Houston Public Library
Texas Bluebonnet Nominees
2022-2023
Rock by Rock: The Fantastical Garden of Nek Chand
by Jennifer Bradbury

A lavishly illustrated tribute to the life and achievements of artist Nek Chand describes his early years in India and how the loss of his beloved childhood home in Chandigarh inspired the creation of his famous scrap-and-concrete rock garden.
Memoirs of a Tortoise
by Devin Scillian

Spending decades alongside a human best friend who is just his age, Oliver the 80-year-old tortoise wonders why his pet has left him and embarks on a visit to his mother’s garden to ask if she knows. By the creators of Memoirs of a Goldfish.
Swish!: the Slam-Dunking, Alley-Ooping, High-Flying Harlem Globetrotters
by Suzanne Slade

Rhythmic text by the award-winning author of A Computer Called Katherine and dynamic artwork by the award-winning illustrator of No Small Potatoes trace the story of the Harlem Globetrotters and how their remarkable performances indelibly transformed the game of basketball.
Amari and the Night Brothers
by B. B. Alston

Discovering that she has a supernaturally enhanced talent, Amari Peters enters a summer tryout at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, where she is considered the enemy, in order to find her missing brother. 
Once Upon a Camel
by Kathi Appelt

Wandering the desert as the last camel in Texas, Zada, who has many stories to tell, saves two tiny kestrel chicks during a massive dust storm, which takes her on one more grand adventure.
Willodeen
by Katherine Applegate

When the annual migration of hummingbears, a source of local pride and income, dwindles and no one knows why, Willodeen, armed with a magical birthday gift, speaks up for the animals she loves and vows to uncover this mystery.
J.D. and the Great Barber Battle
by J. Dillard

Eight-year-old J.D. turns a tragic home haircut into a thriving barber business in this hilarious new illustrated chapter book series that will appeal to early and reluctant readers alike.
Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna
by Alda P. Dobbs

After her mother dies and her father is dragged away by soldiers in 1931 during the Mexican Revolution, 12-year-old Petra Luna will do anything to keep her family safe and lead them to a better life across the U.S. border.
Nightingale
by Deva Fagan

When her plot to steal from the Royal Museum to fund her escape from a squalid boarding house goes awry, a plucky orphan accidentally steals a magical sword that chooses her to be the next in a line of fabled heroes. 
The Hungry Place
by Jessie Haas

A pony with a mind of her own and a girl with a spine of steel find in each other the remedy to their loneliness
Billy Miller Makes a Wish
by Kevin Henkes

A standalone companion to the award-winning The Year of Billy Miller finds the title character embarking on a surprising misadventure of unexpected critters, lost love letters and ill-advised tattoos.
The Lion of Mars
by Jennifer L Holm

Eleven-year-old Bell is just a regular kid living on Mars, curious about the secrets the adults in the US colony are keeping, so when a virus breaks out and the grown-ups all fall ill, it is up to Bell to uncover the truth and save his family.
Stella
by McCall Hoyle

Stella used to be a bomb-sniffing dog, but after a terrible accident, she goes to live on a small family farm to recover from her fear of loud noises.
No Place for Monsters
by Kory Merritt

When children start disappearing, nobody looks for the children because nobody can remember them, except Levi and Kat, and now they must figure out what terrible presence is taking the children and fight it to save the missing kids, before the whole town disappears.
The One Thing You'd Save
by Linda Sue Park

The Newbery Medal-winning author of A Single Shard explores a diverse classroom’s varied answers to a question about what they would save if their homes were on fire, in a series of linked poems complemented by striking black-and-white art.
Becoming Muhammad Ali: a Novel
by James Patterson

Fully authorized by and written in cooperation with the Muhammad Ali estate, two powerhouse authors come together to tell the inspiring story of Cassius Clay, the determined boy who would one day become Muhammed Ali, one of the greatest sports heroes of all time.
Long Lost
by Jacqueline West

Feeling lonely and out of place after her family moves to a new town, eleven-year-old Fiona Crane ventures to the local library, where she finds a gripping mystery novel about a small town, family secrets, and a tragic disappearance.
Twins
by Varian Johnson

Featuring graphic art by the illustrator of Edwidge Danticat’s My Mommy Medicine, a series debut by the Coretta Scott King Honor-winning author of The Parker Inheritance finds twins Maureen and Francine distinguishing themselves for the first time by pursing separate interests at the beginning of the sixth grade. 
Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre
by Carole Boston Weatherford

Celebrated author Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrator Floyd Cooper provide a powerful look at the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, one of the worst incidents of racial violence in our nation's history.
Bartali's Bicycle: The True Story of Gino Bartali, Italy's Secret Hero
by Megan Hoyt

To the entire world, Gino Bartali was merely a champion cyclist. But Gino's greatest achievement was something he never told a soul--that he secretly worked with the Italian resistance to save hundreds of Jewish men, women, and children, and others, from certain death, using the one thing no authority would question: his bicycle.

 
City of Houston Houston Public Library
 
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