The Texas Bluebonnet Award (TBA) is the book award selected by Texas school children. Intended to encourage reading among 3rd to 6th grade students, the Texas Library Association selects twenty notable books of which students must read or listen to at least fie on the list in order to be eligible to vote. Over 152,000 children voted for the award which means that the students read at least 760,000 books in order to decide on the winner!
The 2016 TBA recipient was Laban Carrick Hill and Theodore Taylor III for their book When the Beat was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop. This children’s book focused on a young boy who grew up to influence the development of hip-hop and help define the hip-hop culture. Upon learning that his book won the award author Laban Carrick Hill said “I want to thank everyone down in Texas, especially the 153,000 kids who came out and read all the books on the list and voted for their favorite…” the illustrator Theodore Taylor the third, shared similar sentiments when the announcement of their success was given.
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