2026-2027 Texas Bluebonnet Award List

Another

Tremblay, Paul,


School Library Journal, July 2025. Booklist starred, June 2025. Horn Book, September 2025. When Casey Wilson's parents tell him that his friend is coming for a sleepover, he has no idea who that might be. Ever since the Zoom Incident, everyone treats him like a pariah, and his tics are worse than ever. When Morel appears, he's not like any friend Casey has ever met. His skin is like clay, and he doesn't speak. But Casey's parents are charmed by the strange kid, and it's nice to have someone to talk to besides his sister, Ally, who is away at college. As his normally loving parents grow distant from Casey, they gush and fawn over Morel. Casey knows something is wrong -- but with no end in sight to the sleepover, he's exhausted. And in the dark, out of the corner of his eye, Morel doesn't look like a kid at all.
Date Published:2025

School Library Journal, July 2025. Booklist starred, June 2025. Horn Book, September 2025. When Casey Wilson's parents tell him that his friend is coming for a sleepover, he has no idea who that might be. Ever since the Zoom Incident, everyone treats him like a pariah, and his tics are worse than ever. When Morel appears, he's not like any friend Casey has ever met. His skin is like clay, and he doesn't speak. But Casey's parents are charmed by the strange kid, and it's nice to have someone to talk to besides his sister, Ally, who is away at college. As his normally loving parents grow distant from Casey, they gush and fawn over Morel. Casey knows something is wrong -- but with no end in sight to the sleepover, he's exhausted. And in the dark, out of the corner of his eye, Morel doesn't look like a kid at all.

Date Published:2025

The Black Mambas : the world's first all-woman anti-poaching unit /

Crull, Kelly,


Go on patrol with the Black Mambas, South Africa's first women-led anti-poaching unit. Meet the rangers and discover all they do to protect the wildlife at the Olifants West Nature Reserve.
Date Published:2025

Danilo was here

Burgess, Tamika,


Booklist, January 2025. Kirkus starred, November 01, 2024. School Library Journal, January 01, 2025. Publishers Weekly starred, October 10, 2024. Horn Book, March 2025. Danilo's baseball talent lands him the opportunity to train in the States and find his absentee father, who may be the key to saving the family he abandoned as they deal with the devastating effects of the US's military invasion of Panama.
Date Published:2025

Booklist, January 2025. Kirkus starred, November 01, 2024. School Library Journal, January 01, 2025. Publishers Weekly starred, October 10, 2024. Horn Book, March 2025. Danilo's baseball talent lands him the opportunity to train in the States and find his absentee father, who may be the key to saving the family he abandoned as they deal with the devastating effects of the US's military invasion of Panama.

Date Published:2025

Gabby Torres gets a billion followers : a graphic novel /

Dominguez, Angela,


Booklist, Horn Book Guide, Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Nine-year-old Gabby Torres has joined the Sea Musketeers, a club for environmental protection founded by Stella Diaz, her hero. Hoping to impress Stella, Gabby starts a social media page for the club, but never imagined how much trouble some social media bullies could make for her and the club.
Date Published:2025

Gracie under the waves

Park, Linda Sue,


Snorkeling is the best! Gracie loves floating above underwater reefs, watching colorful fish dart in and out of the coral. She convinces her parents to let her plan a family vacation to Roatan, Honduras, where they can snorkel together. She even makes a new friend there. Now, if only her irritating little brother would leave her alone, everything would be perfect.
Date Published:2024

I'm a dumbo octopus : a graphic guide to cephalopods /

Lambelet, Anne,


Horn Book. Dumbo octopus Grimpy presents a tour of the whole cephalopod class: cuttlefish, nautiluses, octopuses, and squids. When he dwells on everything he can't do, the others show him why it's great to be a dumbo!
Date Published:2025

