Book summaries were found on the Texas Bluebonnet Award Web site and from Amazon.com's product descriptions.

11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass

After celebrating their first nine same-day birthdays together, Amanda and Leo, having fallen out on their tenth and not speaking to each other for the last year, prepare to celebrate their eleventh birthday separately but peculiar things begin to happen as the day of their birthday begins to repeat itself over and over again.

14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy

Presents an illustrated tale of a gift of fourteen cows given by the Masai people of Kenya to the U.S. as a gesture of comfort and friendship in the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001.

All Stations! Distress!: April 15, 1912: The Day the Titanic Sank by Don Brown

It took 4,000 men to build it, 23 tons of animal grease to slide it into the ocean, 100,000 people to wave bon voyage, but only one wrong move to tear the Titanic apart, sinking it into the pages of history. On a cold moonless night in April of 1912, 2,000 passengers--both the uber-rich enjoying a luxury cruise and the dirt-poor hoping to find a new life in America--struggled to survive. Only 700 suceeded. Lifeboats were launched half-full; women were forced to leave their husbands and sons behind; and even those who made it out alive were forever haunted, constantly wondering "why me?"

The Cabinet of Wonders: The Kronos Chronicles: Book I by Marie Rutkoski

Petra Kronos has a simple, happy life. But it’s never been ordinary. She has a tin spider named Astrophil who likes to hide in her hair and give her advice. Her best friend can trap lightning in a glass sphere. And Petra’s father is able to move metal with his mind. He has been commissioned by the prince of Bohemia to build the world’s finest astronomical clock. Then Petra’s father returns home—blind. The prince has stolen his eyes, enchanted them, and now wears them. Petra doesn’t know why, but she does know this: She will go to Prague and steal her father’s eyes back. When she finds out that her father’s clock has the power to destroy the world, Petra realizes she may never make it home alive.

Calvin Coconut Trouble Magnet by Graham Salisbury

Calvin Coconut lives near the beach in Kailua, Hawaii, with his mom and his little sister. All his friends live there, too.

Mom says: "You're the man of the house, Cal." Which means: Be responsible. Calvin tries, but fun—and trouble—follows him wherever he goes, even in the classroom, also known as Mr. Purdy's Fourth-Grade Boot Camp. And how can he be the man of the house after teenage Stella-from-Texas arrives to be the live-in babysitter and steps all over Calvin's turf?

Down Down Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea by Steve Jenkins

Come along as we travel down, down, down, from the surface to the bottom of the sea. Along the way you can see jellyfish that flash like a neon sign, creatures with teeth so big, they can't close their mouths, and even a squid as long as a bus, which battles to the death with a sperm whale, the largest predator on earth. It'll be a journey you won't soon forget!

Dying to Meet You: 43 Cemetery Road, Book 1 by Kate Klise

Ghost writer, Ignatius B. Grumply rents 43 Old Cemetery Road in Ghastly, Illinois, hoping to find some peace and quiet so he can break his writer's block. But the three-story, run-down, Victorian house is already occupied by eleven-year-old Seymour, his cat Shadow, and an irritable ghost named Olive.

The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau by Dan Yaccarino

Jacques Cousteau was the world’s ambassador of the oceans. His popular TV series brought whales, otters, and dolphins right into people’s living rooms. Now, in this exciting picturebook biography, Dan Yaccarino introduces young readers to the man behind the snorkel.

From the first moment he got a glimpse of what lived under the ocean’s waves, Cousteau was hooked. And so he set sail aboard the Calypso to see the sea. He and his team of scientists invented diving equipment and waterproof cameras. They made films and televisions shows and wrote books so they could share what they learned. The oceans were a vast unexplored world, and Cousteau became our guide. And when he saw that pollution was taking its toll on the seas, Cousteau became our guide in how to protect the oceans as well.

The Hinky Pink: An Old Tale by Megan McDonald

When Princess Isabella Caramella Gorgonzola sends for Anabel to make her a dress for the Butterfly Ball, Anabel’s dream is about to come true. With one week only to make the dress, Anabel must get her sleep. Each night something pinches her and steals her bed covers. If Anabel can’t determine who or what is pinching and how to make it happy, her dream of one of her dresses being worn to a ball will never come true.

Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate

Kek, an African refugee, is confronted by many strange things at the Minneapolis home of his aunt and cousin, as well as in his fifth-grade classroom, and longs for his missing mother, but finds comfort in the company of a cow and her owner.

