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This book showcases six extraordinary children with disabilities and shows that they are ordinary kids like everyone else. It helps other kids know that these kids have similar interests as them. This book is good for children with disabilities and without disabilities. It broadens kids ideas about different kids other than themselves. It's also informs the children about different types of disabilites.

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

The Recess Queen is a book about a bully on the playground at recess. Her name is Mean Jean and she has total control of the playground. Nobody can do anything before she does; if they do, she gets mad and lets everyone know it. Then, one day a new girl comes to school and changes everything. Katie Sue, the new girl, lets every kid at school know that she does not care what Mean Jean does. She will play whenever she wants and with whatever she wants. The Recess Queen is a great book that lets kids know how to make friends; it seems to say that you should not let people intimidate you. Also, the illustrations in this book are very colorful. A lot of kids are bullied and pushed around by the "Mean Jean's" of the world; after reading The Recess Queen, hopefully many kids can become "Katie Sue's."

This book is about a boy named Alex who suffers from dyslexia. He doesn't like to go to school because his peers make fun of him for not being able to read. He says that the letters jump around and he is unable to put them back together. He visits the school's psychologist who suggests that he visit Mrs. Baxter's room for kids with learning differences. In Mrs. Baxter's room, Alex finds his own way to learn how to read. He finally decides he likes reading and is determined to eventually read a full book on his own. This book shows children that there are other children out there that struggle with reading too. It also shows them that they can get better at reading as long as they have the help they need. Finally, it conveys the message to kids that they shouldn't give up. If you see a student struggling with reading, this would be a good book to recommend to the parents of that student. 

This book is a wonderful book to address a major issue in growing up, self-esteem. Curtis shows kids that feeling good means liking yourself the way you are. I'm Gonna Like Me celebrates kids differences such as, body type, missing teeth and personal style choices. This book teaches children to love themselves even if they make a mistake, don't know the right answer or get picked last in gym class. It encourages a healthy view of ones self, establishes a sense self worth and a positive outlook on life.  This book is an all around perfect book to teach self esteem, and the pictures make it even better.

Dear Jamie Lee Curtis,      Congratulations! My name is Brittney Ward, and I am pleased to inform you that your book, I'm Gonna Like Me, has been chosen as the recipient of the Kira Elizabeth Award for excellence in children's literature about growing up.      This award was created as part of an assignment in the Elementary Education block courses at Penn State University - Altoona Campus. Each student's task was to create an award for some unique aspect of children's literature and then create the criteria for the award. Our fellow students then nominated books for our award following the specific criteria. After looking closely at several nominations, we were to pick a winner and notify the author of our winning book.      The Kira Elizabeth Award was to be presented to a book that provided guidance to a child going through the trials and tribulations of growing up. In today's society, children are "growing up" much faster than in the past. Because growing up is a part of life, I wanted the book to be one a child could turn to when they wanted to learn about or take shelter in knowing the social and emotional obstacles that come along with growing up. Nominations had to include appropriate facts, reassurances, or guidance on how to deal with the social, emotional, and/or personal changes children age's 5-9 experience growing up, such as how to make friends, getting along with classmates, understanding their feelings, etc.      This award is in honor of a little girl named Kira Elizabeth Angello. She is three years old and, in my opinion, is growing up entirely too fast. I watch her from time to time and she loves books. Her mother always wants to make sure that she has high self-esteem and that she loves who she is. Therefore, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to 'shop around' for books that deal with that issue. In the wo

"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.

The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo by Judy Blume is a good book. This book is about a kid, Freddy Dissel, who is the middle child in the family. He never gets to be the center of attention. However, one day he heard about a play being held in this school. They were looking for fifth and sixth graders, but Freddy tried out and got the part of the green kangaroo. The day of the performance came and his family went to watch him. He performed his heart out and played the best green kangaroo ever, He never worried about being in the middle anymore. This book is for great for children ages K-4. This book can be found in Penn State Libraries.

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.

