LIBRARY OF CONGRESS WILL SPONSOR READING AND WRITING CONTEST FOR YOUNG
READERS
State and National Winners Will Be Selected;
National Winners Will Earn a $10,000 Reading Promotion Grant
for Their Community or School Library
Have you ever read a book that changed your life? Has some author's words
touched you in such a personal way, altering how you view your world or
yourself? If so, the Library of Congress wants to hear all about it!
Letters About Literature is a national reading and writing promotion program
for readers in grades 4 through 12, sponsored by the Center for the Book in
the Library of Congress in partnership with Target. To enter, readers write
a personal letter to an author, explaining how his or her work changed their
view of the world or themselves. To obtain the guidelines and required entry
form ask your teacher, librarian, or download it from the Letters About
Literature website at http://www.oregon.gov/OSL/LD/youthsvcs/aboutlit.shtml.
The deadline for entries is December 6, 2008.
Judges representing the Oregon Center for the Book will select one winner,
one runner-up, and honorable mentions at each competition levels-Level I for
readers in grades 4 through 6, Level II for grades 7 and 8, and Level III
for grades 9 through 12. Entries in each state will be assessed on three
criteria: content, use of language skills (exposition); and style and
originality of expression (voice). Honorable mentions receive a $25
bookstore gift certificate, the three runners-up receive $50 in cash, and
all receive a $250 Oregon College Savings Plan scholarship.
The three Oregon winners will receive a $50 Target GiftCard, $100 in cash,
and a $500 Oregon College Savings Plan scholarship. They will then advance
to the national competition. A panel of judges for the Center for the Book
in the Library of Congress will then select six national winners (two per
competition level) and 12 national runners-up (four per competition level).
Each national winner will receive a $500 Target GiftCard. In addition, they
will win a Reading Promotion Grant of $10,000 for their school or community
library. National winners will be instrumental in deciding how the library
funds will be spent. The 12 national runners-up will win a $100 Target
GiftCard, plus they will win a Reading Promotion Grant of $1,000 for their
school or community library. One of the two Level I nation winners in 2008
was from Oregon. The $10,000 grant went to school library at Cal Young
Middle School in Eugene.
The Oregon Center for the Book, Oregon State Treasurer, Oregon Reading
Association, Oregon Association of School Librarians, and the Oregon Library
Association's Children's Services Division and Young Adult Network cosponsor
Letters About Literature at the State level. These organizations strive to
provide experiences that encourage youth to develop life-long reading
habits. Through their support, more Oregon students know about and
participate in Letters About Literature, and they provide the winners,
runners-up, honorable mentions, and semi-finalists recognition for their
reading and writing achievements.
Target sponsors Letters About Literature as part of its as part of its
commitment to supporting education and early childhood reading. Target
recognizes the integral role reading plays in shaping a child's future,
because reading is the foundation for life-long learning and success. Since
opening its doors, Target has given five percent of its income to
organizations that support education, the arts and safe families and
communities. Today that translates to $3 million every week.
The Center for the Book was established in 1977 as a public-private
partnership to use the resources of the Library of Congress to stimulate
public interest in books and reading. For information about its activities
and national reading promotion networks, visit www.loc.gov/cfbook.
