1. Texas
Bluebonnet
Award
Nominees
2011-2012
Compiled by Dixie Allen
Literacy Specialist
Harris Elementary
dallen@aldine.k12.ts.us
2. Amazing Faces
Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins
An illustrated collection of
sixteen poems based on
the theme of the universal
emotions shared by
people around the world.
3. Balarama : A Royal Elephant
by Lewin, Ted
World travelers Ted and
Betsy Lewin recount how
the trained elephants of
southern India, in particular
the one chosen to be the
lead elephant in the
Mysore Dasara, are raised,
cared for, and prepared for
performing in ceremonial
processions.
4. Black Elk's Vision : A Lakota Story
by S.D. Nelson
Recounts how a childhood
vision shaped the life of
Black Elk, a Lakota-Oglala
medicine man who was
involved in the battles of
Little Bighorn and
Wounded Knee.
5. The Books of Elsewhere: The
Shadows by Jacqueline West
When eleven-year-old Olive
and her distracted parents
move into an old Victorian
mansion, Olive finds herself
ensnared in a dark plan
involving some mysterious
paintings, a trapped and
angry nine-year-old boy,
and three talking cats.
6. The Case of the Case of Mistaken
Identity by Mac Barnett
Twelve-year-old Steve
Brixton, a fan of Bailey
Brothers detective novels, is
mistaken for a real detective
and must elude librarians,
police, and the mysterious
Mr. E as he seeks a missing
quilt containing coded
information.
7. The Case of the Lost Boy
by Dori Hillestad Butler
While searching for his
mysteriously lost human
family, Buddy the dog is
adopted by another
family and helps solve the
mystery of their missing
boy.
8. The Duchess of Whimsy
by Randall de Séve & Peter de Séve
The Duchess of Whimsy
has absolutely no
interest in the Earl of
Norm until he makes a
sandwich that causes
her to look at him in an
entirely different way.
9. The Extraordinary Mark Twain
(According to Susy) by Barbara Kerley
Thirteen-year-old Susy
Clemens wants the world to
know that her papa, Mark
Twain, is more than just a
humorist and sets out to
write a comprehensive
biography of the American
icon.
10. Goal!
by Mina Javaherbin
In a dangerous alley in a
township in South Africa,
the strength and unity
which a group of young
friends feel while playing
soccer keep them safe
when a gang of bullies
arrives to cause trouble.
11. The Hallelujah Flight
by Bildner, Phil
In 1932, James Banning,
along with his co-pilot
Thomas Allen, make history
by becoming the first African
Americans to fly across the
United States, relying on the
generosity of people they
meet in the towns along the
way who help keep their
"flying jalopy" going.
12. Happenstance Found
by P. W. Catanese
A boy awakens, blindfolded,
with no memory of even his
name, but soon meets Lord
Umber, an adventurer and
inventor, who calls him
Happenstance and tells him
that he has a very important
destiny--and a powerful
enemy.
13. Imogene's Last Stand
by Candace Fleming
Enamored of history,
young Imogene Tripp
tries to save her town's
historical society from
being demolished in
order to build a
shoelace factory.
14. Louisa : the Life of Louisa May Alcott
by Yona Zeldis McDonough
A biography of
nineteenth-century
American author Louisa
May Alcott for young
readers, discussing her
poor but freethinking
family, her teaching
career, and her lifelong
passion for writing.
15. Mirror Mirror : A Book of Reversible
Verse by Marilyn Singer
A collection of short
poems which, when
reversed, provide new
perspectives on the
fairy tale characters
they feature.
16. Out of My Mind
by Sharon M. Draper
Considered by many to be
mentally retarded, a
brilliant, impatient fifth-
grader with cerebral palsy
discovers a technological
device that will allow her
to speak for the first time.
17. The Storm in the Barn
by Matt Phelan
Eleven-year-old Jack
Clark struggles with
everyday obstacles
while his family and
community contend
with the challenges
brought on by the Dust
Bowl in 1937 Kansas.
18. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
by Tom Angleberger
Sixth-grader Tommy and
his friends describe their
interactions with a paper
finger puppet of Yoda,
worn by their weird
classmate Dwight, as they
try to figure out whether
or not the puppet can
really predict the future.
19. Turtle in Paradise
by Jennifer L. Holm
In 1935, when her mother
gets a job housekeeping
for a woman who does not
like children, eleven-year-
old Turtle is sent to stay
with relatives she has
never met in far away Key
West, Florida.
20. Wild Times at the Bed & Biscuit
by Joan Carris
Ernest the mini-pig does
his best to help the other
animals at Grandpa
Bender's boarding house
get along and have fun,
but the arrival of a hyper
Scottish terrier puppy
who wants to be a fox
disrupts life.
21. The Witch's Guide to Cooking With
Children by Keith McGowan
Eleven-year-old inventor Sol
must recover his self-
confidence if he and his
eight-year-old sister, Connie,
are to escape the clutches of
Hansel and Gretel's witch, to
whom they have been led by
their new stepmother and
the man they believe to be
their father.
