#1taryn86 said ...(on 2008-03-07)

Dear Heinz Janish

Congratulations! Your children’s book, “Heave Ho!” is being awarded the Bernard D. Carroll Award for Teamwork and Sportsmanship. This award was created by me, Taryn Carroll, for a college course at Penn State Altoona called Literacy and Literature in Elementary Schools. This project was created to inspire my classmates and me to dive into children’s books so that when we become certified teachers we will be able to find a children’s book to help comfort our students in any type of situation. This will help our students because more excited about reading which is always the goal of an educator.
The Bernard D. Carroll Award for Teamwork and Sportsmanship is given to the book in which the characters develop by putting aside difference and working together to accomplish a common goal. The characters in the book must also show examples of true sportsmanship which includes playing fair, great determination, and most importantly losing gracefully. Children respond to the action of the characters in the books they read. This idea is pulled from Shelby A. Wolf’s book Interpreting Literature with Children. Wolf says characters are real, they experience emotion, they are motivated by life’s circumstances, and they have purposes and intentions for accomplishing their goals. It is characters like these that are excellent examples for children to learn from. The book awarded must be a picture book and intended for children ages five to nine. Most importantly this book should inspire children to remember it is not about winning or losing but it is how you play the game.
Your book, “Heave Ho!”, was the best example of characters using both teamwork and using true sportsmanship out of all the books nominated. Even though your characters were different because they consisted of a god, a cat, and three mine they all put aside their difference and worked together to open the refrigerator to get food. Although they are all unlikely teammates they are able to conquer their difference and work together to reach a common goal. This book shows children that sometimes they may have to work with people they do not want to but if they have a good attitude, they will be able to accomplish anything.

Respectfully

Taryn R. Carroll