01Speak Up, Santiago!Anta, JulioSpeak Up, Santiago! follows twelve-year-old Santi from New York City to Hillside Valley, where a summer with his abuela, new soccer friends, and insecurity about his Spanish challenge his sense of Colombian identity and belonging.All readersLexile GN390LATOS 3.1Book detailsTexas Library Association · 2026–2027
Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List 2026–2027
Annual Grades 3–6 committee master list followed by a student-voted winner.
Texas Bluebonnet Award 2026–2027 Current ListOriginal source
Titles shown20
Audience sectionsAll readers
Titles are shown in the same order as their source section. The sequence is not a ranking.
Source section
All readers
20 titles · source order
01Speak Up, Santiago!Anta, JulioSpeak Up, Santiago! follows twelve-year-old Santi from New York City to Hillside Valley, where a summer with his abuela, new soccer friends, and insecurity about his Spanish challenge his sense of Colombian identity and belonging.All readersLexile GN390LATOS 3.1Book details
02Pocket BearApplegate, KatherinePocket Bear is a middle-grade novel by Katherine Applegate about a stuffed bear created as a World War I good-luck charm who, a century later, helps other discarded toys find second chances at a restoration home.All readersATOS 3.9AR interest MG 4–8Book details
03The Invisible ParadeBardugo, Leigh, and John PicacioThe Invisible Parade is a picture book by Leigh Bardugo and John Picacio about Cala, whose Día de Muertos journey through a magical parade becomes a story of family, grief, love, and unexpected courage.All readersATOS 3.9AR interest LG K–3Book details
04The Library of Unruly TreasuresBirdsall, JeanneThe Library of Unruly Treasures is a middle-grade fantasy by Jeanne Birdsall, illustrated by Matt Phelan, in which Gwen MacKinnon discovers tiny winged creatures in a library and is drawn into helping them find a new home.All readersATOS 4.8AR interest MG 4–8Book details
05Danilo Was HereBurgess, TamikaDanilo Was Here is a middle-grade novel by Tamika Burgess about a Panamanian boy who, after the 1989 U.S. invasion destroys his neighborhood, weighs a baseball opportunity in California against his responsibilities to his family.All readersATOS 5.0AR interest MGBook details
06Introducing SandwinaConrad, VickiIntroducing Sandwina is a picture-book biography by Vicki Conrad, illustrated by Jeremy Holmes, about Katie Brumbach, the circus performer who became famous as Sandwina after defeating Eugen Sandow in a weightlifting challenge.All readersLexile 620LBook details
07The Black MambasCrull, KellyThe Black Mambas follows South Africa's first women-led anti-poaching unit as its unarmed rangers patrol a nature reserve, detect signs of poachers, and protect rhinos, pangolins, and other wildlife.All readersLexile 720LATOS 4.6Book details
08Gabby Torres Gets a Billion FollowersDominguez, AngelaGabby Torres Gets a Billion Followers follows a determined nine-year-old who launches a social-media page for her environmental club despite her parents' warnings and then faces the consequences of online cruelty.All readersLexile 490LATOS 3.5Book details
09Mixed-UpGarcia, KamiMixed-Up is a middle-grade graphic novel by Kami Garcia and Brittney Williams about fifth grader Stella, whose struggles with schoolwork and a text-heavy game lead to a dyslexia diagnosis and the support she needs to thrive.All readersLexile 390LBook details
10Wanda Hears the StarsHansen, Amy S, and Wanda Díaz MercedA picture book biography of astrophysicist Wanda Díaz Merced, who uses sonification to study astronomical data after losing her sight.All readersLexile 540LATOS 3.6Book details
11I’m a Dumbo Octopus!Lambelet, AnneI'm a Dumbo Octopus! uses the character Grimpy to introduce cuttlefish, nautiluses, octopuses, and squids while explaining the adaptations that make each cephalopod distinctive.All readersATOS 3.9AR points 0.5Book details
12Saved by the SmellLerner, JarrettSaved by the Smell is an illustrated chapter book written and illustrated by Jarrett Lerner in which Ari’s mother invents a time portal to tackle a mountain of dirty laundry and strands the family in a prehistoric mess.All readersFountas & Pinnell PBook details
13The Trouble with HeroesMessner, KateThe Trouble with Heroes is a novel in verse about Finn, who must hike all forty-six Adirondack High Peaks after damaging a tombstone and gradually confronts grief and trauma connected to his father’s death.All readersATOS 5.1AR interest MG 4–8Book details
14Gracie under the WavesPark, Linda SueGracie Under the Waves is a middle-grade novel by Linda Sue Park about a young snorkeling enthusiast whose family trip to Roatán, Honduras, leads her to confront a threatened coral reef and discover how children can help.All readersATOS 4.7AR interest MG 4–8Book details
15Safe CrossingPercival, KariSafe Crossing is a nonfiction picture book written and illustrated by Kari Percival about citizen scientists who help migrating amphibians cross roads and work with local government to build a wildlife tunnel.All readersLexile 620LBook details
16Will’s Race for HomeRhodes, Jewell ParkerWill’s Race for Home is a historical middle-grade novel by Jewell Parker Rhodes about a Black boy and his father traveling from Texas to the 1889 Oklahoma Land Rush in hopes of claiming land of their own.All readersBook details
17AnotherTremblay, PaulAnother is a middle-grade horror novel by Paul Tremblay about an isolated boy named Casey whose unsettling new sleepover guest, Morel, appears to be replacing him in his own family.All readersATOS 5.9AR interest MG 4–8Book details
18Fowl PlayTubb, Kristin O’DonnellFowl Play is a middle-grade mystery by Kristin O’Donnell Tubb about Chloe Alvarez, who inherits her late uncle’s African grey parrot and follows the bird’s unusual words into an investigation of his death.All readersBook details
19LolaValenti, Karla ArenasLola is a middle-grade fantasy by Karla Arenas Valenti about a ten-year-old girl from a magical Mexico City home who enters the hidden realm of Floresta in search of a cure for her sick brother.All readersATOS 4.8AR interest MG 4–8Book details
20A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry HallWarga, JasmineA Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall is a middle-grade mystery by Jasmine Warga about Rami and Veda, who investigate a stolen museum painting after Rami sees a floating girl who resembles its subject.All readersATOS 4.1AR interest MG 4–8Book details