Tejas Star Book Award 2011-2012 Winner

The Tejas Star Book Award was created by the Region One ESC Library Advisory Committee to promote reading in general and for readers to discover the cognitive and economic benefits of bilingualism and multilingualism. All the children of Texas had the opportunity to select their favorite book from the Tejas Star list during the 2011-2012 school year.


Congratulations to James Luna and Laura Lacámara! The Runaway Piggy/ El cochinito fugitivo (Arte Publico Press/ Piñata Books) won the 2011-2012 Tejas Star Book award.

 This is the description of the book:

This rollicking bilingual picture book re-tells 

a familiar story with a Latino twist

The sun shines through the windows of Martha’s Panadería onto the shelves of freshly baked treats. The bakery holds tray after tray of hot Mexican sweet bread—conchas, orejas, cuernitos, empanadas, and cochinitos—all ready for hungry customers.

In the classic tradition of The Gingerbread Man, James Luna’s piggy cookie leaps off the baking tray and takes the reader on a mad dash through the barrio, past Lorenzo’s Auto Shop, Nita’s Beauty Salon, Leti’s Flower Shop, and Juana’s Thrift Shop.

The telephone repairman, the bus driver . . . each person the piggy encounters is greeted by his laugh and the repeated refrain: “Chase me! Chase me down the street! But this is one piggy you won’t get to eat! I ran away from the others and I’ll run away from you!” The cochinito fugitivo avoids being eaten by the long line of people chasing him through the neighborhood streets . . . until he meets a crafty little girl named Rosa!

Children—and adults too—will delight in the clever piggy’s escape from Martha’s Panadería in this entertaining retelling of a familiar story set in a colorful Latino neighborhood. A recipe to make Mexican gingerbread pig cookies is included in both English and Spanish.

The 2011-2012 Tejas Star Book Award finalists are:

El mejor regalo del mundo: la leyenda de La Vieja Belen = 
The Best Gift of All: The Legend of La Vieja Belen
Alvarez, Julia, and Ruddy Nuñez (Illus.)
2009 Miami, Fla: Alfaguara

Arroz con leche : un poema para cocinar = 
Rice Pudding: A Cooking Poem
Argueta, Jorge,  and Fernando Vilela (Illus.)
2010 Toronto: Groundwood Books

Side by Side: The Story of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez = 
Lado a lado : la historia de Dolores Huerta y Cesar Chavez
Brown, Monica, and Joe Cepeda (Illus.)
2010 New York: Rayo

Braids = 
Trencitas
Contreras, Kathleen, and Margaret Lindmark (Illus.)
2009 New York: Lectorum

From North to South = 
Del Norte al Sur
Colato Lainez, Rene, and Joe Cepeda (Illus.)
2010 San Francisco, Calif: Children's Book Press

Kid Cyclone Fights the Devil and Other Stories = 
Kid Ciclon se enfrenta a El Diablo y otras historias
Garza, Xavier
2010 Houston: Piñata Books

Dance, Nana, Dance = 
Baila, Nana, baila : Cuban Folktales in English and Spanish
Hayes, Joe, and Mauricio Trenard Sayago (Illus.)
2008 El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos Press

Floating on Mama's Song = 
Flotando con la canción de mamá
Lacamara, Laura, and Yuyi Morales (Illus.)
2010 New York: Katherine Tegen Books

Pepita and the Bully = 
Pepita y la peleonera
Lachtman, Ofelia Dumas, and Alex Pardo DeLange (Illus.)
2011 Houston, Tex: Piñata Books

Once Upon a Time: Traditional Latin American tales = 
Había una vez: cuentos tradicionales latinoamericanos
Martinez, Rueben, and Raul Colon (Illus.)
2010 New York, NY: Rayo

Gracias = 
Thanks
Mora, Pat, and John Parra (Illus.)
2009 New York: Lee & Low Books

Grandma's Chocolate = 
El chocolate de abuelita
Price, Mara, and Lisa Fields (Illus.)
2010 Houston, Tex: Piñata Books

The Dog Who Loved Tortillas = 
La perrita que le encantaban las tortillas
Saenz, Benjamin Alire, and Geronimo Garcia (Illus.)
2009 El Paso, Tex: Cinco Puntos Press

I Kick the Ball =
Pateo el balón
Zepeda, Gwendolyn, and Pablo Torrecilla (Illus.)
2011 Houston, Tex: Piñata Books

2011-2012 Tejas Star Book Award List

The Tejas Star Book Award was created by the Region One ESC Library Advisory Committee to promote reading in general and for readers to discover the cognitive and economic benefits of bilingualism and multilingualism. All the children of Texas will have the opportunity to select their favorite book from the Tejas Star list.

