Texas Bluebonnet Award 2012-2013 Nominees

The Bluebonnet Award is a project of the Texas Library Association and is co-sponsored by the Children's Roundtable and the Texas Association of School Librarians, both of the Texas Library Association from suggestions from librarians, teachers, parents, students, and others. Students in grades 3-6 vote in January for the winner.

	Jim Arnosky. Thunder Birds Acclaimed naturalist and illustrator Jim Arnosky helps birds and imaginations take glorious flight in this breathtaking nonfiction picture book with six giant gatefolds. Arnosky will draw out kids' inner explorer as he explains why there are no feathers on a vulture's head, which bird is the deep-diving champ, what makes an owls's wings perfectly silent in flight, and much more
	Margaret Cardillo. Just Being Audrey This book for younger readers pays a stunning tribute to one of America's most beloved icons--Audrey Hepburn.
	Carmen Agra Deedy & Randall Wright . The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens of a Tale A community of mice and a cheese-loving cat form an unlikely alliance at London's Cheshire Cheese, an inn where Charles Dickens finds inspiration and Queen Victoria makes an unexpected appearance.
	Julia Durango. Under the Mambo Moon Contains poems about the different people who stop by Marisol's father's music store on a hot summer night, looking for just the right songs to make their hearts fly home.
	Candace Fleming. Clever Jack Takes the Cake A poor boy named Jack struggles to deliver a birthday present worthy of the princess.
	Ben Hatke. Zita the Spacegirl When young Zita discovers a device that opens a portal to another place, and her best friend is abducted, she is compelled to set out on a strange journey from star to star in order to get back home.
	Lynne Jonell . Hamster Magic When the Willows move into a new house, Celia, the youngest of four children, traps an enchanted hamster, who reluctantly agrees to grant the children one wish in exchange for his freedom.
	Kim Kennedy. Misty Gordon and the Mystery of the Ghost Pirates While assisting her father, an estate and antiques dealer, teenaged Misty discovers a journal and pair of glasses that allow her to see ghosts, including those of pirates who founded her New England town and who are seeking a golden statue with mystical powers.
	Mike Lupica. Hero Fourteen-year-old Zach learns he has the same special abilities as his father, who was the President's globe-trotting troubleshooter until "the Bads" killed him, and now Zach must decide whether to use his powers in the same way at the risk of his own life.
	Matthew McElligott & Larry Tuxbury. Benjamin Franklinstein Lives! While working on a science fair project, a Philadelphia boy discovers both a secret laboratory in his basement and Ben Franklin, who comes to life with a jolt of electricity.
	Calvin A. Ramsey. Ruth and the Green Book When Ruth and her parents take a motor trip from Chicago to Alabama to visit her grandma, they rely on a pamphlet called "The Negro Motorist Green Book" to find places that will serve them.
	Brian Selznick. Wonderstruck Having lost his mother and his hearing in a short time, twelve-year-old Ben leaves his Minnesota home in 1977 to seek the father he never knew in New York City, and meets there Rose, who is also longing for something missing from her life. Ben's story is told in words; Rose's in pictures.
	Clete Barrett Smith. Aliens on Vacation Unhappy at being sent to stay with his grandmother at the inn she operates, The Intergalactic Bed & Breakfast, Scrub discovers that each room is actually a portal to space and the inn's visitors are aliens who are vacationing on Earth.
	Julie Sternberg. Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie When nine-year-old Eleanor's beloved babysitter Bibi moves away to care for her ailing father, Eleanor must spend the summer adjusting to a new babysitter while mourning the loss of her old one.
	Jessica Swaim. Scarum Fair Poems that mix familiar sights and sounds of the fair with creepy, ghoulish, and gorgeous illustrations and funny rhymes.
	Adrienne Sylver. Hot Diggity Dog: The History of the Hot Dog We ate them on the way to the moon and served them to the king of England. We name a Hot Dog-Eating Champ! Garnished with hilarious illustrations and amazing "food" facts, this kid-friendly, globe spanning history of our favorite fast-food meal offers unique insight into America's multicultural heritage. From a hobo's franks-and-beans to astronaut food, there's more to the wiener--and what's for dinner--than you think.
	Simms Taback. Postcards from Camp Follows Michael's summer at sleep-away camp through a series of postcards sent between him and his father.
	Sally Warner. EllRay Jakes is Not a Chicken Eight-year-old EllRay's father has promised a family trip to Disneyland if EllRay can stay out of trouble for a week, but not defending himself against Jared, the class bully, proves to be a real challenge.
	Muriel Harris Weinstein. Play, Louis, Play!: The True Story of a Boy and His Horn A rollicking biography of jazz great Louis Armstrong's childhood, told from the perspective of his dearest companion--his horn.
	Eve Yohalem. Escape Under the Forever Sky As a future conservation zoologist whose mother is the United States Ambassador to Ethiopia, thirteen-year-old Lucy uses her knowledge for survival when she is kidnapped and subsequently escapes.