These six national winners of the "Letters About Literature" contest met with with Target's Beth McGuire left, Librarian James Billington, center, and Center for the Book Director John Cole, right. - Harrington Photography
Child abuse, suicide, autism, self-esteem, parental control — these are a few of the many issues with which today's children and teens are wrestling. Judging from the essays of six national winners of this year's "Letters About Literature" contest, books are helping young people cope with their problems and find solutions.
"A book is a book, and that was the way I always thought it would stay," wrote Gabe Goodman, a middle school student from Greeley, Colo., whose brother is autistic. "A book had proven me wrong, and that book was yours," he wrote to Terry Trueman, author of "Stuck in Neutral." Trueman traveled from Seattle to meet his young fan at the National Book Festival.
"Your book has created a miracle," wrote Goodman. "It has brought two brothers closer together. My brother looked different to me after I read your book. If Shawn in "Stuck in Neutral" could think up brilliant ideas and understood everything he heard, isn't it possible for my autistic brother to do the same?"
Author David Pelzer signs his inspirational book, "A Child Called ‘It,'" for one of his biggest fans, Latricia Shaw - Michaela McNichol
Goodman along with five other national winners read excerpts from their essays in the Teens and Children's pavilion at the festival. Sponsored by the Library's Center for the Book and Target, the annual "Letters About Literature" contest requires students to write a letter to an author whose book has changed their view of the world or of themselves.
The six winning essays were selected from more than 46,000 entries nationwide. Each winner received a $500 Target GiftCard and a trip to Washington to visit the White House and the Library of Congress and participate in the book festival.
David Pelzer's inspirational best-seller, "A Child Called ‘It': One Child's Courage to Survive," had a profound affect on Latricia Shaw, an elementary school student from Springfield, Ore., whose foster mother gave her the book. Pelzer, who survived one of the worse cases of child abuse in California history, has dedicated his life to helping others achieve their potential through his motivational books and speeches.
"Suddenly, I realized that I now had more love and support than other children and that I needed to treasure what I currently had and not focus on the painful times of my past," wrote Shaw. "After reading your book, I knew that none of the abuse was my fault. You showed me that I had a voice that I never knew I had."
Pelzer, one of the book festival's participating authors, was on hand to give Shaw a hug. Meeting her favorite author was clearly a thrill of a lifetime.
In the aftermath of two suicides at his school, Ames, Iowa, high school student Edward Chen found a message of hope in Albert Camus' "The Stranger." As the main character's outlook on life transforms from being "so detached that it left no room for introspection, will, or any glimpse of personal identity," to "a hope of contentment in the embrace of death," Chen, too, chooses to be happy.
"Life is what I make it," wrote Chen. "And to have a life of depth, meaning and intensity, I must take the initiative to lift up my soul in times of anguish and to bathe in the pure joy of success. Through your heartfelt writing and explication of the human condition, Mr. Camus, I have been inspired to build a life of dignified and creative activism."
Amy Tai, a middle school student from Tulsa, Okla., struggling with her own mother-daughter issues, gained much wisdom from Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club."
"Before I read your book, I was always fuming and wondering why my mother was … constantly picking at my faults," wrote Tai. "Afterwards, I understood that my mother was helping me because she wanted me to become an accomplished person, teaching me what my grandmother had taught her."
As a Chinese American, Tai further identified with the characters in the story.
"My family is Chinese, and my mother knows from her mother how the bad times were in China. …Your description of China during the war has shown me that I should appreciate life more. … When I leave a room, I always turn off the light because I'm thinking that, somewhere, someone doesn't have the gifts I have."
Mitchell Deck reads his winning letter about "Lou Gehrig: Pride of the Yankees" as Center for the Book Director John Cole looks on. - Harrington Photography
Mitchell Deck, an elementary school student from Peoria, Ill., may be small in stature but he is big at heart. A sports fan, Deck was profoundly affected by Keith Brandt's "Lou Gehrig, Pride of the Yankees."
"Lou was not a natural athlete because he was chubby and awkward. Since I am small, sometimes it is hard for me to play sports and compete with bigger kids. … Lou Gehrig makes me realize that if I try hard, people will see that I can do things that they think I cannot."
Gehrig's belief in the importance of education reinforced those of Deck's father.
"Lou felt that an education was more important than sports and turned down many offers while in college. My daddy tells me that a good education is more important than sports."
Radford, Va., high schooler Hannah Pierce was also strengthened by reading a good book. By her own admission, she was transformed "from a shy, timid girl … to a bright, friendly personality" by reading Ellen Raskin's "The Westing Game." Pierce first had to get over her aversion to the gold seal on the cover, indicating its distinction as a Newbery Medal winner.
"I knew about those Newbery Medal winners," she wrote. "They were all boring to me, filled with typical people in realistic situations who learned plenty of moral lessons by the end of the story. After only eight sentences, my hatred had faded. I met Turtle and I was captivated. I still wonder how a whole decade before I was born you were able to write a character who would mirror my heart so accurately."
According to Pierce, Turtle, "a feisty 13-year old," encouraged her "to be bold, open and daring" and "a stronger, more confident human being."
Raskin — and the other recipients of the students' winning letters — undoubtedly created a lifelong reader by giving a young person the unforgettable experience of devouring a much-loved book.
"Spending time with Turtle restores my hope for reading. … I also know now that tears shed over a good book are not wasted."
