Children's Literature Awards of Spring 08

This books is about Bird who wakes up one day feeling grumpy. He is too grumpy to eat or play, and even too grumpy to fly. Because he is too grumpy to fly, he walks that day. While he is walking, a few of his friends (Sheep, Rabbit, Raccoon, Beaver, and Fox) decide to walk with him. Before too long, with some exercise and friends, Bird realizes he is no longer grumpy. This book does a good job of showing kids that when you are grumpy you don't need to be violent. I also like the fact that when Bird decides to walk, the author makes sure Bird doesn't walk alone. This would be a good book to put in a collection so that if a student is grumpy, he or she can read this book and possibly shake his or her bad mood too!

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.

This book is about a girl named Lauretta who is confined to a wheelchair. She is tired of her old, ratty wheelchair and dreams of getting a new one. Lauretta's mom surprises her one day by taking her to get a new wheelchair. Lauretta tries out numerous models, but none of them are fast enough for her. Then, she spots a 92-speed dirt-bike wheelchair that she just has to have. Graciously, Lauretta's mom buys it for her. One day when Lauretta was trying out her new wheelchair, she gets a speeding ticket. When her parents find out about the ticket, they insist  the wheelchair be returned. However, when her brother has an accident, Lauretta's fast, new wheelchair saves the day. Zoom shows that children with disabilities can do anything, and sometimes even more, than someone who has no disabilities. This would be a good book to recommend to a student with a disability who is having trouble accepting their disability.

This book is about a girl named Maria Isabel, a Hispanic child growing up in the United States. When she starts school, her teacher changes her name to Mary because there are already two other girls with the name Maria in her classroom. Maria Isabel has trouble answering to Mary because it is not her name. Maria Isabel is proud of her name because of the fact that she is named after relatives whom she loves. Because Maria Isabel finds it impossible to answer to Mary, she is excluded from the school's Winter Pageant. This book shows a Hispanic child's pride in her heritage and how difficult it is to fit into a new environment that doesn't understand your culture. With a growing multi-cultural population, this book is great to recommend to older students of all ethnicities to help them understand and accept different cultures.

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.

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.

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.

Willie has decided that hugging is for sissies because that's what his friend Jo Jo always says. But his family likes to hug, and it's hard for Willie to be hug-free. This book is a wonderful children's story about families who love each other and don't mind showing it. Willie's sadness about giving up hugs becomes apparent to the reader even before Willie understand it himself. The sister who teases with love is also a very kind and sweet character for children to relate to. As a teacher, I can see this book being useful in community development; while students like Jo Jo need to be allowed to keep their personal space, students like Willie should be allowed to show their affection for their loved ones: at home and at school.

Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, by Judith Viorst, provides a funny yet thought-provoking look, through the eyes of a child, at how some days can just go all wrong. Alexander is a plain-spoken, somewhat emotional narrator who tells the story of his bad day. Some of the humor of the book comes from irony, as the reader comes to see that much of Alexander's bad day is self-inflicted. However, the emotions are very real, and it seems a very universal human story that shows us how events and attitudes can affect one another. As a teacher, this is the perfect book to pull out on a difficult day so that the children can release their pent-up emotions by bridging their own feelings with Alexander's.

Danitra and her friend Zuri are persevering characters. When life gets hard for one of these friends, the other one helps her keep going.

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.

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 (;

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 (;

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 (;

My Mom's The Best Mom is the book I'm nominating for your award. This book is for children K-3 you can find it at your Altoona or Tyrone Library. The text of the book speaks about daughters and mothers having close ties. The children are in single parent families and write what they enjoy most about their mothers. The book lacks in illustrations, but they are very short little writings that would be good for the little children to read because they are quick and to the point.

In Tuesday, Wiesner takes you on a frogs nighttime journey. Starting Tuesday evening the frogs take off from on their lilly pads from the pond where they live. By 11:21 they are soaring past peoples windows and right through a sleeping womans living room. At 4:38 they harras a neighborhood dog playing in the yard. The story then ends with curious detectives trying to solve last night mystery and the readers trying to decide what will happen next Tuesday night. Those who do not have an imagination may not enjoy this book but those who do will surely fall in love with it. The reader gets to tell the story the way they want to which encourages imagination and helps to develope literature interprtation skills. The author's illustrations really make this book, literally.