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This story is about a boy and his family who immigrated from Holland to America. Once he is in America, it doesn't feel like home to him and it's crowded and busy. Not until his furniture from Holland shows up that he feel like there is still room for Holland in his life. This book is perfect for students who are moving or are getting ready to move. Or it's perfect to learn about what it's like for a child to move to another country.

Barbara M. Joosse c/o Scott Treimel, STNY 434 Lafayette St. New York, NY 10003 March 6, 2008 Dear Ms. Joosse: My name is Heidi Held and I am currently an elementary education major at Penn State University. I am pleased to announce that your book, The Morning Chair, has been chosen as the winner of The Sonny Award for Excellence in Children's Literature on the Immigration of Children to the United States! This award was created in one of my language and literacy classes at Penn State. Each member of my class was to create a fictional award and then nominate books for everyone else's awards. You can read more about our class and the nominations at http://kirstinlled.blogspot.com/. My award, The Sonny Award for Excellence in Children's Literature on the Immigration of Children to the United States, was created to find books that deal with the topic of a child's immigration and the struggles and joys of their journey. With the ever-increasing number of immigrants to the United States, I think that there needs to be attention given to books about this very topic. I received many nominations for my award; however, when I read The Morning Chair, I knew this was the perfect book for my award! I really like how The Morning Chair gives the perspective of a child before, during, and after his immigration. It also shows that just because someone moves to a new country, it does not mean that they will forget their old life and traditions. Congratulations on winning this award and thank you very much for writing this wonderful book! Sincerely, Heidi Held 315 Jackson Avenue Vandergrift, PA 15690 hmh5012@psu.edu Enc: Award Certificate

Courtney Sherkel 113 North 14th Avenue                       Altoona, PA 16601 <!--[if supportFields]><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'> </span>CREATEDATE<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  </span>\@ "MMMM d, yyyy"<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>  </span>\* MERGEFORMAT <span style='mso-element:field-separator'></span><![endif]-->March 6, 2008<!--[if supportFields]><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span><![endif]-->           Mary Hoffman c/o Pat White  Rogers, Coleridge and White
20 Powis Mews
London
W11 1JN     Dear Ms. Mary Hoffman: Congratulations! I am pleased to announce that your book, Amazing Grace, has been chosen as the recipient of The Break-A-Leg Award for Excellence in Children's Literature about Theater, Acting, Singing, and/or Dancing. This award was created in my children's literature education class at <st1:PlaceName w:st=

This book is about a girl named Susan. Susan is being described as doing activities such as laughing, swimming, running, etc...Then the last page of the book has Susan sitting in a wheelchair. This book describes the messge that special needs children can do the same activities as the normal children.   Ashley Cribbs 124 Indiana Avenue Vandergrift, Pa 15690 aac5024@psu.edu March 4, 2008 Attention: Mrs. Jeanne Willis Books for Young Readers
Henry Holt and Company
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010   Dear Mrs. Willis: My name is Ashley Cribbs and I am a student at Penn State Altoona majoring in elementary education.  I am writing to inform you that your book, "Susan Laughs," has won the Special Kids Award for Children Literature. It is a book about children who have special needs or exceptionalities. This award was created in my Language and Literacy Education block. I was to create an award for any topic in children literature. Then, the class had to nominate books for each of the awards that each student created. Once completed, the nominee of the award had to choose only one book that the student felt met the requirements of the award. That is how I chose your book for my Special Kids Award.  I have dedicated my award to you because I felt that "Susan Laughs" is an excellent way to portray the message that even though children may have special

Is a Worry Worrying You? is about worrying. This book gives examples as to what worries are and how you can get rid of them. It tells the readers exactly what a worry is. The book talks about worries as being invisible and unable to find. This book deals with a very serious issue; however, the book is actually presented in a humorous way. Is a Worry Worrying You? would be a great book to read in a classroom because a lot of kids are constantly worried about something or another (especially the things mentioned in the book). Remember, as the book says, just don't worry! This book is available through the Penn State Libraries.

I am pleased to present the Jason Baker Award for children's books portraying children effectively dealing with emotions and feelings to Ferida Wolff and Harriet May Savitz for Is A Worry Worrying You? My Name is Carli Van Scyoc and I am currently a student a Penn State University. As part of the language and literacy curriculum for the elementary education program, we had an assignment to create an award for a category that was important.  Then we were to choose a book from various student nominations that best fits our award description.  I am very happy to say that this book was perfect.  I am interested in  pursuing a career in counceling  so I used this oppurtunity to read many books that taught children how to deal with their unfamiliar emotions and understand that it is completely normal.  I absolutely love this book and would offer it to any child who finds themselves in a similar situation.  Thank you for writting just a great book.

The Castle on Hester Street by LInda Heller is about a grandfather and grandmother immigrating to America. The grandfather begins by telling the story of Moishe to his granddaugher, Julie. The grandfather states that he came from Russia and his story of how he met his wife. The grandfather went through many journeys and obstacles to get his way out of Russia. The grandfather and grandmother were attacked beacuse they were Jews. Then, the grandfather said that once he arrived in America they were given a castle. The grandmother was famous because she sewed for royalty. And the grandfather concludes the story of him immigrating to America. This is a great picture book for grades K-4. This book can be found in the Penn State libraries.

"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.

Annushka's Voyage is a marvelous story of two girls trip from Russia to the United States.  There father had left for the United States to look for work and find a place to live while the girls stayed with their grandparents in Russia. Then their father finally sent for them.  They had to travel by boat for many weeks, jammed packed with other immigrants and unsanitary conditions.  When they finally arrive in America they go through a health check and get  reunited with their  father for a very happy ending. This book is an acurate portrayal of what a jounrney to America would have been like in the early 1900's. It is uplifting and high spirited.

This book is about a girl named Maria Isabel, a Hispanic child growing up in the United States. When she starts school, her teacher changes her name to Mary because there are already two other girls with the name Maria in her classroom. Maria Isabel has trouble answering to Mary because it is not her name. Maria Isabel is proud of her name because of the fact that she is named after relatives whom she loves. Because Maria Isabel finds it impossible to answer to Mary, she is excluded from the school's Winter Pageant. This book shows a Hispanic child's pride in her heritage and how difficult it is to fit into a new environment that doesn't understand your culture. With a growing multi-cultural population, this book is great to recommend to older students of all ethnicities to help them understand and accept different cultures.

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.

This novel's collection of fifteen short stories relates, in reverse chronological order, the experiences of the de la Torre-Garcia family: patriarch Carlos (Papi), mother Laura (Mami), and their four daughters- Carla, Sandra, Yolanda, and Sofia. The stories begin in 1989 with Yolanda's visit to her native country, the Dominican Republic, and work backward to 1956, before the family immigrated to New York City. The years in between are filled with the difficult process of acculturation for all members of the family. This stories strength is that it really gives you an idea of what it is like to move to a foriegn place and how hard it is to learn something that is complete opposite from what you are used to in your own country. From a teacher's perspective, I think this book would be great to do with a class because it introduces diversity to students. This book is available at Barnes&Nobles. Enjoy (;

What a better way to read about a young girl's immagration to the United States than through a diary. Each page even has the Spanish translations after the English. The illustrations are filled with vibrant colors that are pleasing to the eye. This would be a great resource for children to read and understand what some children experience as they move "from here to there".