I have an important end of the school year ritual of writing letters of teacher appreciation to school superintendents and school boards to let them know about the teachers I've admired all year long. My tradition was begun when a teacher friend told me it's the best present a parent can give. Lately, I found three new books which would also be great teacher presents. Patricia Polacco's Thank You Mr. Falker, (Putnam, $15.99), Luis Rodriguez' America Is Her Name (Curbstone Press, $15.95) and Hurrah for Diffendoofer Day! (Knopf, $17.00) which was begun by Dr. Seuss and completed by two wild and crazy children's book artists, poet Jack Prelutsky and illustrator, Lane Smith.

Polacco as a child was profoundly learning disabled and Thank You Mr. Falker serves as a tribute to her teacher, Mr. Falker, and others like him who take action to help children in need. Mr. Falker notices, acknowledges, and names Patricia's learning difficulties with compassion and then is willing to pay for a tutor, unlocking the world of words so she can enter. The book falls down in one particular. While Polacco tells how the secret of her learning difficulties are hidden, again and again we see peers mock her "dumbness". Still the book honors a fine teacher and by extension those who go above and beyond to care for their students.

America Is Her Name tells the story of a nine year old from Oaxaca whose family has moved to the Pilsen barrio of Chicago. She's surrounded by neighborhood violence, accusations about being an illegal alien, economic and emotional pressures at home, and a teacher who screams and does little to understand her bilingual students. These troubles combine to make America wonder about her place in the world and she loses the "strong, open and free" voice of childhood she had in Mexico. When a visiting poet ignites her creative soul and she begins to write for herself and, despite her father's discouragement, her enthusiasm inspires other family members to write. Finally, her uncle sees her artistry and comments, "she will bloom, long after we've rotted on the vine." By the story's end America no longer feels lost, for as her poetry teacher told her, "a poet belongs everywhere." The book's harshness is softened by its lyrical expression.

Hurray for Diffendoofer School will be loved by teachers for two reasons; it praises the art of teaching and half of the book bears witness to Seuss' efforts and struggles to finish this book. Diffendoofer School "looks like any other school,/But we suspect it's not./ I think we're learning lots of things/Not taught at other schools. Our teachers are remarkable,/They make up their own rules." The teachers at this school educate with creative abandon and boundless joy until the principal announces that students will have to take a standardized test and if they don't do well, Diffendoofer School will be torn down and they'll have to go to Flobbertown. "Not Flobbertown!" we shouted,/And we shuddered at the name,/For everyone in Flobbertown/Does everything the same."

Miss Bonkers calms her students: "You've learned the things you need/To pass that test and many more-/ I'm certain you'll succeed./ We've taught you that the earth is round,/ That red and white make pink,/And something else that matters more-/We've taught you how to think." Diffendoofer School gets the highest test scores and the children learn happily ever after.

Teachers treasure books more than any other gifts and these three books are perfect for teachers who are giving the gift of real learning to your children.