December 12 is the deadline to post letters from students in the 2009-2010 Kansas Letters About Literature project!
Letters About Literature is the reading and writing initiative sponsored nationally by the Library of Congress Center for the Book and Target, and in Kansas by the Kansas Center for the Book at the State Library. Students at three levels write letters to authors about how the authors’ books have impacted the students’ lives. Students in grades 4-6, grades 7-8, and grades 9-12 submit the letters individually or by classes with an entry coupon for each student’s letter to:
Letters About Literature, Competition Level [1, 2, or 3], PO Box 609, Dallas, PA 18612
Letters will be judged on use of language skills, organization and grammar; achievement in addressing the contest theme; and style and originality of expression. Several rounds of judging will take place at the national level before semi-finalists are returned to Kansas. Here, three judges for each level will read and rank the semi-finalists and the State Librarian will select the state winners.
All semi-finalists will receive a Certificate of Recognition. Three state winners will be selected from the top-ranked letters. State winners will receive a cash award from a grant to the Kansas Center for the Book, a $50 Target gift card, a Certificate of Achievement, and advancement to national competition. In addition, this year, thanks to a grant from Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority in Wichita, teachers of the three state winners will receive small cash prizes.
If a Kansas student is a national honorable mention, he/she will receive a $100 Target gift card and a $1,000 Reading Promotion Grant for the community or school library of their choice. If a Kansas student is a national winner, he/she will receive a $500 Target gift card and a $10,000 Reading Promotion Grant for the community or school library of their choice. Community or school libraries selected for the National Winners and Honorable Mentions are at the sponsor’s sole discretion.
Copies of the entry coupon can be obtained at the Kansas Center for the Book website at http://www.kcfb.info or email the Kansas Center for the Book at kcfb@kslib.info. Coupons can be photocopied for each student.
Hurry! Just two more weeks before the deadline! Submit your student letters NOW!
Sixth grader Lauren Marie Hart, from Holy Spirit Catholic School, won at the Level 1 elementary school level for her letter to Janet Lee Carey, author of Wenny Has Wings. Hannah Billings, a seventh grader at Monticello Trails Middle School, won in Level 2 for her letter to Cynthia Lord, author of Rules. Olathe South High School sophomore Jordan Schaper was selected at Level 3 for his letter to Pete Rose, who wrote My Prison Without Bars.
the Book at the State Library. Students from grades 4-12 write personal letters to authors about how their books impacted the students’ lives. The letters were submitted to the Library of Congress Center for the Book, went through two rounds of judging there, and then 95 semi-finalist letters were returned to Kansas for state ranking by judges and decisions of state winners.