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This book is about a hippo named Hilda who loves to dance. However, Hilda's dancing is very destructive. All of her friends wish she would take up a less destructive hobby. They recommend knitting and singing, but Hilda didn't like either one, so she sticks to dancing. Finally, the water buffalo recommend swimming to Hilda. It is then that she discovers her passion for water ballet dancing. Hilda was good at water ballet and she didn't destroy anything in the process. Best of all, her friends loved it and told her to keep dancing. This book will communicate a passion for the arts, specifically dancing, to the students who read it. The illustrations are bright and colorful. The one weakness of this book is that it shows Hilda's friends not supporting her dancing on land. As a teacher, this book would be good to recommend to students who like dance, or just enjoy the arts in general.

Myers' fun picture book about a junkyard dog turned celebrated blues musician works wonderfully as a book/cassette kit thanks to Charles Turner's spirited narration and Mark Dog" Deffenbaugh's bluesy guitar strumming. Turner's energetic narration keeps the story humming along. Deffenbaugh's guitar work pleases the ear, and his performance of 'The New York City Blues' is the program's highlight. This story about the joys of blues music has found a format that serves it very well. This story is very strong in showing how the arts can be very fun and that there is a wide range of different arts activities you can be involved in. From a teachers point of view, I think it might open children's eyes to want to give singing, dancing, or even acting a go. This book can found at Barnes&Nobles. Enjoy (;

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 narrator, a boy, lies awake listening for the sound of the bells on Santa's sleigh, a sound a friend who doesn't believe in Santa Claus says that he won't hear. Indeed, he does not, but what he does hear is even more wonderful and remarkable. He hears the hiss of steam and the squeak of metal, and when he looks out the window, he sees a train outside his house. It is the Polar Express, destination: North Pole. Once aboard, he finds that it is full of children, all in their nightclothes. They sing Christmas carols, drink rich cocoa and eat candies as the train races northward. Finally, they arrive at the North Pole, and the narrator is selected to receive the first gift of Christmas. He asks for, and receives from Santa Claus himself, a silver bell from the sleigh. Although the boy loses the bell on the way home, kindly Mr. C. returns it to him, and the boy discovers that the bell has a remarkable quality -- only those who still believe in the wonder that is Santa and the spirit of Christmas can hear the bell. His friends and his sister eventually cannot hear the bell, but even when he grows up "the bell still rings for [him] as it does for all who truly believe." This books illustrations grab you from the get go. They are so detailed and perfectly illustrated that you feel like you are right in the story yourself. From a teacher's perspective, this would be an great choice to read around the holidays and do a little Christmas lesson with it. I own this book, too. So if you want to take a look at it, let me know. Enjoy (;

Skippyjon Jones is the first in a series of books about a Siamese cat who thinks he is anything but! The cat's name is Skippyjon Jones. In this book, he goes into his closet and make believes he is in Mexico. When Skippyjon Jones gets to Mexico, he encounters many Chihuahuas whom he plays and sings with. This book has a lot of Spanish words and phrases and also features a lot of rhyming. The illustrations are fantastic and support this imaginative character very well. Skippyjon Jones has previously won the E.B. White Read Aloud Award; after reading the book, it is evident to see why. Overall, this is an extremely funny book and students will love it!