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You have to Write by Janet S. Wong is a book about girls and boys struggling to write. The book is composed of short poems on teaching children on how to write. It starts by stating that the students do not like to write. The reason is due to the children not knowing what to write about. They have so many things going on in shcool and in their lives that they miss many opportunities to write. The students can write about anything that is happening in their lives. The book describes the writing process that children can understand. Overall, the book is very good and educational to help the struggling students learn to write. This is a wonderful book for children grades K-4 who are struggling to write. This book is available through Penn State libraries.

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. 

Marvin One Too Many is a really good book for children who are struggling to learn. This book is about a boy named Marvin and the struggles he has with reading. When Marvin first arrives at school, he does not have a desk and is one too many; it only gets worse from here. Marvin is the only one in his class who can not read. He often feels left out because of this. The children in his class laugh at Marvin and make fun of him because he can not read. A lot of children who have trouble reading can probably relate to Marvin. Finally with the help of his family, Marvin learns to read and begins to enjoy it! Since this is an "I Can Read Book," many children will be able to read this independently. This book can be found in the Penn State libraries.

"Once Upon a Time" is a heartwarming story about a girl who struggles with reading and gets teased at school. Sarie's old friend Auntie Anna is the one person who understands the difficulty she has with reading. Sarie learns to read when she finds a book that she likes and Auntie Anna supports her and gets her imagination going. Once Sarie accomplishes this, she is able to read in school and no longer gets teased. I would recommend this book to those children who are struggling with reading. Sometimes they just have to find something that interests them and that they enjoy to help them in the reading process. I would read this in a classroom of my own because many children can relate to what Sarie is going through.

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 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 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.

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.

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 (;

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 (;

This is a story about a Swan who loves to dance, especially ballet. She struggles with the feeling of nervousness throughout the story. The big ballet is coming up and she is afraid to get on stage. Luckily she has a wonderful teacher that encourages her to push on. She keeps practicing, but she is still nervous. This book will teach a child that it is ok to feel nervous, but to never give up.

This is a story about a little girl who likes to be unique. She wears a pony tail in her hair even though the rest of the girls at school wear their hair different. The girls in her class make fun of her, but she does not care. The next day they will come into school wearing their hair the exact same way that Stephanie does. She feels very angry that the girls are copying her, so she changes her hair style. No matter what silly way she does it , they always copy. In the end it doesn't end up so good for the "copy cats".

Katherine Imler 1399 Lafayette Road New Enterprise, PA 16664 March 7, 2008 Robert Munsch 15 Sharon Place Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1H 7V2 Dear Mr. Munsch, I am pleased to announce that you have won the Susan B. Anthony Award for Celebrating Strong Female Characters for your book Stephanie's Ponytail. The award was created for a class project in my children's literature class. I am a junior at Penn State Altoona who is majoring in elementary and kindergarten education. I am in my language and literacy education block. Every student in my class created an award that dealt with an aspect of children's literature. Each student nominated books for the other students' awards. Each award had specific criteria that the nominated book had to meet. My award was to be given to a picture book that featured strong and empowered female characters. Many children's books show girls who are passive and dependent. Also, children's books usually show males as the problem solvers. This is disturbing considering the day and age we live in. Shirley B. Ernst author of the article "Gender Issues in Books for Children and Young Adults" said, "I would like to see more books with strong female characters who are active, inventive, and in charge of their own destinies." Nominations for this award had to show independent and non-stereotypical female characters. The book also had to be a picture book for children in kindergarten through second grade. I chose Stephanie's Ponytail for my award because the book features a strong female character that stands up to group conformity. She does not want to look like everyone else, but instead be her own individual person. Your book teaches children the importance of liking who they are. Another reason I picked your book is that its message is universal. The theme could be the same regardless of what time period or location the book was written about. Many children can relate to this book. Chi

This beautiful picture book from Pamela Munoz Ryan describes the life of Marian Anderson, one of this century's most celebrated singers. This book could be inspirational for a child who may have obstacles to success, whether the obstacles be racism, sexism, or classism. Because Marian is recognized for her talent and because she is willing to work hard and take risks, she finds many opportunities to share her talents with others. Because she is strong enough to stand firm against racism, she finds a larger audience than she could have ever imagined.

"Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" is a novel about a preteen girl who grows up struggling with religion, menstruation and peer pressure. Judy Blume tells it like it is. This would a good book for girls to read as they are growing up to relate to Margaret and her young life.

This story is about an elephant who is told by a hippo that she has a big nose. She becomes self conscious and ties her nose in a knot to make it smaller. She decides that looks silly. She finally gets the knot out, and she is happy with her nose. When she goes back to school and they tease her, she points out that she may have the biggest nose but the hippo has the biggest mouth, the alligator has the biggest tail, and the rabbit has the biggest feet. I think this is a great story of how life is tough. She isn't making fun of the others, she is just pointing out that no one is perfect. It is a good lesson for children to learn. It would make them see that they shouldn't make fun of others,

Thank you Mr. Falker is an autobiography by Patricia Polacco. For those who know and love the books of Patricia Polacco, you might be surprised to read this book and find out how difficult it was for her to learn to read as a child. Because of her wonderful teacher, Mr. Falker, who never gave up on her, she began to feel smart and capable as she learned to read.