The Rocky Lenyerd McCracken Award for the best book narrated by an animal

[Alecia]

People read literature for pleasure and for meaning---because it is fun and because it speaks to us about important things. Narrative fiction is a literature genre that children often read for pleasure. One distinguishing trait of a narrative is the presence of a “teller”, which can be any medium through which a story is revealed including fictional characters.

The Rocky Lenyard McCracken Award is for the best children’s book narrated by an animal. This award is named after the finest dog I know because if he could speak, I’m positive that he would have some amazing stories to tell. Using animals as narrators gives children the chance to view the world from a silly animalistic viewpoint, which can be extremely fun for young children to do.

Nominations for the Rocky Lenyard McCracken Award must be for a short children’s narrative fiction book that has an animal (any animal) as a narrator. The book must be appropriate for children in grades K-4. Nominations for this award are due by March 5, 2009.

Works cided:
Griffith, K. (2006). Writing essays about literature: A guide and style sheet. Boston, MA: Thomson Wadsworth Corporation.

[Amanda]

I nominate Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School by Mark Teague. This book is adorable and is narrated by a dog sent to obedience school. It is amazing how Mark Teague is able to truly give you a look into the mind of a dog. The illustrations show both the dog view and the human view of what occurs. The contrast is clearly shown by the dog view being in black and white and the human view being in color. The fact that both points of view are shown is what truly makes this book terrific. This book is comical and would be able to keep the attention of many children. After reading Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters From Obedience School, I immediately bought the book. I plan on using it for read-alouds in the classroom as well as having it in my library and available for students to read on their own. I give it two paws up!

[Lauren]

I nominate "Little Penguin's Tale" by Audrey Wood. This book is narrated by Grand Nanny Penguin and tells the story of a little penguin who strays away from home and goes on wild, and at times dangerous, adventures. There is a moral to the story, however. The little penguin loses his tail feathers to a hungry whale after venturing out on his own. The story itself is very cute and the illustrations are beautiful. I read this book to my younger cousin when he was becoming interested in books and he swears to this day that it has always been one of his favorites.

[Brianna]

I nominate "My Friend is Sad, an Elephant and Piggie book" by Mo Willems as the best book narrated by an animal. Elephant and Piggie are very close friends who star in several books together. This particular one is my favorite because Piggie tries several ways to help his friend cheer up. He puts on several costumes to cheer up Elephant but every time Elephant gets sad again because his friend is not there to enjoy it with him. Finally, Piggie shows Elephant that he was the one dressing up all along. It is a great story of the close friendship of the two characters. It is a great book for children because the illustrations really help convey the characters emotions and it shows what a real friend would do for another.

[Elizabeth]

I nominate One Frog's Story by Terry Miller Shannon for the best book narrated by an animal. The story is a like the story A Princess and the Frog except in this story the frog is telling the story and avoids the icky kisses of princesses at all costs. You will have to read more to find out the adorable ending! The illustrations of the story are well done and go hand and hand with the text. One Frog's Story would make an excellent Guided Reading book because of the length, the use of known words and unknown words, and the children will enjoy reading it.

[Brittany]

I am nominating for sure! for sure! for this award. The author is Hans Christian Anderson, the illustrations are by Stefan Czernecki, and it is translated by Mus White. The story begins by a chicken spreading the news that one of the chickens in the coop are plucking all of its feathers to stand out to the rooster. The chicken tells all of the other chickens, tells the owls, the owls tell the pigeons and the pigeons tell the bats. This story is very funny and well written. Children would enjoy the book from beginning to end. The illustrations would make a child feel as though they are right where the story took place. The author did a great job at narrating, by animals, in this story book.

[Melody]

I nominate "Hug" by Jez Alborough. He is the author and illustrator of this fabulous book, which was published in 2001. This story is about Bobo the chimp seeking hugs among various jungle friends but he does not always get what he wants until he is reunited with his parents. The expression on the chimp's face tells the story without saying more than one word. WIth the facial expression and body language, this book will immediately allow children to understand it.
This book has excellent illustrations and would be great for a preschool or kindergarten read aloud. Children will love all the colorful animals. Once you look at this book, you will realize that it should win the Rocky Lenyerd McCracken Award.
This book would be a good read during Valentine's Day. It would also work during a time of sorrow for a child, its a great pick-me-up which is even more reason to vote for it!
Hug

