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"The Growing Story" is a touching story about a little boy who sees everything around him growing larger and wonders if he is going to grow at all as well. This book has beautiful illustrations that support the text on every page. It's use of the boy's questioning throughout the story promotes the idea of curiosity and the want to learn being a good thing. The book also shows that being patient, and not rushing and getting upset over things that you do not see or do not understand, is the best way to go. "The Growing Story" is the type of book you would choose to read to a group of children who are just beginning to realize or understand that they are going to get bigger and that they are going to change...only it is going to take a little bit of time. A story like this could promote patience and understanding within the classroom setting very easily.

"Rolling Along" is a story about a young boy named Taylor who was born with cerebral palsy, causing him to have trouble walking. Taylor is a bright optimistic boy. In this story we follow him through his daily schedule and experience the excitement of his first wheelchair. This book promotes the importance for accomodations in public places for people who use wheelchairs, shows that being disabled is not a downfall in life, and that anything is possible with a little love, understanding, and compassion. "Rolling Along" is a great educational book for young readers. Most children have never had much experience with people who are "different" from the everyday child, and a book like this would help them understand and accept those who may have a disability.

"Rolling Along" is a story about a young boy named Taylor who was born with cerebral palsy, causing him to have trouble walking. Taylor is a bright optimistic boy. In this story we follow him through his daily schedule and experience the excitement of his first wheelchair. This book promotes the importance for accomodations in public places for people who use wheelchairs, shows that being disabled is not a downfall in life, and that anything is possible with a little love, understanding, and compassion. "Rolling Along" is a great educational book for young readers. Most children have never had much experience with people who are "different" from the everyday child, and a book like this would help them understand and accept those who may have a disability.

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 compassionate story about a young boy who is put in an orphanage after his father dies and is then thrown into a walled off part of Warsaw when the Nazi's invaded.  He is eventually thrown into a death camp where he survives, but many were not as lucky.  The pictures really bring the events in the story to life and the story describes how difficult the Nazi invasion was in terms that young children can understand; however, I think that it is too much for younger children to grasp.  This is a great book to introduce struggles that people endure and  as a tool in group discussions.

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.

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.

This is a great story. The illustrations are great. This tells of Harriet Tubman as a child preparing to run away. She gets into trouble and is punished be being a field slave instead of a house slave. Then she gets whipped as another punishment. She decides to run away. Her father tells her things she needs to know before running away. She doesn't run away by the end but she is prepared to. It is a great story to tell of her struggle.

"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.

"Raccoon Tune" is an amazing book full of fun illustrations and an outlook on the night life from a raccoon's point of view. The use of poetry in this story makes the text fun and enjoyable for readers of almost any age. This book holds several strengths. First, it's images support the text that is being presented page by page. Second, it uniquely uses poetry as it's main format of writing and portraying the given story. Finally, the illustrations and story line are fun and interesting. It is definitely a book that can keep the attention of any child. "Raccoon Tune" is a great book to use as an example of the use of poetry as a type of writing. It also promotes creativity and the use of unique ideas within a peice of writing.

This book is about a little boy who is relaxing by the lake and a fly goes by. The little boy grows curious as to why the fly flew past so fast. He catches up to the fly and finds out he is running from a frog. This begins a story where various animals and a man are running from the thing that comes after them. The little boy finally figures out that the animals aren't chasing after each other and that one noise started it all. The repetitive rhyming nature of this book will hook children instantly. The book does an amazing job in combining the elements of a story and poetry. This would be a great book to use in a poetry unit to show that poems aren't always just a few lines long.

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

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 (;

Oh! The Places You'll Go is about a boy starting off on his journey to Great Places. He's "off and away!" He's got brains and feet, and can go in any direction he chooses. He's fresh and excited about his latest adventure, and he knows nothing will stop him. This stories strength is that it tells a story by using poetry, but makes it very fun and interesting for children. From a teacher's point of view, I think it would be an outstanding novel to incorporate with a poetry lesson to show children that poems can be stories, too. I do have this book, so if you would like to check it out, let me know. Enjoy (;

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 (;

This is a great book about a baby elephant and its mother in the wild.  The baby narrates the story while telling of the times it shares with its mother throughout the day and a close bond is obvious throughout.  Kavanagh uses every page to describe the relationship between the mother and baby and really depicts how the story line flows from the baby's language.  Because of the story being from the baby's point of view, the text seemed watered down and not as colorful as it could be.  This would be a great book to introduce the theme of togetherness.

"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.

"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 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.