Stephanie’s Comments (group member since Jan 17, 2010)

Stephanie’s comments from the LLED, Spring 2010 group.

Congratulations to Dr. Janice Cohn, winner of the Best Children's Book for Accepting Death and Expressing Grief. The book, I Had a Friend Named Peter, is a great story about a little girl who just lost her friend, Peter, in an automobile accident. I love how this book has an introduction that answers common questions about how children react to death for parents and teachers. This book validates common feelings of guilt, sadness, and fear that children often have when someone close to them dies. Thank you to Typhani Russo for nominating this book!

My nomination for Mike is "Mean, Mean Maureen Green" by Judy Cox. Lilley is a third grade girl who is scared to learn that Maureen, the bully, is going to be riding her bus. Lilley dreads the day that she has to ride the bus with Maureen, and when her friend Adam played a trick on Maureen, she did everything she could to avoid riding the bus. By the end of the story, with the help of Adam and her father, Lilley found the courage to stand up to Maureen. I think this would be a perfect book for this award because Lilley rises above her fears and above the bully.

My nomination for Heidi is "Mama is a Miner" by George Ella Lyon. This is a book about a mother who works in the mines. It is told from the point of view of the daughter, who often worries about her mother's safety. It is mentioned, however, that she needs to work there in order to make a living. The illustrations go well with the story and even add to it. For example, the father is placed in the story through illustrations, and it can be assumed through the pictures that he shares equal responsibility in household duties. I think this would be a great book for this award because it recognizes reversed roles in a positive and accepting manner.

My nomination for Brooke is "You're Not My REAL Mother!" By Molly Friedrich. This book is about a child who does not understand why she looks different from her mother. The mother explains that although she is not her birth mother, she is her "real" mother because of their relationship. It talks about all of the things they do together and about what the mother teachers her daughter. I think this would be a perfect book for this award because it puts cross-cultural adoption in a positive light, and lets children know that it is okay if they do not look like their parents.

My nomination for Mallori is "Ian's Walk: A Story about Autism" by Laurie Lears. This story is about an autistic boy who goes for a walk with his sister. At first the sister was annoyed by all of Ian's unusual habits, such as staring up at the ceiling and smelling the brick. After she almost lost him on the walk, however, she came to appreciate him. On the way back home she let Ian do all of the things he likes to do. I think this is a great book for this award because it shows how a child came to accept the disability of her brother.

My nomination for Typhani is "Antonio's Card" by Rigoberto Gonzalez. Antonio's mother's partner is made fun of my Antonio's peers because she "looks like a man" and her clothes are always covered in paint. He is embarrassed by this and when he made a mother's day card for the special women in his life, he does not want to share it. By the end of the story he realizes that he would not want his life any other way and he ends up sharing his card with his family. I think this is a great book for this nomination because it first shows resistance to non-traditional parents, and then shows acceptance.

My nomination for Andrew is "Snow White" by the Brothers Grimm. This version of Snow White is very similar to to the Disney version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. After running away from her wicked step-mother, she finds herself at the cottage of the seven dwarfs. Her step mother devises plans to kill Snow White, but each time she tries the dwarfs save her. However, on the third try, she poisons her and the dwarfs were sure she was dead. Then, a prince comes by and as he is carrying her coffin away, his servants drop her and the poisonous apple dislodges from her throat and she awakens. I think that this would be the perfect award because the wicked step mother is a classic villain who every child loves to hate.

My nomination for Kristin is "The Magic School Bus Blows its Top: A Book About Volcanoes" by Joanna Cole. This is influenced by the TV series The Magic School Bus. The children go with Ms. Frizzle on a trip to the ocean to see an underground volcano. They go underwater and into the actual volcano to see how it works. Then when the volcano erupts, they come out with the magma. I think this is a great nomination for this award because this book tells of an exciting an educational adventure that will spark children's imagination.

My nomination for Jayme is "Martin's Big Words" by Doreen Rappaport. This is a book about Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and about the things he said and the ideas that he had. This would be a great book for this award because Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the major figures in the Civil Right Movement for African Americans. I think that this is a very educational book that children will not only learn from but also enjoy.

My award will be for the "Best children's book for accepting death and expressing grief." This will be for the best book portraying children dealing with death and grief. This book must help children realize that death is a part of life. It should also validate children's feelings of grief, so that the children know that they are not alone with their feelings. This will be a fiction or non-fiction picture book for children ages 5-12. The illustrations should effectively convey emotions relevant to the story. As Lehr says in Battling Dragons: Issues and Controversy in Children's Literature, "the visual image is most effective in evoking emotions." Nominations should be posted on or before March 25, 2010.