Your-Voice-A.J. Thomas, are his
friends. There are some strange happenings going on, however, and Humphrey
is worried about his friends. Especially frightening is the fear that Aldo
the janitor is being replaced by an alien. For Humphrey it’s SCARY, SCARY,
SCARY.
Bishop, Nic Nic Bishop Frogs
The reader can almost feel the slime in this photographic volume on frogs.
The pictures are not only vastly informative, but the text also gives
fascinating information on these amphibians. The combination of the two
make for a book that increases one’s knowledge and has the reader making a
multitude of verbal responses when turning the pages—“Yuk!”; “How
interesting”; “I didn’t know that!”; and “WOW!”
Deedy, Carmen Agra Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale
It is time for Martina Josefina Catalina Cucaracha, the beautiful muchacha,
to find a husband. Her abuela tells her that she needs to give each suitor
the “coffee on the shoes” test in order to find a good husband. Who will
Martina choose? Will it be Don Gallo the rooster, Don Cerdo the pig, Don
Lagarto the lizard or Perez the mouse? How does coffee help Martina? All
these are questions answered in this delightfully illustrated Cuban
folktale.
Feldman, Jody The Gollywhopper Games
Gil’s father has been falsely accused of embezzlement while working at the
Golly Toy and Game Company. Gil grabs his chance to redeem his pride by
getting the opportunity to compete in the Gollywhopper Games. Puzzle fans
will enjoy the ride as Gil must solve puzzles with his sometimes, not so
nice, team partners in this fast-paced adventure.
Flaherty, A.W. The Luck of the Loch Ness Monster
“Picky eaters unite!” will become the rallying cry for kids after reading
this book. Katerina-Elizabeth’s parents send her on an ocean voyage to
Scotland to visit her grandparents. Every morning on the ship she has the
same thing for breakfast--oatmeal. Every morning she slyly tosses the
oatmeal into the ocean. A little sea worm begins following the ship to get
the tasty treat each day. He grows from thumbnail size to giant size on the
trip across the ocean. Upon arrival in Scotland the worm followed the water,
up a river, to Loch Ness. Can you guess what happens next?
Holt, Kimberly Piper Reed: Navy Brat
Piper, a fourth grader, is the middle child of the girls in the Reed
household. She loves the fact that her father is in the Navy. She gets upset
with her sisters because they actually refer to him as Dad, not Chief. As in
all military families, moving is a part of their life. This time they are
moving from San Diego to Pensacola. Piper’s older sister Tori thinks the
Navy is ruining her life, and her younger sister Sam is a genius. Piper who
loves the Navy life and has dyslexia sometimes feels that she doesn’t fit.
Despite all the differences there is plenty of love in this family.
Kerley, Barbara What To Do About Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the
Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy
Crazy!
Teddy Roosevelt famously said, “I can be President of the United States, or
I can control Alice. I can’t possibly do both.” Alice Roosevelt, his oldest
child, was hard to contain. She wanted to “eat up the world.” Her idea of
watching her siblings in the White House was to teach them how to slide down
the stairway on trays. She had a pet snake and monkey that she showed off to
visiting dignitaries, and despite her father’s admonition to stay out of the
news, she did just the opposite. Her father “was not amused.” Just as
Alice “ate up the world,” reader’s will eat up this book about Alice
Roosevelt.
Law, Ingrid Savvy
Each member of Mib’s family gets a special gift upon turning thirteen. They
learn what their Savvy is. Mib’s brother Fish has a powerful effect on
water, her brother Rocket is electric, and her Great Aunt Jules steps back
in time twenty minutes each time she sneezes. Now Mib is about to turn
thirteen. On her big day, her father is in a serious car accident and rushed
to the hospital. Now Mibs thinks her Savvy will be the ability to save
lives. Since her mother is at the hospital with her dad, Mibs, her brother
Fish, and the town’s preacher’s kids, hitch a ride on a bus with a traveling
Bible salesman to make it to the hospital. Though Mib’s Savvy is not what
she thought, she learns something on the crazy bus ride with a most unusual
group of people.
Look, Lenore Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things
For the reader who likes to LOL, Alvin Ho is here to save the day. Alvin is
scared of most things, including Wasabi. He packs his PDK (Personal Disaster
Kit) to take to school each day. He has never said one word at school—ever—
even though he talks at home. When he gets angry, he cusses in Shakespeare
since that is what his father teaches. There are many hilarious scenes,
including the chapter entitled “The Best Way to Avoid School” in which the
entire class sneaks in to visit their classmate with chicken pox. Reading
this book will cheer up the worst of days.
