Call for Entries: 2011 Letters About Literature Contest
Entries due by December 10, 2010
We invite students in grades 4-12, to enter the 2010 Letters About Literature Contest, a national reading and writing promotion program organized by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress in partnership with Target Stores. To enter, students write a letter to the author (living or dead) of their favorite book, and describe how that book moved or changed them.
There are three levels for participants: Level I grades 4-6; Level II grades 7 & 8; Level III grades 9-12.
Download the Contest Guidelines and Official Rules.
The National Letters About Literature Web Site contains even more information you may need to help you or your students enter the contest.
The contest deadline is December 10, 2010
This is the tenth year that the Maine Center for the Book, the programming arm of the Maine Humanities Council, has run the Letters About Literature contest in Maine. Teachers who have involved their students with the contest have some very positive comments about its effectiveness as a teaching tool.
Letters About Literature, 2009 Awards
Congratulations to the students listed below, who were awarded 1st place, 2nd place, and Honorable Mention awards at the state level in the 2009 Letters About Literature Contest.
2010 Awards
Letters About Literature is a national reading-writing contest offered by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, in partnership with Target Stores and in cooperation with affiliate state centers for the book. Readers in grades 4-12 are invited to write a personal letter to an author, living or dead, from any genre—fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or classic, explaining how that author’s work changed the student’s way of thinking about the world or themselves. There are three competition levels: Level I for children grades 4-6; Level II for grades 7 and 8, and Level III for students in grades 9-12.
In addition to the national sponsors named above, the Letters About Literature contest in Maine is sponsored by the David Royte Fund. The David Royte Fund, created in 2006 by Merle and Leonard Nelson and Dr. and Mrs. Paul Royte, honors the father of Merle and Paul, Mr. David Royte. Mr. Royte served as a valued member of the Board of Directors of the Maine Humanities Council for many years.
Level I (grades 4-6)
First place winner: Ella Reilich Godino, Grade 5, Ella Lewis School, Steuben. Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
Second Place Winner: Natalie Rogers, Grade 6, Pemetic Elementary School, Southwest Harbor. Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
Third Place Winners: Xander Bartone, Grade 5, Center for Teaching and Learning, Edgecomb. Operation Yes by Sara Lewis Holmes
Honorable Mention(s): Eloise Kelly, Grade 6, Center for Teaching and Learning, Edgecomb. Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick
Maureen Lavallee, Grade unknown, Cape Elizabeth Middle School, Cape Elizabeth. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
Benjamin McKenna, Grade 6, Appleton Village School, Appleton. Warriors: Forest of Secrets Warriors: Forest of Secrets by Erin Hunter
Level II (grades 7-8)
First Place Winner: Caroline George, Grade 7, Bonny Eagle Middle School, Buxton. “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost
Second Place Winners: Diana Tyutyunnyk, Grade unknown, Orono Middle School, Orono. Our Town by Thornton Wilder
Third Place Winner: Jessica Lynn Correale, Grade 8, Hermon Middle School, Hermon. Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting
Honorable Mention: Erin Jeters, Grade 8, Wagner Middle School, Wagner. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Holly LeBrecque, Grade unknown, Orono Middle School, Orono. Gertrude McFuzz by Dr. Suess
Brendan Venable, Grade 8, Lewiston Middle School, Lewiston. We Beat the Streets by Davis, Jenkins, Hunt & Draper
Level III (grades 9-12)
First Place Winner: Joshua Elwood, Grade 10, Bangor High School, Bangor. Black Box by Julie Schumacher
Second Place Winner: Alicia Eggleston, Grade 10, Mt. Ararat High School, Thompson. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Third Place Winner: Alana Jeralds, Grade 11, Noble High School, North Berwick. Love the One You’re With by Emily Giffin
Honorable Mention: Amelia Mitchell, Grade 9, Waynflete School, Portland. The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
Alex Julia Walter, Grade 9, Mt. Ararat High School, Thompson. The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen
Complete List of Semi-Finalists (Listed by School)
Joshua Elwood, First Place Winner
Maureen Lavallee, Honorable Mention
Jane Vaughan
Harry Wasserman
Tristan Geboski
Abbie Hinchman
Tess Hinchman
Eloise Kelly, Honorable Mention
Jacob Rizzitano
Neesha Fatmi
Brittany Hutchins
Brendan Venable, Honorable Mention
Danielle Patrick
Alicia Eggleston, Second Place Winner
Caleb Grant
Brittany Labbe
Julia MacDonald
Alex Julia Walter, Honorable Mention
Emma Wood
Emma Peterson
Diana Tyutyunnyk, Second Place Winner
