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This book is a picture book for children about dealing with the absence of a father whether it's due to a death, not knowing, or absent fathers. The story is about a boy who gets picked on about not having a father and the mother explains the many reasons why a dad might not be present. The book also includes a section for teenage parents that consists of quotes, ideas, and how other single-parents dealt with this situation. This book would be a good book to send home to a single-parent family to help the child understand their family situation.

Dear Ms. Lindsay,             My name is Tania Lewis, and I am an Elementary Education major at Penn State- Altoona in Pennsylvania, and I am writing to you today to inform you that you have won the Aiden Jacob Lewis Award for excellence in Children's Literature about children who grow up in a single parent home for your story, "Do I Have a Daddy?" The criteria for this award is that the book should display excellence in the fact that it helps children understand that growing up in a single parent home isn't always as been as it may sometimes seem, and that they are not alone and are not the only child who lives in homes just like they do.This award was created in my LLED 402 class. This class is solely based on analyzing, reading, and working with all types of children's literature. Every student in the class was asked to create an award about something that means a lot to them and also name it after someone special. This award that I created is named after my three month old son, Aiden, and the reason for the category is because I am a single mother and I worry sometimes about questions my son will ask me when he gets older, so I thought if I had books to help him understand, that it wouldn't be as hard. Each student, after creating an award, had to nominate books for their classmate's awards. Once done, we got to pick the winning book, and had an award ceremony for the nominators of the books. I chose your book for many different reasons. I chose it because when Erik's mother is faced with the question, "Do I have a Daddy?" she is very positive and honest with him, thinking about his feelings and saying that not all children liv

Let's Talk About Living with a Single Parent by Elizabeth Weitzman is a book about children living with a single parent.  The book provides an example of a girl drawing pictures of her family. Also, it tells the definition of a single parent and what it means to be adopted. There is a special relationship between the child and the single parent. And that this relationship can grow by letting the child help with chores around the house. This way the child and parent can spend valuable time together. Also, if the child has concerns or questions about living with a single parent then they can go to a friend or someone they know to talk to. Lastly, it does not matter who is in their family. It just matters that love is in the air. Let's Talk About Living with a Single Parent is a great book to read to a group of children who are living with a single parent and need guidance on how to deal with their emotions. This book is available through Penn State libraries.

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

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

Bread and Roses, Too by Katherine Paterson is an excellent book. This book is about a families struggle through a workers strike. Rosa, one of the main characters, lives at home with her mother, sister, baby brother and another immigrant family.  Bread and Roses,Too portrays her emotions about the strike and her families involvement.  It also tells the story of a homeless boy who works in the mill where the workers are striking.  Both these children leave to go to Vermont until the strike is over. There they learn alot about life and family.  This book well suites the award becase both of the main characters are from single-parent homes and this issue is addressed many times.  A weakness of the book is that children may not relate to that specific issue becasue there iare so many other issues being addressed. Overall, this is a great book for the Aiden Jacob Lewis award because it portrays many single-parent families and all the families are not the sterotypical perfect family.

Papa's Latkes is a fantastic story about a family growing up without a mother. This is a heartwarming book about a family of two girls, Selma and Dora, and their dad who are celebrating Chanukah without their mother for the very first time. Obviously, the girls have a hard time dealing with the situation. As they are making latkes for Chanukah, they realize how much they miss their mother. Papa reassures the girls that everything will be okay, even without Mama. Papa's Latkes is a really important book because a lot of children have to deal with a parent dying and living life with only one parent. The illustrations in this book are beautiful. Also, Papa's Latkes would be a great book to have in a classroom because it is diverse.

Another website for the book is: http://michelledwards.com/books/picture_books/papas_latkes

I'm currently reading this book, The Spring Tone, which is a very surreal book about two children whose parents are going through a divorce. The book was originally written in Japanese. The older child has just completed elementary school; the younger child is in fourth grade. This book is special for a variety of reasons. First of all, the children move in and out of their dreams throughout the book, often taking the reader by surprise. Also, many children will identify with Tetsu and Tomoki, who are both suffering a great deal because of the turmoil in their family. The close relationship of the siblings, who are typical in the way that they argue and yet love each other, is a good example of a strong yet dynamic sibling relationship. Children will also relate to Tomoki, who has many fears about her changing body, and who is ambivalent and nervous about growing into adulthood.