Lupica, Mike Two-Minute Drill
Football, friendship, and faith in oneself are played out in this addition
to Lupica’s Comeback Kids series. Sixth grader Scott loves football, but as
he says, football doesn’t love him. Chris his classmate is the best player
on the team, but he has a struggle of his own. The two boys develop a strong
friendship and find that their individual talents, teamed with practice, can
help both of them reach their potential. You won’t have to tackle your boys
to read this one.
Mora, Pat ¡Yum! ¡MmMm! ¡Qué Rico!: America’s Sproutings
What do haiku, information on native American foods, and bright, colorful
illustrations have in common? This book—¡Yum! ¡MmMm! ¡Qué rico!: Americas’
Sproutings—that’s what. This book is the perfect recipe for information,
poetry, and art, while bringing all the Americas together for the fun.
Neff, Henry The Hound of Rowan
Max has always had something deep within him that he didn’t understand.
That “something” feels like it comes alive when he ducks into a small
gallery at Chicago’s Art Institute to hide from a strange man who has been
following him. In the gallery, there is an old Celtic tapestry hanging on
the wall that begins to quiver and glow. Max discovers that he, along with a
few other children, have an ancient Celtic magic called Potential. As
Potential children are being kidnapped, he and his fellow students at Rowan,
the school for Potentials, must act to save the world from the powerful
Evil. This is the first installment in The Tapestry series.
Nelson, Kadir We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
It’s the illustrations that will first draw the reader to this book. Each
page will be turned in admiration as one is introduced to the players,
coaches, and teams of the Negro Baseball League. The narration is equally
admirable. Nelson explains that the narrator is “a collective voice, the
voice of every player, the voice of we.” Readers feel as if they are
sitting in their den listening to the stories being told. The pain of
segregation and the joy of playing the game will be felt by all who board
this Ship.
Rappaport, Doreen Lady Liberty: A Biography
There have been many children’s books published about the Statue of Liberty
but never one like this. Through free verse and illustrations that put the
reader in the events, The Lady’s biography is told. Each double page spread
tells of people involved in the process of bringing her to New York Harbor—
from the idea, to the creation of the statue, to the pennies sent in by
children across the United States to pay for her base, to the celebration of
her placement. The reader will look upon The Lady with new eyes whether in
New York viewing her or bringing her to the mind’s eye.
Schulman, Janet Pale Male: Citizen Hawk of New York City
The Red Tail Hawk, known as Pale Male, does not have an easy time of it. The
trials, tribulations, and final triumph of the hawk who nests on the ledge
at one of New York City’s most exclusive addresses is presented with a
perfect melding of words and illustrations. Details of everything from the
political battles fought to keep Pale Male at his home to Pale Male’s
fathering skills weave together into a story that all readers will enjoy.
Speck, Katie Maybelle in the Soup
Maybelle the cockroach and Henry the flea live in the Peabody household
where everything has to be just so. The two friends know the rules for
survival: “When it’s light, stay out of sight; if you’re spied, better hide;
and never meet with human feet.” Henry is good at following the rules, but
Maybelle gives way to temptation when the Peabody’s have a dinner party.
When she ends up on the spoon of one of the guests, the hilarity begins.
Never has a cockroach been such a welcome diversion.
Spinelli, Eileen Where I Live
Diana is happy in her life. She loves her house, her best friend Rose, and
even her pesky little sister. To top things off, she has just won a poetry
contest, and the prize is enrollment in a poetry workshop. Her life couldn’t
be better—until her father (who always jokes) gets serious; he and her
mother talk quietly together. She is afraid her parents are getting a
divorce. The good news is that they are not, but the bad news is that her
father lost his job. Diana’s family will have to move. Told in simple free
verse, Diana experiences the feelings of loss and acceptance. It is
appropriate that the first and last poems are both entitled “Where I Live.”
Stevens, Janet and Susan Stevens Crummel
Help Me, Mr. Mutt!
When humans have a problem, they write Dear Abby; but the best help for the
suffering canine is Mr. Mutt. Each troubled hound is given doggone good
advice—all of which ends with a P.S. suggesting that the family cat is less
than a worthy pet. Of course, Mutt’s family cat The Queen comes back with
her own thoughts on this. By the end of the book, Mr. Mutt and The Queen
come to blows, and our canine advisor must be rescued by his fans. There are
plenty of laughs for both pets and their humans.
Wolf, Joan M. Someone Named Eva
Milada celebrates her eleventh birthday happily with family and friends
despite the hardships brought on by three years of Nazi occupation in
Czechoslovakia. A few weeks later, German soldiers arrest the entire
village. The men and women are separated and sent to camps, but Milada and
one other village girl are not. Since both girls have the blonde hair and
blue eyes of Hitler’s Aryan ideal, they are sent to Germany to be retrained
and adopted by loyal Nazi families. Milada struggles to remember her
grandmother’s words to her on her eleventh birthday, “Remember who you are,
Milada. Remember where you are from. Always.”