El mejor regalo del mundo: la leyenda de La Vieja Belen = 
The Best Gift of All: The Legend of La Vieja Belen
Alvarez, Julia, and Ruddy Nuñez (Illus.)
2009 Miami, Fla: Alfaguara

Arroz con leche : un poema para cocinar = 
Rice Pudding: A Cooking Poem
Argueta, Jorge,  and Fernando Vilela (Illus.)
2010 Toronto: Groundwood Books

Side by Side: The Story of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez = 
Lado a lado : la historia de Dolores Huerta y Cesar Chavez
Brown, Monica, and Joe Cepeda (Illus.)
2010 New York: Rayo

Braids = 
Trencitas
Contreras, Kathleen, and Margaret Lindmark (Illus.)
2009 New York: Lectorum

From North to South = 
Del Norte al Sur
Colato Lainez, Rene, and Joe Cepeda (Illus.)
2010 San Francisco, Calif: Children's Book Press

Kid Cyclone Fights the Devil and Other Stories = 
Kid Ciclon se enfrenta a El Diablo y otras historias
Garza, Xavier
2010 Houston: Piñata Books

Dance, Nana, Dance = 
Baila, Nana, baila : Cuban Folktales in English and Spanish
Hayes, Joe, and Mauricio Trenard Sayago (Illus.)
2008 El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos Press

Floating on Mama's Song = 
Flotando con la canción de mamá
Lacamara, Laura, and Yuyi Morales (Illus.)
2010 New York: Katherine Tegen Books

Pepita and the Bully = 
Pepita y la peleonera
Lachtman, Ofelia Dumas, and Alex Pardo DeLange (Illus.)
2011 Houston, Tex: Piñata Books

The Runaway Piggy = 
El cochinito fugitivo
Luna, James, and Laura Lacamara (Illus.)
2010 Houston, Tex: Piñata Books

Once Upon a Time: Traditional Latin American tales = 
Había una vez: cuentos tradicionales latinoamericanos
Martinez, Rueben, and Raul Colon (Illus.)
2010 New York, NY: Rayo

Gracias = 
Thanks
Mora, Pat, and John Parra (Illus.)
2009 New York: Lee & Low Books

Grandma's Chocolate = 
El chocolate de abuelita
Price, Mara, and Lisa Fields (Illus.)
2010 Houston, Tex: Piñata Books

The Dog Who Loved Tortillas = 
La perrita que le encantaban las tortillas
Saenz, Benjamin Alire, and Geronimo Garcia (Illus.)
2009 El Paso, Tex: Cinco Puntos Press

I Kick the Ball =
Pateo el balón
Zepeda, Gwendolyn, and Pablo Torrecilla (Illus.)
2011 Houston, Tex: Piñata Books

Tejas Star Book Award 2010-2011 Winner

The Tejas Star Book Award was created by the Region One ESC Library Advisory Committee to promote reading in general and for readers to discover the cognitive and economic benefits of bilingualism and multilingualism. All the children of Texas have the opportunity to select their favorite book from the Tejas Star list during the 2010-2011 school year.

Congratulations to Spelile Rivas and Valeria Cervantes! No Time for Monsters/ No hay tiempo para monstrous (Arte Publico Press/ Piñata Books) won the 2010-2011 Tejas Star Book award.

This is the description of the book:

An endearing story about a boy who tries to 
avoid chores by blaming monsters

Like most kids, Roberto doesn’t want to help with household chores. Who wants to clean the bedroom? Yuck!

Roberto tells his mother he can’t clean his room because he’s afraid the Closet Monster might lock him away forever! “Maybe you should help me,” he tells his mother. “The Closet Monster is afraid of you.” But Mamá insists he clean his own room.

And when Mamá asks for Roberto’s help wiping the table and sweeping the kitchen floor, he again tries to wiggle out of cleaning because of his fear of monsters. “If I sweep the floor,” he says, “the Dust Monster might come and blow me away forever!”

Later, when Roberto is ready for his mother to read him a story, she turns the tables on him. “If I read you a story,” Mamá says, “the Work Monster might come and take me away forever.” So Roberto grabs a mop and willingly helps his mom finish the chores. Together, Roberto and his mother put an end to the cleaning and the monsters!

In this entertaining picture book about a boy’s creative attempts to avoid doing chores around the house, first-time children’s book author Spelile Rivas creates an amusing scenario to illustrate how working together to complete tasks can be productive and fun.

