IT'S BLUEBONNET PREDICTION TIME!

Tomorrow is the big day - the new list for the 2022-2023 Bluebonnet nominees will be announced. While there are blogs devoted to the ALA Youth Media Awards (Heavy Medal and Calling Caldecott to name two), I have not seen any that try to predict the Bluebonnet Master List. So I thought I would give it a try. I figure I will be lucky if I get one out of the twenty. The books can be picture books, chapter books, non-fiction, biography, poetry or any fiction genre. The audience is 3rd-6th graders. And they are new books - published in the past year or so. Being on the list gives the book quite a visibility bump. I always find books on the list that I would have overlooked if they had not been nominated.

I started with a list of over one hundred titles and whittled it down to twenty. Committee members read over four hundred titles! Even if these don't make it to the list, I highly recommend reading them. They are all quite good!

        

Almost There and Almost Not by Linda Urban (realistic but with a few ghosts)

Alone by Megan E. Freeman (dystopian survival)

Cubs in the Tub: The True Story of the Bronx Zoo's First Woman Zookeeper by Candace Fleming (biographical)

The Elephants Come Home: A True Story of Seven Elephants, Two People, and One Extraordinary Friendship by Kim Tomsic (non-fiction animals)

Halfway to Harmony by Barbara O'Connor (realistic)

How to Find What You're Not Looking For by Veera Hiranandani (historical 1967 USA)

How to Train Your Dad by Gary Paulsen (humorous)

The Islanders by Mary Alice Monroe (realistic)

Katie the Catsitter by Colleen A. F. Venable (realistic graphic novel)

Ladybird Johnson, That's Who!: The Story of a Cleaner and Greener America by Tracy Nelson Maurer (biography)

The Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm (sci-fi)

Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey by Erin Entrada Kelly (realistic fiction)

Once Upon a Camel by Kathi Appelt (animal adventure)

The One Thing You'd Save by Linda Sue Park (realistic fiction but also poetry)

Ophie's Ghosts by Justina Ireland (historical mystery/spooky - 1920s USA)

A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus (historical fiction - WW2 England)

Playing the Cards Your Dealt by Varian Johnson (realistic fiction)

River Magic by Ellen Booraem (fantasy)

Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by Jeff Gottesfeld (non-fiction)

Willodeen by Katherine Applegate (eco-fantasy)

Tune in to the Texas Book Festival virtual broadcast on YouTube - Sunday at 11 AM CT  - to watch the announcement of the 2022-2023 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List! (That is tomorrow -Sunday, October 24th). Each year, twenty books are selected. Kids all across Texas read at least five of the books and then they vote on their favorite. Teachers read books aloud during class; libraries promote the list; and Bluebonnet book clubs abound! It is a unique book award because students pick the winner - from a list of twenty titles curated by librarians and teachers (members of the committee).