One hundred fifty young readers across the country were honored in June with state and national awards for their achievements in this year’s Letters About Literature writing contest, sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress in association with Target. Six national winners received cash awards and also earned for their community or school library a $10,000 Letters About Literature reading promotion grant. Twelve national honorable mention winners were also chosen, receiving cash awards and earning for their community or school library a $1,000 reading promotion grant.
With funding provided by Target, the national reading promotion program challenges young readers to write a personal letter to an author, describing how that author’s work has changed their view of the world or of themselves. As the national winning entries in the Letters About Literature contest display, many young people today are dealing with issues of discrimination and self-esteem. They are striving to connect with parents—some of whom are fighting in Iraq and others who are foreign-born—and they are seeking to improve themselves and make the world a better place. Favorite characters and works of literature help them navigate that rough terrain.
More than 59,000 children in grades 4 through 12 participated this year. Students compete in one of three competition levels: elementary school, grades four through six; middle school, grades seven and eight; and high school, grades nine through 12. On the state level, the program is sponsored by affiliate state centers for the book.
State and national judges include published authors, editors, publishers, librarians and teachers.
For information about the program and a list of previous Letters About Literature winners, visit www.loc.gov/letters/. For further details, contact the national program director at lal@epix.net.
National Winners
Level I (Grades 4-6)
- McKenzie Dent, Puyallup, Wash.
Alice Mead, “Soldier Mom” - Hunter Hastings, Springfield, Ore.
Lawrence Taylor, “Taylor”
Level II (Grades 7-8)
- Anna Rodis, Farmington, Conn.
Paul Showers, “The Listening Walk” - Dana Vigue, Maine
Janet Shaw, “Meet Kaya”
Level III (Grades 9-12)
- Maggie Tighe, Frederick, Md.
Aldous Huxley, “Brave New World” - Ayesha Usmani, Memphis, Tenn.
Amy Tan, “The Joy Luck Club”
The Letters
Here are some excerpts from letters written by the six national winners:
“My dad didn’t leave me because he wanted to. ‘Soldier Mom’ helped me to know that by Jas having similar experiences. I have realized that although the Army has taken my dad away for a year, it is his job to serve in the war and keep our country free.”
—Written by McKenzie Dent to Alice Mead,
author of “Soldier Mom”
“Even though my life and the world around me have gotten much more hectic, there is always time to squeeze in a little ‘listening walk.’ I can’t wait to take them with my children.”
—Written by Anna Rodis
to Paul Showers, author of
“The Listening Walk”
“Nobody bullies me about my heritage anymore. I’m proud of being a Micmac Indian and I will always take a stand for myself. Thank you sincerely for the cherished inspiration that you’ve given me.”
—Written by Dana Vigue
to Janet Shaw, author of “Meet Kaya”
“Thank you for sharing your story, which inspired me to change my view of myself and what I can accomplish. I wrote down a sentence from your book and keep it on my desk. You said, ‘Life, like anything else, can knock you down. You will have problems every day in your life. But sometimes…sometimes you just got to go play. The crime is not being knocked down, the crime is not getting up again.’”
—Written by Hunter
Hastings to Lawrence Taylor, author of “Taylor”
“I strive to find the connection with mother. A connection that will balance independence and loyalty to my heritage. A balance of Pakistani values of love, obedience and humility in harmony with American values of independence, free speech and self-esteem. A journey that will always be difficult but worth the effort.
“I desired that connection with your guidance, Amy Tan. A connection that I have now found. My mother sits at her corner in the East and I at the West. But we are united in harmony. A harmony that appreciates our similarities and our dependence for each other.”
—Written by
Ayesha Usmani to
Amy Tan, author of
“The Joy Luck Club”
“Your book was devoid of true happiness in that it was devoid of struggle. I now appreciate that my generation can take the ‘easy way out’ of nearly everything, but I’m not going to let that privilege consume me.
“With ‘Brave New World,’ you have shown me that my circle of friends, my community, and my world require the personal sacrifice of time and energy to achieve meaningful happiness. Thank you for this gift.”
—Written by
Maggie Tighe
to Aldous Huxley,
author of
“Brave New World”
