Gracie's Cry Award

[Amy]

Naomi Shiab Nye writes that "poetry, the most intimate form of expression, gives us a deeper sense of reality than headlines and news stories ever could". Nominations for the Gracie's Cry Award will be for a book written in poem form or prose which conveys a strong emotional response to an event which would be commonly covered as a news media headline. The books will be for readers of 2nd to 3rd grade. The event invoking the response must be clear to the reader. Nominations for this award are due by March 5, 2009.

This award is named for my new friend, Gracie, who was recently quite distraught. She explained that her reason for crying was twofold. First, she cried for the people of her native land of Palestine who are suffering great pain and tragedy linked to recent Israeli bombings. Secondly, she said that she cried because we in the Western World are unaware that any of this suffering is going on due to biased news coverage. Gracie's cry was intense and certainly gave me a "deeper sense of reality". It is to Gracie and her cry that I dedicate this award.

Work cited:
Nye, N. S. (1998). The flag of childhood: Poems from the Middle East. New York, NY: Aladdin Paperbacks (introduction)

[Shawn]

I would like to nominate “The Spider and the Fly” by Tony DiTerlizzi; based on the cautionary tale by Mary Howitt.

This book tells of how an innocent fly came visiting the spider one day and the spider used trickery and sly skills to get the fly into his house. Once there, the spider kept luring the innocent fly closer until the spider caught the fly and ate her for dinner.

This book has a great moral at the end. It says to beware of those who may try to trick and trap young people. Children should not trust strangers and always be aware of their surrounding. The abduction of a child is most certainly a news story and in issue that is still being dealt with today. I feel this book is a great book for younger children and they learn a very valuable lesson.

[Darlene]

I nominate "When the rain sings" by Young Native Americans. This book is a book of poetry dedicated to the young native american life. My favorite poem is called Ration Day. These poems definitely evoke an emotional response and some of the issues they bring to light have been issues brought to our attention through the media years ago.

[[deleted user]]

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.

[Sarah]

This book filled with poetry is about African Americans and misleadingly is not an alphabet book. He simply uses each letter to organize all 25 poems and one African American spiritual. These poetry book is for all children but mainly for kindergarten thru third grade. Each piece also includes an illustration that helps the students see the true meaning behind each poem. Each page has a line or phrase from an African American poet which has a strong meaning behind it. The line/phrase is on the top of the page, illustration in the middle, and the author of the line/phrase on the bottom.

[Linzi]

I nominate the book Alia's Mission written by Mark Stamaty. This book is telling of a true event before the Iraq war were Alia has decided that she wants to save the books from the library before the building is destroyed. She is able to sneak thousands of books from the library. By saving the precious books she allowed many children to be able to read a book. This book would be appropriate for ages 9-12.
(Amy suggested a book for this topic because poems were very hard to find.)

[Corby]

I nominate "Thirteen Moons on Turtle back" by Joseph Bruchac and Jonathan London, illustrations by Thomas Locker. This is a beautiful book of poems representing legends of the Native American culture. There are thirteen moons in a yearly cycle. This book of poems shares the legends of each moon. This book has beautiful illustrations and a wonderful message of wisdom. This book would be appropriate for grades k-4.

[Lori]

I nominate "Under the Persimmon Tree" by Susan Fisher Staples. This book, for Grades 4-6, is set in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The main character, Najmah, a young Afghan girl whose father and brother are forced by the Taliban to fight in the war, and who lost her mother and infant brother in an air raid. As she moves toward Pakistan, she meets Nusrat, an American woman married to a missing Afghan doctor.This book is beautifully written (Fisher Staples is a Newberry author), and the subject is timely, which make it an effective classroom tool for talking about one of the most controversial wars in our nation's history.

[Shannon]

Quiet Storm Voices of Young Black Poets

I nominate "Quiet Storm" by Lydia Omolola Okutoro. It is a story of voices of young black poets. It is a book of poems from young people all over the world from Canada, England, and US. The selections were written by teenagers and display an awareness of parallel cultures while acknowledging a common heritage. This book deserves to win the Hear My Cry award because of its emotional aspect that draws readers in.

[Ericajean]

I nominate The Surrender Tree: Poem’s of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom. This Newbery Honor and Pura Belpre Award Winner is a great resource in understanding Cuba’s struggle for freedom. Cuba has spent a lot of time in our media headlines, which makes this book appropriate. Although not written directly for children 2nd to 3rd grade, a wise teacher could creatively incorporate it into a lesson.

[[deleted user]]

I nominate the "Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans, 2000 Edition." This book is full of poetry written by children and young adults in reaction to several different incidents. While some children chose to write descriptions of their homes in the summertime, other students wrote about the drama surrounding Y2K. Still, others chose to write a song full of pride for our nation. I feel that this book of poetry deserves to win the Gracie's Cry Award because it is a product of the thoughts and fears of real children.

[Amber]

I nominate the book, "This Place I Know: Poems of Comfort" for the Gracie's Cry Award. The book could be used in almost every grade, but mainly grades 4-6. This book is an anthology of poems written by children about the September 11th events. I nominated this book because I think it has a strong relationship to us all presently and could definitely be used in any of our classrooms in the near future to teach about these horrific events.