For 44 years, “Read Five: Then Decide” empowers elementary students to vote
By Michele Chan Santos
Coordinator, Texas Center for the Book
The Texas Bluebonnet Award (TBA) is one of the most prestigious literary awards in the United States and one of the only awards where the winning book is selected by children.
Each year, 20 books are chosen for the Texas Bluebonnet Award List. Schools and libraries around the state participate in the program, encouraging students to read a minimum of five books from the list. Last year, for example, more than 63,000 students voted, all from third through sixth grade. More than 1,100 schools, public libraries and homeschool groups participated. The TBA program is run by the Texas Library Association. The winning author (and illustrator, if a picture book is selected) are honored at the Texas Library Association Annual Conference every spring.
What makes TBA so special, and why has it survived—and thrived—over the decades? We spoke to Terri Harkey, Coordinator of the TBA program, to find out.
History of TBA
In the late 1970s, Dr. Janelle Paris, a professor in the Library Science Department at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, and Pat Wright, a librarian in Cypress Fairbanks ISD in Houston, launched an effort to create a state award for children’s literature, and the TBA was born. The first TBA winner was Ramona and Her Father, by Beverly Cleary, in 1981. (Here is the full list of winning titles, which includes books by Judy Blume, Kate DiCamillo and many other wonderful authors.)
How has the TBA program managed to stay successful and relevant through the years?
“I think the variety of genres that we try to incorporate in each list,” Harkey said, “has helped it stay meaningful. It’s not just picture books, it’s not just chapter books, it’s not just graphic novels—it’s all of those and more, a wide variety, and it encourages kids to read. We include many genres and then the quality of the books is always high.”
For the 2025-2026 list, for example, the TBA committee of librarians evaluated more than 1,000 books. “We really try to pick books that we feel kids will like and enjoy reading,” Harkey said.
The second key to TBA’s long success is student involvement, she said.
Every year at the Texas Book Festival, students announce the books selected for the list; then students across the state vote for their favorite book; the winner is announced in February, and in April, student presenters at the TLA Conference present the award to the winning author.
As a school librarian, you have to figure out a way to create a reading culture, because as a librarian that, to me, is your responsibility.
Terri harkey, texas bluebonnet award coordinator
How TBA benefits students and schools
Harkey is a retired librarian and instructional technology educator who worked in Texas schools for more than 25 years. She’s seen firsthand how participating in TBA built a reading culture at the schools where she was the lead librarian.
Each fall, the TBA list for the following school year is released (for example, in November 2024 the list for 2025-2026 was released.) This gives schools and students more than a year to read the books before voting by the January deadline for their favorites.
“As a school librarian, you have to figure out a way to create a reading culture, because as a librarian that, to me, is your responsibility,” Harkey said. “Whether you’re using the Bluebonnet list, or one of the other TLA lists, you are creating a community by reading the same books.”
At her schools, Harkey created a “Bluebonnet Superstar List,” a posted list on the library door naming all the students who had read at least five books from the list. (The TBA program slogan is “Read Five: Then Decide” — there are 20 books on the list, but students need only to read five to be able to vote.) Students were highly motivated to read the books so they could be included, she said.
Schools across Texas hold Bluebonnet voting parties, where the third through sixth graders come to vote at their school library. For many elementary schools, the Bluebonnet parties are a highlight of the school year. They frequently feature blue refreshments (frosted cookies, blueberry muffins, blue Gatorade), as well as games and activities, often themed to match books on the list.
“The last year that I did it, I had 147 kids come to our TBA voting party,” Harkey said.
How to participate
If you’d like your school or public library to participate in TBA, but you are new to the program, a good place to begin is the TBA website which is full of resources for each title on the list, Harkey said. Resources include readers’ theaters, book trailers, author interviews, discussion questions and more.
For librarians attending the TLA Annual Conference, tickets are available for the TBA Author Session where the award is presented (the luncheon is $59 for members, $69 for non-members), as well as Speed Dating the Bluebonnets, where authors with books on the upcoming year’s list come to meet with librarians and discuss their books.
To register to vote
TBA has an instructional page with directions on how to tally student votes, enter them and submit. There is a $20 charge for each school to participate. More information is available on the FAQ page.
If you have additional questions, Harkey encourages you to reach out to a TBA Committee member, to her, to TLA, or a librarian in your area that has participated in the program before.
Transforming authors’ lives
Another benefit of the TBA program is the recognition it brings to authors. For debut authors who have a book on the list, it is a launching pad to greater recognition in the publishing world, and a way to connect with thousands of young readers.
When Susan Stevens Crummel won the TBA Award in 2010 for Help Me, Mr. Mutt! Expert Answers for Dogs with People Problems (written with Janet Stevens) “it changed her from being a math teacher to being a full-time author who visits schools,” Harkey said. “It changed her life.” (Help Me, Mr. Mutt! is a humorous picture book about a dog advice columnist – a fun read for dog lovers of any age.)
In 2024, author and illustrator Charly Palmer received the Texas Bluebonnet Award for his book The Legend of Gravity: A Tall Basketball Tale. This beautifully illustrated picture book is the fictional story of the Hillside Projects basketball team.
In his video accepting the award, Palmer said, “I am truly humbled, surprised and honored to receive this award. I never imagined winning this. I saw myself as an illustrator, not a writer. To write it in a way that children are inspired and chose it for the Bluebonnet Award is beyond my imagination.”