My sister is a very honest and emotional book about a boy and his younger sister, who has mental retardation. The boy has kind and warm feelings toward his sister, but he often resents the attention she gets and wishes that he could have more time with his parents. The book is a bit dated, having been published in 1977, but the feelings of the boy are quite moving and poignant. The story is told in simple and reflective language, and the reader can't help but see the many issues that this book raises. I would recommend this book to all teachers, for it really helps children to understand that they should not feel guilty or shy about asking adults for positive attention, and it could help adults to see how much children need our compassion and respect.

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.

Amazing Grace is a wonderful picture book about an African American girl who wants to perform in the school play. The problem is that her classmates do not believe that Grace should play the part of Peter Pan because she is neither a boy, like Peter Pan, nor white, as they imagine Peter Pan to be. Well, with strength and determination, Grace not only gets the part, but shines. This book is particularly good for children because of its strong female character. Most children, no matter their ethnicity and gender, can relate to Grace's disappointment. All children can learn from Grace how to use disappointment to fuel their determination to succeed. The book might also bring confidence to children who are shy or lack confidence. This would be an excellent book to share with children who are about to begin a performance project.

Good work! Thank you -- Kirstin

kate1510 wrote:
> This award will be given to a picture book that features a strong and empowered female character. 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, however, to see more books with strong female characters who are active, inventive, and in charge of their own destinies." This quotation is found on page 75 in the book Battling Dragons, which is edited by Susan Lehr. Nominations for this award must show independent and non-stereotypical female characters. The picture books will be for children in kindergarten through second grade. Nominations are due by February 19, 2007.

Nominate this book for ______ award. Summary, strengths, weaknesses, response.

Looks great, Tania. Thank you -- Kirstin
tml5025 wrote:
> The Aiden Jacob Lewis award for excellence in Children's Literature about Children who grow up in a single parent home will be awarded to the author of a children's book that helps children understand that growing up in a single parent home isn't always as bad as it may sometimes seem, and that they are not the only one who lives in a home like they do. As Erma Bombeck says, "A family is a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing stuffy noses, colds, and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instance, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together." No matter the size or number of people in your family, a family is a family as long as there is love. Too many times a book is read in a classroom about that "One big happy family", and in this meaning a mommy, daddy, and child, and sitting out there is a child who lives with just a mommy or just a daddy and feels ashamed or that he/she does not have a whole family. So these books should give children the comfort in knowing that living in a single parent home is just as fufilling and wonderful as living in a home with both parents. The selection should reach out to any children of any age. Please have nominations submited by February 19th, 2008.

As nominations are posted for your award, locate the books and read them. As you read, use your reader's notebook to think like a teacher. Look at the books for their salient features, and take professional notes about how you might use these books in your future classroom. To whom would you recommend these books? What is the reading level? The genre? Are there specific curricular or social issues that this book might address? Are there specific literary elements that could be demonstrated in this book? How do illustrations and text work together? Or, if the book is not illustrated, what are the images that the book creates in the reader's mind? Use Lehr's collection of essays, Wolf, or Fletcher to assist you in this reading research.

Once you have selected a winning book (keeping it a secret until the ceremony), create an award with signature lines for yourself, the nominator, and your LLED professors. Write a letter to the author that explains our class project and your award criteria.

Also in your letter, explain your specific reasons for selecting the book, including attention to the following concerns:
1. Reader response, as an aesthetic or efferent reading, especially considering a reader from a cultural background different from your own and/or different from the author's.
2. Relevance of the book as an historical or cultural artifact.
3. The author's skill at developing specific literary elements to relate the story on intellectual, sensory, and emotional levels.

Prepare an envelope to mail the award (including proper mailing address, return address, and postage). Do not seal the envelope until after the award ceremony.

At the award ceremony, you should give a brief speech about the award and some praise for the winning book. The nominator of the book should then come forward to make a brief acceptance speech on behalf of the author. Each signatory will then sign the award. Envelopes should be ready to mail after the ceremony.

After the award ceremony, the websites of the winning books should be tagged and highlighted in Diigo. Each winning book should be marked by a Diigo sticky note that repeats the information included in the award letter.

First, read your classmates' calls for nominations. Pay close attention to the requirements of each award. Then, head for a children's library or a book store with a good collection of children's books. As you read these books, think like a teacher: keep a reader's notebook for the children you serve, noting titles of books and taking brief notes about each book so that you can recommend good books to the school librarian, principal, and the parents and children you work for. There is no exact number of books required here, although you should probably think about reading a dozen books or so for each nomination so that you are closer to nominating the best possible book.

Next, select your nominations for each of your classmates' awards. These should be books that you look forward to sharing with children because of their literary quality, their thoughtful approach to the world of children, and their ability to evoke a response in the reader.

The Altoona Area Public Library and the Penn State Altoona library are willing to hold books for us so that they cannot be checked out during the nomination process. If they do not own the books, they may be willing to order them, especially with your professor's recommendation.

Post your nominations in Diigo by marking the websites of each book through its publisher. You may also mark a bookseller's site.

Using Diigo bookmarking functions, highlight important features of each nominee to share in the nominations group. Create sticky notes for the books that include full annotations: 1) bibliographic entry, 2) brief (2-3 sentence) summary of form and content, 3) analysis of at least three rhetorical devices (strengths and weaknesses), and 4) professional evaluation of how teachers and students might approach the book.

Finally, make the book available to the award's creator. If your book is selected, you will accept the award on behalf of the author at the award ceremony.