The 2010-2011 Tejas Star Book Award finalists are:

Sopa de frijoles/Bean Soup
Written by Argueta, Jorge
Illustrated by Rafael Yockteng
2009 Groundwood Books/Libros Tigrillo
978-0-88899-881-1


The Party For Papá Luis/La fiesta para Papá Luis
Written by Bertrand, Diane Gonzalez
Illustrated by Alejandro Galindo
2010 Piñata Books-Arte Público Press 978-1-55885-532-8


Abuelo vivía solo/Grandpa Used To Live Alone
Written by Costales, Amy
Illustrated by Esperanza Gama
2010 Piñata Books-Arte Público Press
978-1-55885-531-1

My Colors, My World/Mis colores, mi mundo
Written and illustrated by Gonzalez, Maya Christina
2007 Children's Book Press
978-0-89239-221-6



René Has Two Last Names/René tiene dos apellidos
Written by Colato Laínez, René
Illustrated by Fabiola Graullera Ramirez
2009 Piñata Books-Arte Público Press 978-1-55885-530-4


Jorge Luis Borges
Written by Lázaro, Georgina
Illustrated by Graciela Genoves
2009 Lectorum
978-1-933032-40-5



Once Around The Block/Una vuelta a la manzana
Written and illustrated by Lozano, José
2009 Cinco Punto Press
978-1-933693-57-6


My Papa Diego and Me: Memories Of My Father and His Art/Mi papá Diego Y Yo: Recuerdos de mi padre y su arte
Written by Marín , Guadalupe Rivera
Paitings by Diego Rivera
2009 Children's Book Press
978-0-89239-228-5


Baseball On Mars/Béisbol en Marte
Written by Rivera, Rafael & Tim Hoppey
Illustrated by Christina Rodriguez
2009 Piñata Books-Arte Público Press
978-1-55885-521-2

The Case Of The Pen Gone Missing: A Mickey Rangel Mystery/El caso de la pluma perdida
Written by Saldaña, Jr., René
2009 Piñata Books-Arte Público Press
978-1-55885-555-7



What Can You Do With A Paleta?/¿Qué puedes hacer con una paleta?
Written by Tafolla, Carmen
Illustrated by Magaly Morales
2009 Tricycle Press
978-1-58246-289-9

Cybils Non-Fiction Young Adult Winner

I had the privilege to be a  Cybils judge for the  Non-Fiction, Middle Grade/ Young Adult, category. I read seven great non fiction books and after discussions with the rest of the judges, the winner is....Ta ra tan tan tan.... 

The Secret of the Yellow Death: A True Story of Medical Sleuthing
by Suzanne Jurmain
Houghton Mifflin

Review written by Susan Thomsen

"As a reader, you can cheer for the doctors and celebrate their findings," one judge said about this well-researched and documented book by Suzanne Jurmain. Set in Cuba in the early twentieth century, The Secret of the Yellow Death tells the story of an ace team of U.S. Army doctors headed by Walter Reed. Along with Cuban physician Carlos Finlay and many brave volunteers, Reed worked to find the cause of yellow fever and methods to prevent its spread. "It's not easy to make science and medicine come alive for any audience, especially middle graders, and this text really worked," another judge remarked. The panel cited an interactive design and fine use of photographs, in addition to the suspenseful narrative.

Congratulations to Suzanne Jurmain for writing this fantastic book. The finalists for the non-fiction category are:

The Dark Game: True Spy Stories, 

by Paul Janeczko
Candlewick Press

The Hive Detectives: Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastrophe
by Loree Griffin Burns
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot
by Sy Montgomery
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook
by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter
Flash Point

Under a Red Sky: Memoir of a Childhood in Communist Romania
by Haya Leah Molnar
Farrar, Straus & Giroux

An Unspeakable Crime: The Prosecution and Persecution of Leo Frank
by Elaine Marie Alphin
Carolrhoda Books 


To see the complete list of winners of the 2010 Cybils Awards visit http://dadtalk.typepad.com/cybils/winners/ 

The 2010 Nonfiction (MG/YA) Panel
Panel Organizer: Susan Thomsen, Chicken Spaghetti

Panelists (Round I Judges):

Karen Ball, Mrs. B's Favorites

Sarah Mulhern Gross, The Reading Zone

David Judge, Adventures at Wilder Farm

Jessica Leader, Jessica Leader

Susan Thomsen, Chicken Spaghetti


Judges (Round II):

Edi Campbell, Crazy Quilts

René Colato Laínez, La Bloga

David Gutowski, Largehearted Boy

Colleen Mondor, Chasing Ray, Bookslut

Sandhya Nankani, Literary Safari, Sepia Mutiny