Introducing Sandwina : the strongest woman in the world /

Conrad, Vicki,


Booklist starred, October 15, 2024. Kirkus, October 15, 2024. Horn Book, January 2025. No one believed a woman could be stronger than a man, until Katie Brumbach, also known as Sandwina, displayed her show-stopping feats as a circus strongwoman.100 pounds . . . 200 pounds . . . 300 pounds! Katie Brumbach became the world's top strongwoman after she ousted Eugen Sandow by lifting hundreds of pounds over her head (which Sandow could barely lift to his shoulders). After that, she took the last name Sandwina and thrived in the circus world, which she had been participating in since the age of two when she first performed with her family. She grew over six feet tall as she got older, but Katie never second-guessed herself, and she trained to build her muscles, always eager to test her skills and try new feats. After starting a family with a fellow performer, they were eventually signed to work with John Ringling of the Ringling Bros. Circus. Sandwina impressed the crowds by balancing a 1,000-pound cannon on her chest, by throwing a one-ton stone, and by having an iron slab broken on her body--she stole the show!
Date Published:2024

Booklist starred, October 15, 2024. Kirkus, October 15, 2024. Horn Book, January 2025. No one believed a woman could be stronger than a man, until Katie Brumbach, also known as Sandwina, displayed her show-stopping feats as a circus strongwoman.100 pounds . . . 200 pounds . . . 300 pounds! Katie Brumbach became the world's top strongwoman after she ousted Eugen Sandow by lifting hundreds of pounds over her head (which Sandow could barely lift to his shoulders). After that, she took the last name Sandwina and thrived in the circus world, which she had been participating in since the age of two when she first performed with her family. She grew over six feet tall as she got older, but Katie never second-guessed herself, and she trained to build her muscles, always eager to test her skills and try new feats. After starting a family with a fellow performer, they were eventually signed to work with John Ringling of the Ringling Bros. Circus. Sandwina impressed the crowds by balancing a 1,000-pound cannon on her chest, by throwing a one-ton stone, and by having an iron slab broken on her body--she stole the show!

Date Published:2024

The invisible parade

Bardugo, Leigh,


School Library Journal, June 2025. Booklist starred, July 2025. Publishers Weekly, June 2025. Kirkus starred, June 2025. A young girl examines fear and death and discovers bravery against the backdrop of Dia de Muertos. Everyone in the neighborhood was getting ready for the party. Everyone knew somebody on the guest list . . .This was the day the dead returned. There's a party tonight, but Cala doesn't want to go. While her family prepares for the celebration, Cala grieves her grandfather and tries to pretend she's not afraid. But when she is separated from her family at the cemetery, Cala encounters four mysterious riders who will show her she is actually quite brave after all.
Date Published:2025

School Library Journal, June 2025. Booklist starred, July 2025. Publishers Weekly, June 2025. Kirkus starred, June 2025. A young girl examines fear and death and discovers bravery against the backdrop of Dia de Muertos. Everyone in the neighborhood was getting ready for the party. Everyone knew somebody on the guest list . . .This was the day the dead returned. There's a party tonight, but Cala doesn't want to go. While her family prepares for the celebration, Cala grieves her grandfather and tries to pretend she's not afraid. But when she is separated from her family at the cemetery, Cala encounters four mysterious riders who will show her she is actually quite brave after all.

Date Published:2025

The library of unruly treasures

Birdsall, Jeanne,


"A Borzoi Book." Horn Book, September 2025. Kirkus, June 01, 2025. Publishers Weekly starred, May 19, 2025. School Library Journal starred, July 01, 2025. The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, September 2025. Booklist starred, December 01, 2025. Gwen MacKinnon's parents are dreadful. Truly, deeply, almost impressively dreadful. So Gwen's not upset at all when she's foisted onto her never-before-seen Uncle Matthew for two weeks. Especially when it turns out he has a very opinionated dog named Pumpkin. Things take a turn for the weird when Gwen makes a discovery in the local library. A discovery that involves tiny creatures with wings. And no, they're not birds. They're called Lahdukan.
Date Published:2025

"A Borzoi Book." Horn Book, September 2025. Kirkus, June 01, 2025. Publishers Weekly starred, May 19, 2025. School Library Journal starred, July 01, 2025. The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, September 2025. Booklist starred, December 01, 2025. Gwen MacKinnon's parents are dreadful. Truly, deeply, almost impressively dreadful. So Gwen's not upset at all when she's foisted onto her never-before-seen Uncle Matthew for two weeks. Especially when it turns out he has a very opinionated dog named Pumpkin. Things take a turn for the weird when Gwen makes a discovery in the local library. A discovery that involves tiny creatures with wings. And no, they're not birds. They're called Lahdukan.

