Forest North Elementary students
Texas Bluebonnet Award Marks Its 40th Anniversary By Michele Chan Santos
O
ver the last four decades, the Texas Bluebonnet Award (TBA) has become an intrinsic part of the reading lives of elementary school children throughout Texas. Each year, more than 100,000 third-through-sixth graders vote for their favorite title from the master list of 20 outstanding books chosen by the librarians serving on the TBA selection committee. Five titles are chosen for each grade level. “Read 5, then decide” is a slogan known by school librarians, public librarians and homeschooling parents across the state. “The most rewarding part, for me, is seeing the faces of the kids when they realize their vote counts for something,” said Jacqui Bridges-Sheppherd, 2019-2022 TBA Coordinator. “It’s the first time in their lives they’ve voted for something. They see that it counts.” Kristen Fournier is the librarian at Forest North Elementary School in Round Rock ISD, and the 2020 co-chair of the Texas
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Bluebonnet Award Author Session. “The Texas Bluebonnet Award is really the highlight of our reading program,” Fournier said. “It’s the cornerstone of our reading culture at school.” On January 30, the third-through-fifth graders at Forest North celebrated with an elaborate Bluebonnet party. After voting for their chosen books on iPads at a table outside the library, the students enjoyed festivities including manicures, a Hot Wheels station, video games, a chocolate fountain, sundaes and a free book for every student. “The party is our big celebration,” Fournier said. “We’ve done the reading, we’ve voted, and everybody takes home a free book.” Each fall, the TBA master list for the following school year is released with great fanfare at the Texas Book Festival (for example, in October 2019 the list for 2020-2021 was released.)
