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Letters About Literature
About Letters About Literature
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, invites readers in grades 4 through 12 to participate in Letters About Literature, a national reading-writing contest.  To enter, readers write a personal letter to an author, living or dead, 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 in grades 4 through 6; Level II for grades 7 and 8, and Level III, grades 9 - 12.  Oregon selects one winner at each competition level.  The three winners then go on to participate nationally.  Oregon's winners are announced in April and a reception is held in their honor. 
 
Contest Guidelines/Entry Form (pdf)
 

For more information email Katie Anderson  or call her at 503-378-2528.

 

Prizes
Approximately 56,000 young readers across the county participated in the 2008 Letters About Literature competition, a reading promotion program of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, presented in partnership with Target Stores.  Nationally, two winners and four honorable mentions were selected at each competition level.  Winners each received a $500 Target GiftCard and a $10,000 grant to donate to the local public or school library of their choice.  Honorable mentions each received a $100 Target GiftCard and a $1,000 grant to donate to the local public or school library of their choice. 
 
In Oregon, one winner and one runner-up is selected at each competition level every year.  Judges at each competition level select honorable mentions and semi-finalists at their discretion, therefore the number varies from year to year.  In 2008, Oregon had 10 honorable mentions and 92 semi-finalists.  The three winners received $100 in cash, a $50 Target GiftCard, and a $500 Oregon College Savings Plan scholarship; Oregon runners-up received $50 in cash and a $250 Oregon College Savings Plan scholarship; honorable mentions received a $25 bookstore gift certificate and a $250 Oregon College Savings Plan scholarship; and semi-finalists received a $10 bookstore gift certificate. 
 
In 2008, one of the national winners from competition Level I (4th-6th grade) was from Oregon.  Hunter Hastings selected the library at Cal Young Middle School to recieve the $10,000 grant from Target.  Hunter's letter is an excellent example for students thinking about entering future Letters About Literature contests.  It is well-written, but most importantly it is written straight from his heart. 
 

Sponsors
National Sponsors:
Center for the Book in the Library of Congress
Target Stores
 
Local Co-Sponsors:
Oregon State Treasurer Randall Edwards
Oregon Center for the Book
Oregon Reading Association
Oregon Association of School Librarians
Oregon Young Adult Network  of the Oregon Library Association
Children's Services Division of the Oregon Library Association

Resources
How does Letters About Literature support national language arts and reading standards?  This flyer outlines how Letters About Literature can be connected to national education standards and curriculums.
 
This educational supplement provides classroom activities and black line masters/reproducibles to assist teachers in guiding their students through the book discussion and writing process.  The unit has four lessons that take readers from prewriting discussions through writing and finally assessment.
 
*Pages 31-33 of the Teachers Guide are the assessment tools the State level judges use to score the letters.

Past Winning Letters
2008 Winning Letters
2007 Winning Letters
2006 Winning Letters
2005 Winning Letters
2004 Winning Letters
2003 Winning Letters
2002 Winning Letters
2001 Winning Letters
2000 Winning Letters
1998 Winning Letters
 

 
Page updated: August 14, 2008

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