Date Published:2025

Lola

Valenti, Karla Arenas,


Determined to save her brother from the Darkness that plagues their home, ten-year-old Lola follows mythical chaneques into a secret world where she seeks help from the queen.
Date Published:2024

Mixed-up

Garcia, Kami,


Booklist starred reviews, Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Stella is thrilled to start fifth grade with her two best friends, Emiko and Latasha, who are going to be in her class. In addition, their favorite television show, "Witchlins," announces a new guidebook and online game. As the year progresses, things get harder for Stella, especially reading, and she struggles to keep up with her friends in the game. But everything changes when Stella is diagnosed with dyslexia, and with the help of her friends, family, and a reading specialist, Stella gets the tools and support she needs to succeed.
Date Published:2025

Booklist starred reviews, Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Stella is thrilled to start fifth grade with her two best friends, Emiko and Latasha, who are going to be in her class. In addition, their favorite television show, "Witchlins," announces a new guidebook and online game. As the year progresses, things get harder for Stella, especially reading, and she struggles to keep up with her friends in the game. But everything changes when Stella is diagnosed with dyslexia, and with the help of her friends, family, and a reading specialist, Stella gets the tools and support she needs to succeed.

Date Published:2025

My mad scientist mom : saved by the smell /

Lerner, Jarrett,


Kirkus, January 15, 2025. Publishers Weekly, December 09, 2024. School Library Journal, February 01, 2025. Booklist, February 2025. Ari's life is filled with school, video games, and his pet turtle, Fred, but his mom is a mad scientist--or big-hearted genius, as Ari says--who strives to make people's lives better by solving problems that other scientists usually overlook. When one of Mom's experiments ends up in an explosion of mounds and mounds of dirty laundry, she devises a time portal to fix things.
Date Published:2025

Kirkus, January 15, 2025. Publishers Weekly, December 09, 2024. School Library Journal, February 01, 2025. Booklist, February 2025. Ari's life is filled with school, video games, and his pet turtle, Fred, but his mom is a mad scientist--or big-hearted genius, as Ari says--who strives to make people's lives better by solving problems that other scientists usually overlook. When one of Mom's experiments ends up in an explosion of mounds and mounds of dirty laundry, she devises a time portal to fix things.

Date Published:2025

Pocket Bear

Applegate, Katherine,


School Library Journal starred, September 2025. Booklist starred, August 2025. Publishers Weekly, July 2025. Kirkus starred, August 2025. Horn Book, November 2025. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), September 2025. A teddy bear named Pocket Bear born during World War One as a good luck charm finds himself a century later as the] unofficial mayor of Second Chances Home for the Tossed and Treasured, where stuffed toy animals are refurbished and given a fresh opportunity to be loved. He and his best feline friend Zephyrina, known far and wide as 'The Cat Burglar', have seen it all, and then some.
Date Published:2025

School Library Journal starred, September 2025. Booklist starred, August 2025. Publishers Weekly, July 2025. Kirkus starred, August 2025. Horn Book, November 2025. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), September 2025. A teddy bear named Pocket Bear born during World War One as a good luck charm finds himself a century later as the] unofficial mayor of Second Chances Home for the Tossed and Treasured, where stuffed toy animals are refurbished and given a fresh opportunity to be loved. He and his best feline friend Zephyrina, known far and wide as 'The Cat Burglar', have seen it all, and then some.

Date Published:2025

Safe crossing

Percival, Kari,


School Library Journal, January 2025. Publishers Weekly, October 2024. Kirkus starred, November 2024. Booklist, November 2024. Horn Book, March 2025. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), November 2024. Every spring, frogs and salamanders must travel from wooded uplands to vernal pools where they were born, now to mate. Unfortunately, roads constructed through their habitats have made the journey dangerous for these slow-moving animals. Many never reach their destinations. But with the help of the Amphibian Migration Team, there is hope for a safe crossing! . . . offers an empowering example of how even the youngest individuals can raise awareness about a meaningful cause, drive change, and unite people in a community, as well as globally.
Date Published:2025

School Library Journal, January 2025. Publishers Weekly, October 2024. Kirkus starred, November 2024. Booklist, November 2024. Horn Book, March 2025. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), November 2024. Every spring, frogs and salamanders must travel from wooded uplands to vernal pools where they were born, now to mate. Unfortunately, roads constructed through their habitats have made the journey dangerous for these slow-moving animals. Many never reach their destinations. But with the help of the Amphibian Migration Team, there is hope for a safe crossing! . . . offers an empowering example of how even the youngest individuals can raise awareness about a meaningful cause, drive change, and unite people in a community, as well as globally.

