The newest Texas Bluebonnet Award list for 2016-2017 will be announced this Saturday, October 17, at the Texas Book Festival in Austin, TX.
This list of 20 books is for students in grades 3-6 and is intended for leisure reading, containing both fiction and nonfiction titles. When looking at the 2015-2016 list of nominees, you will see that the Texas Bluebonnets are a group of books for many different readers with many different interests. The point is not to have students read all 20 books, but rather to encourage reading for pleasure and instill a love of reading.
You may be wondering why the 20 books in the list are called nominees. This is because 3rd-6th grade students in Texas who read at least five titles in the current Bluebonnet Award list can vote for his or her favorite. (The slogan is “Read 5, then decide.”) The book that receives the most votes is declared the winner. The most recent winner was The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers – you can see a list of all previous winners here.
Voting for the current 2015-2016 Bluebonnet Award list will occur at registered sites across Texas in January 2016. The author (and sometimes illustrator) of the winning work invited to speak at the Texas Library Association Annual Conference. In 2016 the conference will be in Houston, TX.
There is also a 2 x 2 list for children ages 2 to grade 2, a Lone Star reading list for students in grades 6-8, a Tayshas reading list for high school readers, and a Lariat list for adults, among other awards lists created by members of the Texas Library Association.
You’ll see that 231 books are in consideration for the upcoming 2016-2017 Texas Bluebonnet Award list? Which of the books did you enjoy reading?
Renee Perron
Thanks for this posting. I find it interesting to learn about how other states do their children’s book award program. I really like the link to Reader’s Theatre scripts for each book. I plan on using the one for The Vanishing Coin when I use that book for a Book Club for Kids program at my public library in December.
Books on your long list that I love so far:
George, The Terrible Two, Book Scavenger, Dory Fantasmagory, The Impossibly True Story of Tricky Vic: The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower, Sisters, Roller Girl, The Dectective’s Assistant.
Can’t wait to learn about your final list this Saturday!
Claudia Wayland Post author
Thanks for the comment. I’m not actually a Texas Bluebonnet Award committee member, but I enjoy reading the list of books each year and trying to guess which book will receive the most votes.
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