Is that Elvis?!

[Shawn]

Is that Elvis?! award: This award goes to the book that best shows the quality of a mythological or fictional creature. These qualities show or tell of a character that is seen or unseen.

Such creatures include, but are not limited to, unicorns, griffins, yeti, sasquatch, mummies, zombies, the loch ness monster and other characters that personify a creature that is seen or unseen.

About: This award is about the literary genre of books which include mythological creatures as the main character, protagonist or antagonist. Also, it may involve an idea that something is approaching and not seen.

For example: In the book Alia's Mission, the author talks of the war coming closer as if it is ready to devour the library. "Who am I kidding, the war is coming too fast! I don't have enough time!" This personifies a beast that is set on approaching and cannot be stopped. (like Godzilla!)

Requirements: This award has to include a mythological creature. This creature has to be one of the main focuses of the book and the central story must revolve around this character.

Recipients: The recipient of this award must have the book geared towards children who are transitional or fluent readers. The book must have a clear story line and must be easy to follow. The book should preferably include pictures which helps lead the story further and let's the children understand the book even if they do not read it.

*Post nominations by March 5.*

[Sarah]

I nominated "Jack and the Beanstalk" by E. Nesbit because it includes a giant which is clearly a fictional creature and a beanstalk that grows up into the sky to his castle. This picked this version of the book because the pictures seem almost lifelike compared to other copies. "Jack and the Beanstalk" is perfect for kindergarten to fourth grade. Fluent readers can use this as an independent read while four year olds would be for a read aloud.

[Linzi]

I nominate "Where The Wild Things Are" written by Maurie Sendak. This book has wonderful illustrations showing monsters (wild things) that are in the forest. This book won a Caldecott Award in 1964. This book was published in 1963 by Scholastic Book Services. This book is very cute and I would use this in a read aloud for 1-3 grade.

[Darlene]

I nominate "The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis and illustrated by Pauline Baynes. I nominate this book because it is a classical story that uses many mythical characters. The mythical characters that are used are not your normal average characters that you think of like dragons, unicorns and others, they are a good lion, a bad witch, a faun, and many other animals that all are able to talk and communicate with humans. The story starts off with Lucy and her brothers and sisters being sent to a very old home in the country. Lucy finds this magical wardrobe which leads her to another fairy tale world where she meets these mythical characters. The Witch, who acts like the Queen wants to get to the children and turn them to stone. Aslan the lion then goes on to give his life up to the witch instead of her taking the life of one of the children. The children are a sign of hope to Narnia. The development of characters as you go through the book is extraordinary along with the development of the plot. There is irony in the fact that the Queen is really a witch.

[[deleted user]]

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.

[Corby]

I nominate "Twenty Jataka Tales" by Noor Inayat Khan. This is a collection of tales that contain many mythical creatures, all of which have important morals to teach.
This book would be great to use in grades 1-6. Excellent way to get children talking about issues they may face.

[Lori]

I nominate the book "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by JK Rowling. Imaginative and extremely well-written, this first installment in the series introduces us to our hero, Harry, who is an orphan living with wicked relatives. When he turns 11, it is revealed to Harry by Albus Dumbledore that he is actually a wizard, and Harry is shuffled off to Hogwarts, where he commences his studies on perfecting his wizardry. This book is appropriate for fluent readers of any age to read independently, and it works as a read aloud for children as young as 7.

[Ericajean]

I nominate Rumpelstiltskin by Paul O. Zelinsky for the Is That Elvis?! Award. This is one of my childhood favorites. Although, this version is slightly different in the sense that Rumpelstiltskin does not rip himself into two in the end, it would make for a better classroom story without the violence. A miller’s daughter is told to spin straw into gold and weeps until she is offered help from a tiny man who demands things in return. In the end, she outwits the little man and lives happily ever after. Illustrations go well with the story.

[Amy]

I nominate "Dragon Soup" by Arlene Williams. The brightly colored action-packed illustrations support the text and help the reader want to know the whole story of how the Tonlu bravely went into the clouds to seek the dragons' treasure to help her family pay a debt and keep her from being forced into marriage with the village merchant. Her craftiness and courage help her to do even more than she sets out to. I think that this book is deserving of this award due to its skillful use of Asian mythology and mythological creatures to tell a story with a moral, while depicting a strong female protagonist. Dragon Soup

[Amber]

Dragons hate to be discreet ; a story I nominate the book, " Dragons Hate to Be Discreet" by Winifred Rosen. This book is good for grades 2-4. Instead of looking at all of the more popular books, I chose to look at a picture book that I had never heard of. I nominated this book because of the way it kind of introduces fictional creatures. In the story, a girl is friends with the dragon and tells how the dragon can be nice and friendly, but will breathe fire at the "right moment". This is an interesting picture book that would be good for a read aloud.

[[deleted user]]

I nominate "The Book of Giant Stories" by David L. Harrison for the Is That Elvis?! Award. This book has three separate stories about the interactions between a child and a few giants. In each story, the ferocious and otherwise bad-mannered giants learn a great lesson from the young boy involved. Because each story has a moral, I feel it deserves to win the award. The book is best for children grades 1-5.

[Shannon]

I nominate "Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You" by Holly Black. This book is perfect for the Is That Elvis? Award because it enables readers to learn about and have fun with 14 fantastical creatures featured in the series, and they'll be delighted by an additional 15 creatures featured in this elaborate volume, including mermaids, gargoyles, and more. Mythological readers will love emerging themselves in this book! Great for grades 3-6!

[Patrick]

I nominate, "Bridge to Terabitha" written by Katherine Paterson. This book is a great adventure for students to read and offer many fictional character/things that will spark their imagination. Targeting grades 3 through 6

[Shawn]

Mr. T. DiTerlizzi,
P.O. Box 442
Amherst, MA, 01004-0442

Dear Mr. DiTerlizzi,
I am a Penn State University student at the Altoona Campus. I am currently enrolled in the Elementary Education major and am taking the Language and Literacy Education section. As part of a class project, we were to find a children’s book for each member of our class. We were doing this because the class is doing individual nominations of a book that best fits the criteria.
The criteria I have chose is one of unknown creatures that people have been trying to find for many years. I named the award “Is That Elvis” because for many years, even after his death, people still claim to see Elvis in the most unique places. I have focused on creature that people have claimed to see but still have no proof.
These creatures would include animals such as the “bigfoot”, “Loch Ness Monster” and the like. Your book Arthur Spickerwick’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You fits this criterion well and I have chosen it as the best example for the recipient of the “Is That Elvis” award. Fletcher says that “When a writer explores the terrain of the physical, we help readers enter more fully into the field of our characters.” (Fletcher, pg. 57). This is true for unknown creatures because the animals in this book show human qualities. These qualities help the reader relate more to the characters and become more engrossed in the book.
This book is particularly worthy because of the nature of the creatures involved and the wonderful explanations of each. I applaud your work and thank you for such an interesting and enjoyable book. I have witnessed many different people of all ages and races enjoying your book. My niece has her own copy and constantly asks me to take her for walks so she may search for tolls, goblins, and the like.

Respectfully,

Shawn M. Cunningham