"Least of All" is a heart touching story about a girl who is the youngest in her family. She is too young to help out with the rest of the chores on the farm, but she is able to help by churning the butter. During this time when she is all alone churning butter, she sits with the family Bible on her lap, and tries to teach herself how to read. This book is very strong in the importance of reading. It shows that reading is more of a luxarie in some households than it is a neccesity. The book also portrays a strong sense of family and tradition. "Least of All" is an excellent story for children to read. Through the determination of the little girl to learn to read, author Carol Purdy shows the importance of reading, and how lucky most children today have the opportunity of learning to read and having proper instruction. This is the kind of book that definitely would inspire kids to learn to read.

This books is about Bird who wakes up one day feeling grumpy. He is too grumpy to eat or play, and even too grumpy to fly. Because he is too grumpy to fly, he walks that day. While he is walking, a few of his friends (Sheep, Rabbit, Raccoon, Beaver, and Fox) decide to walk with him. Before too long, with some exercise and friends, Bird realizes he is no longer grumpy. This book does a good job of showing kids that when you are grumpy you don't need to be violent. I also like the fact that when Bird decides to walk, the author makes sure Bird doesn't walk alone. This would be a good book to put in a collection so that if a student is grumpy, he or she can read this book and possibly shake his or her bad mood too!

This book is part of a series called, Hank Zipzer, The World's Greatest Underachiever. The author Henry Winkler wrote this book based on his own experiences in school. He was diagnosed as having a learning disability known as dyslexia. Hank Zipzer is smart, creative and funny. He tries to do really well in school but for some reason always seems to get into trouble. This is a great book that children with learning disabilities can relate to. The age range it is aimed for can be a difficult age for children to deal with their differences. This is a book that all kids will enjoy.

My Brother Matthew, by Mary Thompson, is a great book about a young boy, David, and his autistic brother, Matthew.  Matthew was born with autism and at first David is very upset by all the extra attention Matthew gets. Eventually, David loves playing with Matthew, he makes him laugh and they go on great adventures together.  David is even sometimes an interpreter for his parents because Matthew's speech is often hard to decifer. David and Matthew have a wonderfull relationship and is an inspiration to children with disabilities. This book is all around perfect, it explores the what its like to have an autistic sibling in an understanding and compassionate manner.  (the author is from State College)

In this story, Miss Nelson's class has trouble following rules and listening to Miss Nelson. Fed up with the misbehavior, Miss Nelson comes up with a plan and "disappears". Since Miss Nelson can't be found, the school call in Viola Swamp. With Viola Swamp in charge, the children find themselves doing twice the amount of homework and losing their storytime. The kids set out to find Miss Nelson to bring her back. Finally, when Miss Nelson comes back, her students are well behaved and appreciate the teacher they have. This book could bring a smile to anyone's face when the students are coming up with ideas of what happened to Miss Nelson. From a teacher's perspective, this could be a good story to read to a class that is having behavior problems.

Susan Laughs is a very cute book about a little girl and the things she does. The best part of this book is the surprise ending! Despite having little variation in the text, the book has a very strong and special message. It gives the idea that everyone is basically the same and can do the same things. The illustrations in the book do a fantastic job at conveying the message. Susan Laughs would be a great book for younger children to read because it has a lot of repetition.

A great portrayal of a mouse child learning to grow up and leave his childhood friend, his blankey. His mother helps him grow up and make his blankey into a big boy hankey! This book portrays a great picture of how and what it takes for children to grown up. This is one of the books strengths. From a teachers viewpoint I think this would be great to read with little children because they can relate to having to deal with something like growing apart from your childhood friend such as a blankey. I do have this book, it is my own, so if you would like to check it out, you can get it from me, Enjoy (;

This book is my personal favorite poetry book.  I remember reading this when I was young and all the kids in my class loved it too. Shel Silverstein, the author of many books of prose and poetry, really did a wonderful job with this one. Where the Sidewalk Ends has tons of poems and great illustrations to go along with each one.  Every poem is packed with humor and imagination.  One weekness for might be that it doesn't tell one continuous story.  This book would make an excellent source for a coffee house or readers theater.