[Krystal]

Sometimes I Like to Curl Up in a Ball

I nominate "Sometimes I Like to Curl up in a Ball" written by Vicki Churchill and illustrated by Charles Fuge. The literature was published in 2001 by Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. in New York, New York. This book is a fantastic autobiographical fictional story about a wombat's day. He explains the things that he does throughout his day and explains why. This would be a very interactive book for children in grades K-4. The book is really exciting and engaging. "Sometimes I like to Curl up in a Ball" will allow your students to be able to have expressive engagement in your literary classroom. The book allows active engagements such as "dramatizing", "talking back", "critiquing/controlling", and "inserting". The children will be able to physically do the same things that the wombat does in his day (jumping as high as they can, scream really loud, tiptoe, stand like a tree, and many more). The book is extremely engaging and would be a magnificent tool in the early elementary literary classroom.

Sipe, L.R. (2002).Talking back and taking over: Young children's expressive
engagement during storybook read-alouds. The Reading Teacher. 55, 476-
483.

[Sean]

Is Your Mama A Llama?
I nominate "Is Your Mama a Llama?" by Deborah Guarino, with Illustrations by Steven Kellog. This easy reader is repetitive, good for a read-aloud in a young classroom, and is narrated by the baby llama, looking for his mama. This is a cute book, diverse, and has light and fun illustrations. I will without a doubt have this book on my shelves.

[Bridget]

I nominate The Diary Of A Worm, by Doreen Cronin and pictures by Harry Bliss. This is an easy read and definitely an interesting viewpoint coming from a worm. It's a great book for children to use their imaginations. The age range is between 4 to 8 years old. It is a creative compilation of events of a worm, such as how to stay safe during fishing season, how dangerous hopscotch can be, and life at worm school. The pictures are just as funny as the text, as they depict the "dirty" worm household and human-like characteristics for each worm. Children would LOVE to read this book.

[Alyssa]

I nominate, "I will kiss you lots and lots". This book was written by Stoo Hample. This book is told by a mother bunny to her child bunny. This book is appropriate for ages 4-8. The book is told from the mothers viewpoint to her baby bunny. It has great speaking characters. However, they are told through animals. The bunnies really do an awesome job involving you into the story. This book is an excellent book and should definatly be considered for the award!

[Elissa]

I nominate “Diary of a Spider” by Doreen Cronin and illustrations done by Harry Bliss. This is a very cute book that is an easy read for children in grades kindergarten through fourth.

The pictures are funny and illustrated really well, going right along with the text. The book is set up in diary format, making it easy to ready and follow for any reader. This story is about a spider who is best friends with a fly. The spider’s diary starts off on March 1, Grandparents day; he lists three things he had learned from his Grampa, which is where the main points of the story come from. The spider learns many different fun tactics throughout the story and he enjoys a day at the park with his sister. I really enjoyed this book, I thought that it was funny and children would definitely enjoy this book, especially with the funny pictures and corresponding text.

[Alecia]

Date: March 26, 2009

Dear Mr. Mark Teague,
This letter is to inform you that your book, Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School the first ever recipient of the Rocky Lenyerd McCracken Award. This award is for the best children’s book narrated by an animal. Using animals as narrators gives children the chance to view the world from a silly, animalistic viewpoint, which is extremely fun and exciting for young children to do. To win this award, the book nominated was to be narrated by an animal (any animal), and the book had to be appropriate for children in grades K-4. While the Rocky Lenyerd McCracken may not be as prestigious or as well known as other awards, winning this award is still a great honor.

Out of all of the books nominated for this award, I truly felt that Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School was the best choice for this award. It is truly amazing how you are able to give readers a crystal clear view into Ike’s mind while he is “imprisoned” in Igor Brotweiler Canine Academy. Not only was this book chosen for the hilarious storyline, it was also chosen because of the fabulous illustrations that accompany the text. The illustrations that depict Ike’s point of view are hysterical when compared with the illustrations that show what is really happening during his time in obedience school. Personally, I give this book two paws up!

This award was created as part of a project for the Penn State Altoona Language and Literacy Education Program. Students, such as myself, majoring in elementary education, were given the task of creating literary awards and nominating books for each award created.

Congratulations Again,

Alecia D. Ross
Elementary Education Student