Jordan's comments (member since Feb 03, 2009)

Jordan's comments from the Spring 09 LLED, Altoona group.

Jerry Spinelli
Random House Children’s Books
School and Library Marketing
1745 Broadway, Mail Drop 10-4
New York, NY 10019

Dear Mr. Spinelli:

I am writing to inform you that you have been selected as the recipient of the Here You Go award presented at Penn State Altoona. This award is one that comes from when Mr. Gerbati cuts Jake a break when he attempts to steal from Mr. Gerbati's safe in the novel "Bread and Roses Too" by Katherine Paterson. Mr. Gerbati said "We make.... what you say, bargain?..... You no lie me no more". Paterson shows her readers that there are good people out in the world. Learn from them and follow their example.
The books that were nominated for this award had a character or characters that did something nice for another character. It didn’t have to be as big of a nice thing as what Mr. Gerbati did for Jake, but something that stood out in the reader's mind. Kelley Griffith stated, "Dynamic characters, especially main characters, typically grow in understanding." These characters know the right thing to do in any situation and lead a positive example.
There was no type of genre or format required for the award and all grade levels could be included.
Nominations for "The Here You Go Award" were posted by March 5, 2009
I chose your book “Stargirl” because Stargirl did so many nice things for others without expecting anything in return. I liked the book so much that I read it cover to cover because I couldn’t put it down.
Congratulations on the Here You Go award and I look forward to reading your future works of literature.

Sincerely,

Jordan Keith

Jordan Keith March 24, 2009
300 E. Allegheny St.
Martinsburg, PA 16662
Telephone: (814) 793-9250

_________________________________


Jerry Spinelli
Random House Children’s Books
School and Library Marketing
1745 Broadway, Mail Drop 10-4
New York, NY 10019

Dear Mr. Spinelli:

I am writing to inform you that you have been selected as the recipient of the Here You Go award presented at Penn State Altoona. This award is one that comes from when Mr. Gerbati cuts Jake a break when he attempts to steal from Mr. Gerbati's safe in the novel "Bread and Roses Too" by Katherine Paterson. Mr. Gerbati said "We make.... what you say, bargain?..... You no lie me no more". Paterson shows her readers that there are good people out in the world. Learn from them and follow their example.
The books that were nominated for this award had a character or characters that did something nice for another character. It didn’t have to be as big of a nice thing as what Mr. Gerbati did for Jake, but something that stood out in the reader's mind. Kelley Griffith stated, "Dynamic characters, especially main characters, typically grow in understanding." These characters know the right thing to do in any situation and lead a positive example.
There was no type of genre or format required for the award and all grade levels could be included.
Nominations for "The Here You Go Award" were posted by March 5, 2009
I chose your book “Stargirl” because Stargirl did so many nice things for others without expecting anything in return. I liked the book so much that I read it cover to cover because I couldn’t put it down.
Congratulations on the Here You Go award and I look forward to reading your future works of literature.

Sincerely,

Jordan Keith

I nominate "Isabel and the Miracle Baby" by Emily Smith. In this book, eight-year-old Isabel feels her mother no longer cares about her because she has no time or energy even to listen when Isa tries to share her sadness about being unpopular, her jealousy over her new baby sister, and, most importantly, her fear that her mother's cancer will come back. So many children are affected by cancer and this book will touch the heart of those children and hopefully have a positive effect on children that haven't experienced a loved one suffer with cancer.

I nominate "Max's Words" by Kate Banks. Max's brothers collected stamps and coins. He didn't know what to collect so he cut out words from newspapers, magazines, dictionaries, and other things. His brothers help him organize the words to create a story. This book would be great to use in a literature lesson or even poetry.

I nominate "Bridget and the Moose Brothers" by Pija Lindenbaum. This book is about a girl named Bridget that is tired of being an only child. She wishes she had siblings. When three moose were at her doorstep and wanted to be her brothers, she let them in. The moose wrecked the house and Bridget realized that it's not so bad being an only child. Children without siblings will see how Bridget feels in the story and children that do have siblings can either agree or disagree with how the moose behave. Nevertheless, the story is colorful and entertaining. This book would be great for children from kindergarten through 6th grade.

I nominate "Breakfast Blast" by Bobbie Kalman. This book has a collection of cooking terms, recipes, and questions answers about breakfast foods. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and this book emphasizes that fact. It would be a great book to use in a nutrition lesson for 3rd-6th graders.

I nominate "Into the Woods" by Robert Burleigh. In this book, John Adams Audubon decides to draw the beautiful things of the world because he is worried that it will be gone soon. John says "When I see settlers cutting down the forest trees to make way for towns and farms, I pause and wonder...". This book encourages children to be kind to the world and refrain from destruction. This book would be great for read aloud for students 1st through 6th grade and independent reading for 4th through 6th grade.

I nominate "Wild Child" by Lynn Plourde. This book is about Mother Earth struggling to put her daughter Wild Child down for bed. Mother Earth is a mythological creature because in the story, she is the land, the water, the clouds, and the wind. She is seen in this book as many forms, but is still the same character. It is a great book for children to read for nap time if they have one in kindergarten.

I nominate "The Stolen Sun" by Amanda Hall. Little Darkness is a little Native Alaskan boy whose father is a raven god. The raven took the sun away from the people of the world because they were becoming very violent. Little Darkness had much love in his heart and saw goodness in the people. He got raven to give light back to the people again. This book is great for younger students 1st-3rd grade because of the colorful pictures and characters.

I nominate "So Much" by Trish Cooke. It is a story about an African American family, told through the eyes of the baby of the family. This book satisfies the requirements of this award because it enlightens other cultures about African American families.

I nominate "The Great Kapok Tree" by Lynne Cherry. This book had many animals that whisper into a man's ear to persuade him not to cut down their tree. The animals are personifications because they talk, which is a human characteristic.

I nominate "The New Adventures of Mother Goose" by Bruce Lansky. This book is a collection of rhymes from old songs like "Jack and Jill" and "Yankee Doodle". These rhymes have been altered to incorporate different imagination and uniqueness. Instead of Yankee Doodle riding on a pony, he is riding on a dinosaur. Children of all ages would enjoy these rhymes, especially kindergarten through third grade.

I nominate "Johnny Appleseed" by Reve Lindbergh. This book is a colorful poem about the legendary Johnny Appleseed. It was emotional for the people who received many apples due to Johnny's commitment to spreading all the apple seeds.

I nominate "The Special Raccoon" by Kim Carlisle because the book gives children an understanding of what it means to be physically and mentally challenged. When the raccoons accept the special raccoon Brookie, it showed an outstanding moral for children.

The Here You Go Award comes from when Mr. Gerbati cuts Jake a break when he attempts to steal from Mr. Gerbati's safe in "Bread and Roses Too" by Katherine Paterson. Mr. Gerbati said "We make.... what you say, bargain?..... You no lie me no more". Paterson shows her readers that there are good people out in the world. Learn from them and follow their example.

The books that will be nominated for this award should have a character that does something nice for another character. It doesn't have to be as big of a nice thing as what Mr. Gerbati did for Jake, but something that would stand out in a reader's mind. Kelley Griffith stated that "dynamic characters, especially main characters, typically grow in understanding." These characters know the right thing to do in any situation and lead a positive example.

There is no type of genre or format required for this award and all grade levels can be included.
Nominations for "The Here You Go Award" should be posted by March 5, 2009