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No Time Like Show Time is a really well written book. The book lacks in the illustration department. I was sadden by the lack of illustrations. The book is very lengthy and with lots of suspense. The book includes, twisted plots, mystery, humor, and some romance. Michael Hoeye created a wonderful piece of literature with this book and is an amazing sequel to his other books. This book can be found at the Altoona Library.

The Great Poets: William Ernest Henley 23 August 1849 - July 11 1903 is a poet,literary critic and British publisher. In 1875,he wrote from his hospital bed in the famous poem Invictus whose Latin title means invincible.He himself said that he wrote this poem as a show of resistance to pain after his foot amputation. When writing this text,William Henley was twenty-five years.He survives his surgery and live with one foot until the age of fifty-three.This poem is published for the first time in 1888 in a collection of Henley,in a series of four articles about life and death. - See more at: http://classicalnovels.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-great-poets-invictus-william-ernest.html

The Great Poets: William Ernest Henley 23 August 1849 - July 11 1903 is a poet,literary critic and British publisher. In 1875,he wrote from his hospital bed in the famous poem Invictus whose Latin title means invincible.He himself said that he wrote this poem as a show of resistance to pain after his foot amputation. When writing this text,William Henley was twenty-five years.He survives his surgery and live with one foot until the age of fifty-three.This poem is published for the first time in 1888 in a collection of Henley,in a series of four articles about life and death. - See more at: http://classicalnovels.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-great-poets-invictus-william-ernest.html

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

"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.

Pat-A-Cake is a wonderful piece of poetry that everyone can come to love. The book is put together very well and has excellent illustrations in and throughout the book. The book would be a great piece to add to anyone's collection of poetry books for the elementary children. This book can be found at your local Altoona Library.

"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 story is about two best friends, Marilyn and Traci, and their fifth grade teacher, Miss Wichelman. The girls loved spending time with their teacher, in and out of school. The teacher always encouraged them to never give up. Her famous line is "If life hands you a lemons, make lemonade". Marilyn, Traci, and Miss Wichelman create a club called "The Lemonade Club", they become very close. In the story, one of the best friends becomes very ill. Patricia Polacco shows the reader the ups and downs of the process of healing and dealing with this illness. The Lemonade Club works through this hard time together. This book will teach the reader how to deal with life-threatening illness.

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

This book tells of a Navajo girl who has to deal with the death of her grandmother, which she was been warned of ahead of time. She has a hard time dealing with it at first and tries to find ways to postpone it, but she deals with it in the end.

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

Being Friends by Karen Beaumont is a great book about friends. Two girls talk about being friends. There are things that they both disagree on, yet there are many things that they do like. For example, one likes jeans and the other likes gowns. However, they are still friends. Moral is that friends are different individually, and that they can still be friends. The book is great for children having a hard time making friends. This book can be found in Penn State libraries.

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.

Giraffes Can't Dance is a book about a giraffe named Gerald who has a hard time dancing. Gerald knows that he is bad at dancing, but he gives it a try anyways. When he does try dancing, everyone laughs at him and tells him that giraffes can't dance. Gerald is almost to the point of giving up, but then he hears some encouraging words from a cricket. After listening to the cricket and thinking about what he says, Gerald turns into a really great dancer! One thing I really like about this book is the very colorful and vibrant illustrations. Also, there are rhyming phrases throughout the entire book. Giraffes Can't Dance would be a great book to read in a classroom; it teaches you to always believe in yourself and what you want to do. This book is available through the Penn State libraries.

"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.

"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.

"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.

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.

This adorable and very funny children's book is about a zebra and orangutan who loves underwear. They have a friend that is a buffalo, who is always in a bad mood. They challenge the buffalo to say the word underwear 10 times without laughing. Do you think he can do it? This book is perfect for little children, more so the younger, primary grades such ad K-3 grade. Its main strength is how funny it is and it gives children a break from their day to sit and listen to a very fun and silly story. From a teachers perspective, I think it would be great to read when you just need to step back from everything and take a deep breath. I own this book, so if you would like to look at it, just let me know. Enjoy (;

"Lon Po Po", written and illustrated by Ed Young, is a fantastic twist on a traditional fairytale. In this version of "Little Red Riding-Hood" the children are left home alone while their mother takes food to their sick grandmother, or in Chinese, Po Po. The children are reminded to keep the door locked at all times and to watch for strangers. Not long after their mother leaves, there is a knock at the door from the children's Po Po. But it is actually a scary and dangerous wolf! The exciting illustrations leave the reader wondering what will happen next. This picture book is an excellent read for any age.