2026-2027 Texas Bluebonnet Award List

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

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

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

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

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

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

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