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 about a famous sculpture in an art museum of a little ballerina girl.  The book is told from the museum guard's perspective. He tells the people that visit the museum that the statue is a girl named Maria.  Maria was a little girl who dreamed of being a ballerina at the Paris Opera House.  Her poor parents saved all their money to send her to ballet school.  At ballet school she encountered a famous artist named Degas. Maria got an opportunity to dance in the Paris Opera House but only if she took lessons everyday. Her father became very ill and since he could not work they couldn't afford it.  Then Degas offered to pay Maria to pose for him, but she only made enough to pay for her father's doctor and not dance lessons. The artist reveals that he is going blind and must sculpt her because he can no longer paint.  She never got to perform at the Paris Opera House but two years later the sculpture became very famous. This is a brilliant tale of an actual sculpture of a ballerina by sculpture/painter Edgar Degas. It displays all types of art; dance, performance, sculpture and painting.  This is an excellent book that incorporates fact and fiction of the arts all in one.

The story is about a little girl who has difficulty reading and dreads reading aloud on Parent Day with the other students.  As the story progresses, her mother helps her and gives her tips for reading to ease her undeniable pain.  The story line is excellent, but the wording throughout the story lacks the urge to continue reading and the pictures could be better, but it is definitely an excellent book for students struggling with dyslexia and reading in general.  It would be great as an introduction to dyslexia or as a way of helping children cope with it.

This is a story about a little girl who takes pride in how she became a part of a family. She was adopted by a single mother and loves to hear the story of how she was adopted. She wishes she had a father but she has a grandfather and a friend's father to fill in the gap. Her life is very fulfilling and the story shows that she gets plenty of love and support even though there isn't a father in the picture.

Dog Breath is about a very good dog with a very big problem, bad breath. Halle is the Tosis family pet and they love her dearly but the Tosis parents say she has to go, even the skunks avoid her. The Tosis children take matters into their own hands. In an attempt to get rid of Halle's bad breath they take her to admire a "breathtaking" view, and exciting movie that leaves you "breathless" and a ride on a roller coaster that promises to make you "loose your breath". None of these endeavors work and the children return home. Later that night burglars break into the house and Halle licks them causing them to pass out and be captured. Now the Tosis family decides to keep their wonderful watchdog. This is a laugh out loud hilarious book for all ages. I am sure that anyone who reads it will find it very amusing.

I like that they use photograph for the illustrations. It is a simple story. The children have questions and the parents explain they fought to much. The children live with their mom and are excited about weekends with their dad. They are upset when he leaves but they know they will see him again soon. I could not find a good site for this book. I looked forever, sorry.

"The Girl Who Wanted a Song" is a beautiful story about a young girl who has just lost her parents and is trying to find a way back to her normal life. After moving in with her aunt, she becomes friends with a goose who cannot fly. Through the interaction between the girl and the goose, both finally, in the end, get their wings back and are able to fly. This is a great story to deal with emotion. It shows that even when things get bad and you feel there is nothing left, there is always a way to get back to normal and live again. The book also has amazing illustrations than capture your eyes attention immediately. The illustrations also fully support the text, which is good for younger readers who are just starting to understand books. "The Girl Who Wanted a Song" is an amazing book that portrays emotions in a deep and meaningful way. It shows that in even the saddest of times, things eventually will look up, especially with a little help from a friend.

This book is about a girl named Lauretta who is confined to a wheelchair. She is tired of her old, ratty wheelchair and dreams of getting a new one. Lauretta's mom surprises her one day by taking her to get a new wheelchair. Lauretta tries out numerous models, but none of them are fast enough for her. Then, she spots a 92-speed dirt-bike wheelchair that she just has to have. Graciously, Lauretta's mom buys it for her. One day when Lauretta was trying out her new wheelchair, she gets a speeding ticket. When her parents find out about the ticket, they insist  the wheelchair be returned. However, when her brother has an accident, Lauretta's fast, new wheelchair saves the day. Zoom shows that children with disabilities can do anything, and sometimes even more, than someone who has no disabilities. This would be a good book to recommend to a student with a disability who is having trouble accepting their disability.

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)

This book features eighteen children who showcase their family. On each left-hand page, there is a photo of the child and their family. The left-hand page also features the child's signature. This book does a good job of exposing children to different kinds of families. It could also help a child, who feels they live with a "different" family, accept and appreciate the family they have. The book also reassures children that they are not the only ones who live in a non-traditional family by explaining family differences from the perspective of a child. A weakness of this book is that it features a lesbian family and a foster family, which could raise questions in younger children.

Adam, who has dyslexia, is not alone when he looks for escape from the terrible task of learning to read. His difficulties cause change in behavior, frustration and a number of other problems. Parents and other adults sometimes do not know what to do, which can make the situation worse. It is not a matter of trying harder, but of having opportunities to participate in good activities. This book explains how children with dyslexia can get help once their disability is diagnosed. It is written in an easy to read format but is much like a what-to-do handbook. It is a good selection for children to read or have read to them. This book is available at Barnes&Noble. Enjoy (;