The Texas Bluebonnet Award is one of the most prestigious children’s choice literary awards in the United States. Each year, 20 books are chosen for the Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List. Schools and libraries around the state participate in the program, encouraging students to read a minimum of five books from the list. 

In January, students vote for their favorite title. The author of the book receiving the most votes, wins the Texas Bluebonnet Award (TBA) which is presented at the Texas Bluebonnet Award presentation held during the TLA Annual Conference in the spring. 

Frenship elementaries aim to make the contest engaging and rewarding to encourage the students to participate.

Many North Ridge Elementary students exceeded the minimum requirement of reading five of the books on the list. Out of the 50 students that qualified to vote, 90% read well above the five required and a few students even read all 20.  

“We had students participate that likely would not have read that many books in the timeframe had they not been excited and challenged,” said Bridget Turner, the North Ridge Media Specialist. “The overall number of participants and qualified students was larger this year than last year.” 

The Crestview Elementary students who qualified to vote had an ice cream party to watch the video provided by the Texas Library Association to find out the winning book amongst the entire state of Texas. 

Oak Ridge Elementary had 30 fifth graders participate in bluebonnet this year. After voting closed, they celebrated with pizza, blue drinks, and bluebonnet decorated cookies from the Cakery. 

The winner of the 2023 Texas Bluebonnet Award is Memoirs of a Tortoise, written by Devin Scillian and illustrated by Tim Bowers. More than 70,000 students voted in this year’s contest. 

More about the Texas Bluebonnet Award HERE