Date Published:2025

Speak up, Santiago!

Anta, Julio,


Santi is excited to spend the summer in Hillside Valley, meeting the local kids, eating his Abuela’s delicious food, exploring! There’s just one problem—Santi doesn’t speak Spanish that well and it feels like everyone he meets in Hillside does. There’s Sol (she’s a soccer player who really loves books), Willie, (the artist), Alejandro (Santi’s unofficial tour guide!), and Nico (Alejandro’s brother and blue belt in karate). In between all of their adventures in Hillside, Santi can’t help but worry about his Spanish-what if he can’t keep up?! Does that mean he’s not Colombian enough? Will Santi find his confidence and his voice? Or will his worries cost him his new friendships…and the chance to play in Hillside’s summer soccer tournament?!
Date Published:2025

Santi is excited to spend the summer in Hillside Valley, meeting the local kids, eating his Abuela’s delicious food, exploring! There’s just one problem—Santi doesn’t speak Spanish that well and it feels like everyone he meets in Hillside does. There’s Sol (she’s a soccer player who really loves books), Willie, (the artist), Alejandro (Santi’s unofficial tour guide!), and Nico (Alejandro’s brother and blue belt in karate). In between all of their adventures in Hillside, Santi can’t help but worry about his Spanish-what if he can’t keep up?! Does that mean he’s not Colombian enough? Will Santi find his confidence and his voice? Or will his worries cost him his new friendships…and the chance to play in Hillside’s summer soccer tournament?!

Date Published:2025

A strange thing happened in Cherry Hall

Warga, Jasmine,


A painting has been stolen! When Rami sees a floating girl in the museum, he knows he has seen her somewhere before. Then he realizes: She looks just like the girl in the painting that has gone missing. But how does her appearance connect to the theft? Agatha the turtle knows—she has been watching from the garden. But she can’t exactly tell anyone…can she? Will Rami, with the help of his classmate, Veda, be able to solve the mystery? The clues are all around them, but they’ll have to be brave enough to really look. This is a whimsical, moving story about the universal desire to be seen and understood and how art can help us find connection, even when we are at our loneliest.
Date Published:2024

A painting has been stolen! When Rami sees a floating girl in the museum, he knows he has seen her somewhere before. Then he realizes: She looks just like the girl in the painting that has gone missing. But how does her appearance connect to the theft? Agatha the turtle knows—she has been watching from the garden. But she can’t exactly tell anyone…can she? Will Rami, with the help of his classmate, Veda, be able to solve the mystery? The clues are all around them, but they’ll have to be brave enough to really look. This is a whimsical, moving story about the universal desire to be seen and understood and how art can help us find connection, even when we are at our loneliest.

Date Published:2024

The trouble with heroes

Messner, Kate,


Kirkus starred, March 01, 2025. Publishers Weekly starred, January 20, 2025. Booklist starred, December 01, 2025. The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, May 2025. Horn Book, March 2025. School Library Journal starred, July 25, 2025. Finn Connelly is nothing like his dad, a star athlete and firefighter hero who always ran toward danger until he died two years ago. Finn is about to fail seventh grade and has never made headlines . . . until now. Caught on camera vandalizing a cemetery, he's in big trouble for knocking down some dead old lady's headstone. Turns out that grave belongs to a legendary local mountain climber, and her daughter makes Finn an unusual offer: she'll drop all the charges if he agrees to climb all forty-six Adirondack High Peaks in a single summer. And there's just one more thing -- he has to bring along the dead woman's dog. In a wild three months of misadventures, mountain mud, and unexpected mentors, Finn begins to find his way on the trails. At the top of each peak, he can see for miles and slowly begins to understand more about himself and his dad. But the mountains don't care about any of that, and as the clock ticks down to September, they have more surprises in store. Finn's final summit challenge may be more than even a hero can face.
Date Published:2025

