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March 5, 2008 Carrie Frederick 376 Harrieta Lane Bedford, Pa 15522 Dear Mrs. Charlotte Zolotow, I am sending you this letter to inform you that you are the winner of The Coco award. I am a student attending Pennsylvania State University, Altoona. I am majoring in elementary education and preparing to become a school teacher. This semester I am learning about and discussing children's literature the other future teachers in the Language and Literacy Education block of our major. We were assigned a project that involved inventing our own award for outstanding children's literature. We made a name for our award, described the criteria needed for nominations, and we all had to nominate a book for each person's award. My award is called The Coco award, and it is given for excellence in children's literature featuring non-stereotypical gender roles. Criteria for Coco award nominations were books with characters playing roles not associated with their gender or books confronting gender stereotypes that exist in our culture. There were ten nominations for the Coco award and William's Doll was chosen by me as the winner. I had ten books nominated for my award and I was only allowed to choose one winner. Of the ten books I had to choose from, I have decided that the most deserving of my award is William's Doll. This book has everything that my Coco award stands for. William and his father are equally important in the story. Even though William expresses that he wants a doll, his father, who cares more about gender stereotypes, gets him a train set and a basketball set. At the end, William's father eventually reveals that he did want William to have a doll because dolls are for girls. Sadly, this is how many parents, not just fathers, would react if their son wanted a doll. Adults who react like this way are the reason there are "boy toys" and "girl toys." If a doll was not labeled a girls toy, boys would not feel wrong for wanting to play with o

"Small Beauties" is a story about a girl named Darcy Heart O'Hare who notices the small beauties of nature. Darcy and her family live in Ireland on a farm. When the family fails to be able to pay the rent, they are kicked out of their home and forced to cross the ocean to America. Only Darcy holds the key to their new happiness through the collecting of her small beauties. This book has many strengths. First, it is a historical non-fiction book that allows readers to see what may have really happened during that time period. At the back of the book is also a true recalling of the time of the famine, which includes historical facts and information that relate to real stories like Woodruff's portrayal. The book is also beautifully illustrated. The illustrations just bring the story to life and keep the reader wanting more. "Small Beauties" is a perfect book to be shared with children in one's classroom. It has potential for connection to a lesson that deals with immigration and it's historical aspects.It is an amazing book that carries the potential for great discussion following it's reading.

"Banjo Granny" is a fun story about a Grandmother who would do anything to be able to see her grandchild. Through a little bit of banjo playing and a little bit of determination, Granny makes her way to her Grandchild to share her bluegrass tunes with him. This book utilizes immense amounts of imagination and creativity through the use of Granny's "Carry-All Banjo". The illustrations are supportive of the text and are bright and colorful enough to catch the attention of any wandering pair of eyes. The book also holds a theme of determination, and love which are two important parts of social life. "Banjo Granny" is an amazing children's story. It inspires kids to become interested in music. It teaches kids that music can be fun and with a little determination, anything is possible.

Cultures of Italian Americans was published in 1995. It was written by Carolyn Kott Washburne. It is a nicely written piece of literature that has a lot of positive imformation in it about Italian Americans. The pictures in it are well thought out and the text supports the pictures that help the reader to better understand the culture. The book was well thought out and executed perfectly. This book talks about many of the traditions that Italian Americans still do and carry out. This book can be found at your Altoona Library.

I think you have read this one. It is such a great book. I love that it has the Spanish version and well and English. It gives a great insight into the boy's life.

Hi Carrie -- Could you expand on this comment? It should include a brief summary, three strengths or weaknesses, and a teacher response. Thank you -- Kirstin

This is a wonderful book to help children cope with their parents divorce. It is written as a child's resource. It explains how a child will feel if their parents get a divorce, and it lets the child know that it is okay to feel this way. It lets the child know that they are not the only one. It is a wonderful resource for a child to use when they do not know what to do or how to feel after their parents divorce.

Dear Emily Menendez-Aponte, On behalf of the Elementary Education Department at the Penn State Altoona Campus, I would like to present you with The Baker Award for Excellence in Children's Literature on Helping Children Deal with Their Parents Divorce! "The Baker Award for Excellence in Children's Literature on Helping Children Deal with Their Parents Divorce will be awarded to the author who has the best guidance on helping children deal with divorce. It seems like every fairy tale we read today has "They lived happily ever after", however, we all know that in today's society this is not true. In the book "Battling Dragons" edited by Susan Lehr there is an article by Deborah Thompson. In Thompson's article it says "Thomas (1972) found that most family relationships in children's books were unrealistic. She argued that the typical children's book, Mother always took Father, who carried a briefcase and wore a suit, to the train station in a station wagon. She also argued that authors treated single-parenthood like "the plague," and therefore, single-parent families were virtually nonexistent in books for children" (pg. 88). It is almost impossible to go into a classroom anymore and find students that all still have their parents together. Therefore, this award will be given to a book that helps portray divorce as something that can work and that children can deal with. The book should be geared toward ages 6-12 and have an accurate portrayal of strength and encouragement clearly stating that the child is not the only one going through something like this." My name is Chelsea Baker. I am a junior at Penn State Altoona and I created The Baker Award. Within my class, we had an assignment in which each student in the class, including myself, made up awards for a book nomination. Then each person in the class had to nominate one book for all the other students' awards. Don't worry there is only ten students in the class. Any