The I Love You Award

[Amber]

The I Love You award is named for all books that are written about love and friendship. WIth Valentine's Day just around the corner, and children being full of love, books like these allow children to relate their stories to their own loved ones and remind them of the happiness they bring to their lives. A great example of this can be found in the book Antonio's Card as the book reads, "He writes TE QUIERO --I love you-- on a napkin and draws a heart around the words. He puts the napkin in his mother's purse while she looks for the house keys." This is only a small example of love shown from one person to another in a short story book. Halliday's article on the Relevant Models of Language says, "He has used language in many ways-for the satisfaction of material and intellectual needs, for the mediation of personal relationships, the expression of feelings and so on." Halliday also states that language has an effect subconsciously depending on the child's experience. This award will go to a book that best demonstrates love and friendship for children.

There is no type of genre or format required for this award and all grade levels can be looked at.

Nominations should be posted by March, 5 2009!

[Lori]

I nominate the book "And Tango Makes Three" by Justin Richardson for the best children's book about love. This story of two male penguins who adopt an egg and raise the baby penguin, Tango, as their own, is a wonderful way to show children that love truly does exist in many wonderful forms. This book is appropriate for K-3 classrooms, and broaches the often uncomfortable subjects of same-sex relationships, parenting, and emphasizes the inherent nature and sincerity of love between individuals of the same gender.

[Sarah]

I nominate "The Rainbow Fish" because at first, the Rainbow fish is stubborn and refuses to share its shiny scales with any of the other fish in the ocean. The Rainbow fish soon realizes that nobody else wants to be its friend because the Rainbow fish does not share. After the Rainbow fish realizes that sharing is the right thing to do, the Rainbow fish shares the sparkly scales with everyone else in the ocean. The fish went through a rough time at first with getting along, but once the Rainbow fish shared its scales, everyone was happy and ended up being the best of friends. The picture in this book are very colorful and supports the text well. This book is perfect for the I love you award because it shows how friendships begin. I am positive children can understand and share stories related to the text. Great for a read aloud or independent read for children ages 4-8.

[Linzi]

I nominate " Good Morning To You, Valentine" written by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Tomie de Paola. This a a book of poems for children about Valentine's Day. This book has a lot of adorable poems written with love and children in mind. I would say this book is for K-2 and I would read the book aloud to the students.

[Corby]

I nominate "Nutik, the Wolf Pup", by Jean Craighead George, illustrations by Ted Rand. This is an excellent story of a young eskimo boy (Amaroq) whose family takes in two sickly wolf pups. Amaroq's sister Julie, was saved by the wolves when she was lost and starving. Julie is able to communicate with the wolves and she lets them know that when the pups are fat and healthy she will return them to the pack. She warns Amaroq not to fall in love with the pups because one day they will go back to the pack. The day comes when the wolves call Nutik back to the pack. This story has a twist at the end. You'll need to read to find out what happens, but I think this book deserves the I Love you award. The story shows how a young boy even though he thought of himself as strong was not able to deny falling in love. This book would make an excellent read aloud. Children love stories with animals in them. As Taberski states, it is important to pick "just right" books (Taberski, 2000).

[Darlene]

I would like to nominate "Emily and Alice Best Friends" by Joyce Champion. This book is all about friendship. The book starts off with a girl Emily who notices that there is a new girl moving in next door and she wants to go be friends with her and invite her over but as she starts to go over to her house she starts to doubt herself and is about to turn back when the girl notices her and then they do talk and start to become friends. Emily has her over for cookies and their relationship goes from there. Really good illustrations to go along with the story. The illustrator's use of white space leads to the positive feelings that you get when looking at the pictures. The text is complimented by the lighter colors used for the backgrounds, which gives us the positive feelings of hope and brightness.

[Melody]

I nominate"I Love You So Much" by Carl Norac. Illustrations by Claude K. Dubois. this book is about a hamster, Lola, who wakes up and has words on the tip of her tongue but can't say them. Finally she is able to speak them and receives a wonderful response from her parents. You must read this book, it is simply adorable! This book is for second or third graders. You could read it to younger grades as a read aloud but need higher grades for guided reading. Read this book to find out what the words are and you will be hooked on it!!I Love You So Much

[Shawn]

I nominate "The Way I Love You" by David Bedford and Ann James.

This book would be appropriate for early readers.

This book tells of the bond a little girl shares with her dog.

In this story, a little girl tells her pet dog how much she loves him. The illustrator shows how the little girl and the dog do all of these activities and play together by showing the kinds of activities along with the author giving a brief explanation of why the little girl loves her dog.

[[deleted user]]

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.

[Amy]

"Love don't mean all that kissing like on television...", says Eloise Greenfield through the character voice of a young African American girl in "Honey, I Love...". This is a book of poetry that tells of a child's love for family, friends, neighbors, and life. I nominate this book because the theme is love, and its many different forms are portrayed so beautifully.

[Shannon]

You Are to Me

I nominate "You Are to Me" by Rebecca Doughty. This books about a pig and a bunny who tell one another what they are to each Other. For example, "you're orange juice and clementine." They go throughout the book explaining how much they mean to each other. The story ends with with pig telling the bunny, "you are the very best to me." This book deserves to win the I love You Award because it is easy for children to relate to and it gives off the emotion of love very well.

[Ericajean]

I nominate Franklin’s Valentines by Paulette Bourgeois for the I Love You Award. Valentine’s Day is a universal symbol of love, which is passed on by the giving of Valentine’s Day cards. Franklin prepares cards for his friends, which ultimately end up ruined after falling in a mud-puddle. When Franklin discovers he has no valentines to give, he gets very upset until he realizes his friends understand. On his own, he makes new cards and declares that they are for “friendship day,” making sure they know it can be any day they want it to be. This book not only demonstrates friendship but also shows a strong moral. The pictures are brilliantly done and children will connect with this very cute story.

[[deleted user]]

I nominate "Guess How Much I Love You" by Sam McBratney. This story follows Big Nutbrown Hare and Little Nutbrown Hare in their quests to out-love one another. In his last effort to prove to his father just ow much he was loved, Little Nutbrown Hare stretches out and says, " I love you right up to the moon." After he closes his eyes and falls asleep, his dad leans over and whispers, "I love you right up to the moon - and back." This book deserves to win the I Love You Award because it shows the love between a parent and child in a beautiful way to which children can easily relate.

[Patrick]

I nominate, "My Friend Rabbit" by Eric Rohmann. This book was given the Caldecott Medal and is meant for younger ages. It is a fast moving story of 2 friend, Mouse and Rabbit, who keep getting into trouble. This one the kids are sure to love.