Bluestem Award 2027

"A picture book in verse that threads together past and present to explore the legacy of slavery during a classroom lesson"-- Provided by publisher. "From the fireside tales in an African village, through the unspeakable passage across the Atlantic, to the backbreaking work in the fields of the South, this is a story of a people's struggle and strength, horror and hope. This is the story of American slavery, a story that needs to be told and understood...

Young Roberto loved baseball so much that he played with a tree branch and tin cans in Carolina, Puerto Rico, practicing until he was chosen to play for a Major League team -- in chilly Montreal! Although he showed his talent as part of the Pittsburgh Pirates, he still faced discrimination from people who wouldn't accept a Black man who demanded to be called Roberto instead of Bob in the middle of the nuclear-family 1950s. Even after becoming an All-Star...

As Duane, a polar bear, explores his new home he makes friends with the wide variety of creatures he encounters, despite their varied personalities.-- Provided by Publisher.

"Stella knows fifth grade will be the best year ever. Her closest friends, Emiko and Latasha, are in her class and they got the teacher they wanted. Then their favorite television show, Witchlins, announces a new guidebook and an online game! But when the classwork starts piling up, Stella struggles to stay on top of it. Why does it take her so long to read? And when she can't deal with the text-heavy Witchlins guidebook, she can't keep up with her...

"An undead fox serving as the Usher of souls has his life upended when a mysterious badger soul appears"-- Provided by publisher.

"Mason lives in 2023. His parents have just split up, and there's a guy at school who won't get off his case. As part of an assignment, he writes a letter to Albert Einstein and it ends up getting a little too personal. He throws the letter into his closet... ...and the next day he gets a letter back from a girl named Talia, who lives in 1987. She has problems of her own, including classmates who make jokes because she's Jewish. She thought her friends...

"Down at the bottom of the tall buildings of New York City, Magnolia Wu sits inside her parents' laundromat. She has pinned every lost sock from the laundromat onto a bulletin board in hopes that customers will return to retrieve them. But no one seems to have noticed. In fact, barely anyone has noticed Magnolia at all. What she doesn't know is that this is about to be her most exciting summer yet. When Iris, a new friend from California arrives,...

"Since Papi was deported, Mimi Perez hustles around her Brooklyn neighborhood fixing things to earn money and joins a robotics competition to win a $50,000 prize, and when a robot crashes to earth from space, Mimi brings it home to fix"-- Provided by publisher.

What are people for? That's the burning question on the mind of Leeva Spayce Thornblossom. Fame! says Leeva's mom, the mayor of Nutsmore. Money! says her dad, the town treasurer. With the help of an orphaned badger, a risk-averse boy in a hazmat suit, and the town's librarians, Leeva sets off to discover her own answer--setting off a chain of events that will change Nutsmore forever.

Lola Reyes doesn't want to leave Guatemala, a place full of warmth and sun, laughter and music--where her abuela and prima and tíos and tías surround her with love. Back in Sunnyside, it's cold. There's schoolwork and chores. And her mama transforms into Lola's super-serious school principal, Dr. Reyes. Back at home... Lola can see, crystal clear, the empty place where Pop used to be. So Lola decides to bring a little bit of Guatemala--and Pop--back...