Kirkus starred, March 01, 2025. Publishers Weekly starred, January 20, 2025. Booklist starred, December 01, 2025. The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, May 2025. Horn Book, March 2025. School Library Journal starred, July 25, 2025. Finn Connelly is nothing like his dad, a star athlete and firefighter hero who always ran toward danger until he died two years ago. Finn is about to fail seventh grade and has never made headlines . . . until now. Caught on camera vandalizing a cemetery, he's in big trouble for knocking down some dead old lady's headstone. Turns out that grave belongs to a legendary local mountain climber, and her daughter makes Finn an unusual offer: she'll drop all the charges if he agrees to climb all forty-six Adirondack High Peaks in a single summer. And there's just one more thing -- he has to bring along the dead woman's dog. In a wild three months of misadventures, mountain mud, and unexpected mentors, Finn begins to find his way on the trails. At the top of each peak, he can see for miles and slowly begins to understand more about himself and his dad. But the mountains don't care about any of that, and as the clock ticks down to September, they have more surprises in store. Finn's final summit challenge may be more than even a hero can face.

Date Published:2025

Wanda hears the stars : a blind astronomer listens to the Universe /

Hansen, Amy,


School Library Journal starred, June 2025. Booklist starred, July 2025. Kirkus Review, July 2025. Growing up in Puerto Rico, Wanda Diaz Merced wanted to study the stars. But when she lost her sight, she had to find a new way to work. Through the use of sonification, which turns data into sound, she was able to make a path for herself and other scientists with disabilities.
Date Published:2025

Wanda oye las estrellas : una astronoma ciega escucha al universo /

Hansen, Amy,


Translation of: Wanda hears the stars: A blind astronomer listens to the universe. School Library Journal starred, Presents a STEM picture book biography of blind Puerto Rican astrophysicist Wanda DÃaz Merced who fell in love with stars as a child. After losing her sight to diabetes in college, Wanda learned to study the stars by listening to them using sonification, which converts data into sounds. Includes Spanish words interspersed in the text and extensive back matter including a timeline, a glossary, and further resources.
Date Published:2025

Translation of: Wanda hears the stars: A blind astronomer listens to the universe. School Library Journal starred, Presents a STEM picture book biography of blind Puerto Rican astrophysicist Wanda DÃaz Merced who fell in love with stars as a child. After losing her sight to diabetes in college, Wanda learned to study the stars by listening to them using sonification, which converts data into sounds. Includes Spanish words interspersed in the text and extensive back matter including a timeline, a glossary, and further resources.

Date Published:2025

Will's race for home : a western /

Rhodes, Jewell Parker,


Twelve-year-old Will is the son of freed slaves living as sharecroppers in Texas. When Will’s father finds a notice about a land rush in Oklahoma, Will and his father set out to find a home of their own. Rhodes tells the tale of the 1889 Oklahoma Land Rush through the eyes of Black Americans. Will’s father experienced the journey to Texas from a Louisiana plantation and now journeys with his son to create a homestead of their own. Will must brave racism in towns, the Red River crossing, and thieves as he travels the arduous route to Oklahoma. Once he arrives, further adventure and danger await as he experiences the land rush and stakes his claim. Will comes of age as he sees both the good and bad in people in the post–Civil War West. A former Union officer named Caesar, who joins them on their trek, provides further insight into the difficulties facing Black Americans during Reconstruction.
Date Published:2025

Twelve-year-old Will is the son of freed slaves living as sharecroppers in Texas. When Will’s father finds a notice about a land rush in Oklahoma, Will and his father set out to find a home of their own. Rhodes tells the tale of the 1889 Oklahoma Land Rush through the eyes of Black Americans. Will’s father experienced the journey to Texas from a Louisiana plantation and now journeys with his son to create a homestead of their own. Will must brave racism in towns, the Red River crossing, and thieves as he travels the arduous route to Oklahoma. Once he arrives, further adventure and danger await as he experiences the land rush and stakes his claim. Will comes of age as he sees both the good and bad in people in the post–Civil War West. A former Union officer named Caesar, who joins them on their trek, provides further insight into the difficulties facing Black Americans during Reconstruction.

Date Published:2025