Tamara’s Comments (group member since Jan 18, 2010)

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

Nomination for Teeny: You Wouldn't Want to be at the Boston Tea Party by: Peter Cook and David Antram.

I nominated this book because it talks about one of the famous events that led to the American Revolution. This story actually takes you through the events of the Boston Tea Party. It is very informational and allows the children to understand the events in a better way. The colorful illustrations also pull the children into the story because they catch their attention.

Nomination for Kevin: How Do Dinosaurs Love Their Dogs by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague.

I nominated this story because it shows a love for animals. In the story, it is a dinosaur that is caring for their pet dog. Because it's a dinosaur and not people, I think the children would be really excited to read it. It isn't your typical way of showing how pets are cared for. The children will understand how to feed, bath, and manage their own pet. All while giving them the love that they need.

Tamara Thomas
1227 20th Avenue
Altoona, Pa 16601


April 1, 2010

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Allan Ahlberg,

I am a student at Penn State Altoona. Currently, I am studying to be an Elementary Teacher, and we have many assignments with children’s literature. For my language and literacy class, I have been given an assignment to choose a literary genre for a children’s book, and then create an award for that genre.

For my children’s book award, I have chosen the literary genre of fractured fairytales in children's literature, and I will be presenting an award called the Fractail Fairytured. I decided to choose this topic because these books are exciting and interesting. In a fractured fairytale, an author takes a fairytale and includes a twist to the plot or characters. These books are filled with magic and fantasy, which according to Lukens, fantasy requires "the willing suspension of disbelief" (Lukens 20). The authors of these stories attempt to pull their readers into another world by using fantasy, and have the readers believing that these places exist within the book (Lukens 20). This award will be given to an author who displays a fun and exciting fractured fairytale, and a story that will catch the attention of young, elementary readers.

After I had created my award announcement, my classmates nominated several fractured fairytales for me to choose from. The story that I chose to nominate was “The Jolly Postman.” Out of all of the fractured fairytales that were presented to me, this one was by far my favorite. I am giving my award, the Fractail Fairytured, to you on behalf of your work in this story. I think that it is important for children’s books to be fun and exciting, and I thought you accomplished this with “The Jolly Postman.” I loved the incorporation of the letters to all of the fairytale characters. I couldn’t wait to keep reading, so that I could get to the next letter in the story. This literary element of the story would really intrigue young readers because it makes the story interesting. As a future teacher, I plan on sharing this story with my future students because I know they will enjoy it as much as I have. I hope you enjoy your award as much as I enjoyed your story.

Congratulations,




Tamara Thomas

Nomination for Jess M: Letting Swift River Go by Jane Yolen

This is a great science story for children. It shows the events of the Swift River in Massachusetts, and how it was changed into a reservoir. The people in this town had to go through this change in order for them to have water. The children would be able to see the valley transform in order to make the new changes. These changes could be part of a science lesson for the students.

Nomination for Katee: The Berenstain Bears and The Truth by Jan Berenstain.

Even though The Berenstain Bears series consists of many stories that teach a moral lesson, I nominated this story because it teaches an important one. This story is about the two young cubs breaking something of their mothers and then lying about who did it. It teaches the children that lying is bad and shows that there are consequences for your actions. It is important that children learn lessons, such as this, and I feel that Jan Berenstain portrayed it well.

Nomination for Josh: You Wouldn't Want to Sail on the Titanic by: Peter Cook and David Antram.

This story is from a series of "You Wouldn't Want to" books. It is very informational and the illustrations make it interesting to get the students involved. In this particular story, the students will learn about the Titanic, which was a huge historical event. Many children are interested in the Titanic, so I thought this would be a great historical event for the children to learn about.

Nomination for Jess T: Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland by RH Walt Disney

I chose to nominate this story because I believe it is a very good adventure that takes you to a fantasy place. Alice is a young girl that many of the young readers would be able to relate to. The author has Alice jumping through a rabbit hole into a whole new world. She makes many new animal friends in this new world. Walt Disney was great at creating fantasy stories, and the story of Alice in Wonderland is a perfect example of that.

Nomination for Chelsea: Tuesday by David Wiesner.

This wordless picture book is awesome, and from past experience, I know that the children really get interested in the plot of the story. David Wiesner creates great wordless picture books. He uses his illustrations in this story to create a fantasy event. Mysteriously, the frogs begin to fly and explore the town near by. It ends up being a very strange Tuesday evening for the tenants in this town.

Nomination for Sarah: Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School by Mark Teague.

This story is a cute book about a dog named Ike. Ike can be quite troublesome for his owner Mrs. LaRue, so she sends him off to obedience school. The author uses letters to show the dog communicating with his owner while he's gone, which makes it very exciting for the children to read the letters. It is an appropriate reading for K-3. I think it would be a great book to nominate because the author makes it fun.

For my book award, I have chosen the topic of fractured fairytales in children's literature, and I will be presenting an award called the Fractail Fairytured. I decided to choose this topic because these books are exciting and interesting. In a fractured fairytale, an author takes a fairytale and adds a twist to the plot or characters. These books are filled with magic and fantasy, which according to Lukens, fantasy requires "the willing suspension of disbelief" (Lukens 20). The authors of these stories attempt to pull their readers into another world by using fantasy, and have the readers believing that these places exist within the book (Lukens 20). This award will be given to an author who displays a fun and exciting fractured fairytale, and a story that will catch the attention of young, elementary readers. Nominations are due for this award by March 25, 2010.

For my book award, I have chosen the topic of fractured fairytales in children's literature, and I will be presenting an award called the Fractail Fairytured. I decided to choose this topic because these books are exciting and interesting. In a fractured fairytale, an author takes a fairytale and adds a twist to the plot or characters. These books are filled with magic and fantasy, which according to Lukens, fantasy requires "the willing suspension of disbelief" (Lukens 20). The authors of these stories attempt to pull their readers into another world by using fantasy, and have the readers believing that these places exist within the book (Lukens 20). This award will be given to an author who displays a fun and exciting fractured fairytale, and a story that will catch the attention of young, elementary readers. Nominations are due for this award by March 25, 2010.