Texas Library Association's 2020 Reading Lists

by Kristi Starr, librarian at Coronado High School in Lubbock ISD, TxASL Chair-Elect

With new calendar years come new book lists. Though the announcement of many national awards is a couple of weeks away at ALA Midwinter, you can find many of the likely honorees on the reading lists developed by Texas librarians. Let’s take a brief look at the Texas Library Association 2020 reading lists, all available on the TxLA website.

The Little Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List is a recommended reading list designed for children in grades K-5. The purpose of the list is to encourage students to explore a variety of current graphic novels. The list is subdivided with titles appropriate for students in grades K-2, 3-5, and K-5.

Next comes the Texas Bluebonnet Award master list. These 20 titles are suitable for students in grades 3-6. Students vote for their favorite title. The author of the book receiving the most votes is presented the Texas Bluebonnet Award during the annual Texas Bluebonnet Award Luncheon at the TxLA Annual Conference. Programming resources are available for the 2018-2019 list and pending for 2019-2020.

The Lone Star reading list is developed to encourage students in grades 6, 7, or 8 to explore a variety of books. This year’s list is composed of 20 titles.

The Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List is selected for students in grades 6-12. The list contains titles for students in grades 6-8, 6-12, 9-12, and Adult for YA.

Spirit of Texas books represent “literary works of and about Texas and Texans.” Whether set in Texas or the author has Texas ties, these books do Texas proud. The list contains titles for both middle and high school students and includes programming for the selected books and authors.

Tayshas Reading List titles include nonfiction and fiction from a variety of genres and formats. These books are selected with students from grades 9-12 in mind.

Books on the Texas Topaz reading list are all nonfiction but may include picture books, novels in verse, and graphic novels. The Topaz list is comprised of an adult sublist and a sublist for students in grades K-12.

For Spanish speakers, the Tejas Star list is comprised of books which “encourage children ages 5-12 to explore multicultural books and to discover the cognitive and economic benefits of bilingualism and multilingualism.”

Lariat Reading List books target adult fiction. 25 titles are selected simply as “a pleasure to read.”

The 2x2 reading list has not been updated to reflect the 2020 selections, but these books are selected for children ages 2 - 2nd grade.

All lists are intended for recreational reading, not to support specific curriculum. Each list is created by a committee of Texas librarians with a knowledge of and passion for reading books that fit the prescribed age range, format, or genre.

These lists also promote reading broadly. Books on the Topaz list, for instance, include picture books, graphic novels, narrative nonfiction, memoirs, and more. Graphic novel lists contain fiction and nonfiction, as does the Texas Bluebonnet list. Lone Star and Tayshas lists are comprised of a variety of genres and formats, both fiction and nonfiction. You can even find pairings like Mindy McGinnis’s Heroine and Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic, by Sam Quinones and adapted for young adults. Or Hephaistos: God of Fire, George O’Connor’s graphic novel on the Maverick list, could complement Julie Berry’s Lovely War from the Tayshas list.

There’s something for everyone in the TLA reading lists. And if you aren’t sure where to start, maybe a reading challenge is just your style. Check out this master list of reading challenges for 2020.

What are you waiting for?