Jake Ransom and the Skull King’s Shadow by James Rollins

When a mysterious envelope arrives for Jake Ransom, he and his older sister, Kady, are plunged into a gripping chain of events. An artifact found by their parents—on the expedition from which they never returned—leads Jake and Kady to a strange world inhabited by a peculiar mix of long-lost civilizations, a world that may hold the key to their parents' disappearance.

But even as they enter the gate to this extraordinary place, savage grackyls soar across the sky, diving to attack. Jake's new friends, the pretty Mayan girl Marika and the Roman Pindor, say the grackyls were created by an evil alchemist—the Skull King. And as Jake struggles to find a way home, it becomes obvious that what the Skull King wants most is Jake and Kady—dead or alive.

Mudshark by Gary Paulsen

Mudshark is cool. He's fast-thinking and fast-moving, and with his photographic memory, he's the go-to guy with the answers. Lost your shoe? Your dad's car? Can't find your homework? Ask Mudshark. At least, until the Psychic Parrot takes up residence in the school library.


The word in school is that the parrot can out-think Mudshark. And right now, the school needs someone who's good at solving problems. There's an escaped gerbil running the halls, a near-nuclear emergency in the faculty restroom, and an unexplained phenomenon involving disappearing erasers. Once Mudshark solves the mystery of the erasers, he plans to investigate the Psychic Parrot. . . .

Pirates by David Harrison

We were a rough and tumble lot, not at all like you see in the movies. A collection of poems describes the highs and lows of a pirate's life at sea.

Sparrow Girl by Sara Pennypacker

Ming-Li looked up and tried to imagine the sky silent, empty of birds. It was a terrible thought. Her country's leader had called sparrows the enemy of the farmers--they were eating too much grain, he said. He announced a great "Sparrow War" to banish them from China, but Ming-Li did not want to chase the birds away. As the people of her village gathered with firecrackers and gongs to scatter the sparrows, Ming-Li held her ears and watched in dismay. The birds were falling from the trees, frightened to death! Ming-Li knew she had to do something--even if she couldn't stop the noise. Quietly, she vowed to save as many sparrows as she could, one by one...

Squirrel’s World by Lisa Moser

Squirrel is a very, very, very good helper! He helps his tree grow, he helps the river flow, and he helps his three best friends, Mouse, Turtle, and Rabbit. He is such a good helper, in fact, that he helps his friends when they don’t even know they need help! It is a lot of work being such a caring squirrel, but there is much to do before sleep, sleep, sleep time.

Surfer of the Century by Ellie Crowe

This is the true story of Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku, six-time Olympic swimming champion and legendary surfer who popularized surfing around the world. Throughout his life, Duke was beloved for his modesty, sportsmanship and amazing skill in the water.

Tap Dancing on the Roof by Linda Sue Park

A sijo, a traditional Korean verse form, has a fixed number of stressed syllables and a humorous or ironic twist at the end. Like haiku, sijo are brief and accessible, and the witty last line winds up each poem with a surprise. The verses in this book illuminate funny, unexpected, amazing aspects of the everyday--of breakfast, thunder and lightning, houseplants, tennis, freshly laundered socks.

That Book Woman by Heather Henson

Young Cal, who lives high in the Appalachian Mountains with his family, does not understand his sister's love for books, but the Book Woman always wanders to their home, and Cal's parents are always willing to trade something to keep Cal's sister reading.

The Uglified Ducky: A Maynard Moose Tale by Willy Claflin

In the Northern Piney Woods of Alaska, a baby moose is raised by a family of ducks who try to teach him to waddle, quack, and fly but cannot see his true beauty. (A version of The Ugly Duckling)

Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff

Annie Richards knows there are a million things to look out for—bicycle accidents, food poisoning, chicken pox, smallpox, typhoid fever, runaway zoo animals, and poison oak. That's why being careful is so important, even if it does mean giving up some of her favorite things, like bike races with her best friend, Rebecca, and hot dogs on the Fourth of July. Everyone keeps telling Annie not to worry so much, that she's just fine. But they thought her brother, Jared, was just fine too, and Jared died.

It takes a new neighbor, who looks as plain as a box of toothpicks but has some surprising secrets of her own, to make Annie realize that her plans for being careful aren't working out as well as she had hoped. And with a lot of help from those around her—and a book about a pig, too—Annie just may find a way to close her umbrella of sadness and step back into the sunshine.