LAL is a national reading promotion program of the Center for the Book

National Judges Select Winning Essays in this Year's LAL Writing Competition!

Author Lisa Yee (above) served on the national panel for Level 1 for this year's LAL competition. Her comments, as well as comments from other national judges, on the winning essays are below. To read the winning letters, click on "winning letters" on the menu bar.

    After months  of reading and assessing, and rereading again, the judges for this year's Letters About Literature have selected six national winners and 12 national honors. This year, more than 54,000 children across the country submitted entries to LAL. Of these, approximately 5,000 advanced to round 3, state-level judging. Each affiliate state center for the book selected their state winners in March and these first place winners advanced to national judging.

Congratulations to our

six national winners!

Level 1: Taaja Draughn, grade 6, Roanoke Middle School,NC, won for her letter to Sharon Draper, author of Forged by Fire. Taaja's teacher is Heather D. Brown. 

National judge Lisa Yee wrote: "Taaja's insights, especially about forgiving and forgetting, were powerful and revealing. The way she let us know about her father unfolded like a story."

Level 1: Caroline Hoskins, grade 6, Lausanne Collegiate School, TN, won for her letter to Cynthia Lord, author of Rules. Caroline's teacher is Josh Clark.

National judge Laura Tillotson wrote: "The letter was very realistic and personal on its tone. The short sentences: I am Caroline Hoskins. I am Me. were very powerful for me as a reader. I felt as if I were making the transition along with Caroline as I read her letter."  Laura Tillotson is Editorial Director, Booklist Books for Youth and the editor of Book Links published by the American Library Association.

Susan Hepler, author and children's literature specialist from Alexandria, VA, also served on the Level 1 national panel.

Level 2:  Cori Anne Mazer, grade 7, Highland Schools, AL, won for her letter to Lois Lowry, author of The Giver. Cori Anne's teacher is Mrs. Garland Darden.

National judge Dr. Terry Ley wrote: "Ms. Mazer's letter is sharply focused, her language straight-forward. She uses examples from other current sources to support her viewpoint. Her voice communicates strong resolve." Dr. Ley is a Distinguish Professor Emeritus of English and Reading Education, Auburn University.

Marilyn Courtot, the editor and found of Children's Literature, also sat on the Level 2 panel of national judges. She wrote: "Cori has learned that it is critical to have a voice in government, to serve as an example to her peers. . . She will be an agent of change."

Level 2: Kailey McCoy, grade 8, Margarita Middle School, CA, won for her letter to Blake E. S. Taylor, author of ADHD & Me. Kailey’s teacher is Tara Paul.

National judge Jodi Goldberg stated: “ . . . Kailey has delivered an extremely well-thought-out, wonderfully constructed letter that comes straight from her funny, energetic, creative, adventurous, honest, passionate, spontaneous heart. Her prose sparkles with individuality.”

Level 3: Joshua Tiprigan, grade 11, Old Tappan High School, NJ, won for his letter to Rudyard Kipling, author of “If.” Joshua’s teacher is Brian Hanson-Harding.

National judge Jamilla Coleman wrote: “I had a full understanding of Joshua’s sorrow over the loss of his mother, his relationship with his father, and the strength he drew from Kipling’s “If” to be his own man. His letter painted a vivid picture of his parents and family life, as well as his emotions” Jamilla Coleman is the Writers in the School Coordinator for the Pen-Faulkner Foundation in Washington, DC.

Level 3: Amelia Leuer, grade 12, St. Michael – Albertville High School, MN, won for her letter to Linda Pastan, author of the poem “Caroline.” Amelia’s teacher is Sherri Larson. 

National judge author Alex Espinoza wrote of Amelia’s letter, “. . . genuine, inspiring . . . the writer’s voice is original and emotionally compelling without getting in the way.” 

National judge Katherine Perkins, a commentator for public radio in Iowa, wrote that Amelia’s letter was “one I will not soon forget reading.”

Congratulations, too, to our 12 National Honors

Level 1

Clare Arlington Boyle, grade 5, Reed Intermediate School, CT. Her teacher is Julie Shull. Clare wrotw to L. M. Montgomery about Anne of Green Gables.

Cameron Fitzgerald, grade 4, St. Martins-in-the-Field Day School, MD. Cameron’s teacher is Cynthia Barry. Cameron wrote to Jack London,  about his book White Fang.

Reigner Kane, grade 4, Christian Academy Homeschool, LA. Reigner’s mom is his teacher. He wrote to Brian Jacques, author of the Redwall series.

Carolyn Propst, grade 6, Pace Academy, GA. Teacher is Eric Whilem. Carolyn’s letter was addressed to Lisi Harrison, author of The Clique series of book.

Level 2

Erikka Potts, Grade 8, Parkrose Middle School, OR. Her teacher is Whitney Alfrey. Erikka wrote to Dave Pelzer, author of A Child Called It.

Jared Dauman, grade 7, Rippowam Cisqua School, NY. Jared’s teacher is Cathy Greenwood. He wrote his letter to Letter to President Barrack Obama about his speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

Eliza Dach,Grade 8, Lincoln Junior High School, AR. Eliza’s teacher is Sarah Abowitz. Eliza wrote to Greg Motenson , author of Three Cups of Tea.

Abby Tillotson, grade 7, Horizon Middle School, Bismarck. Peggy Hoge is Abby’s teacher. Abby wrote to Jerry Spinelli, about his novel Stargirl.

Level 3

Xinyue Ye, grade 11, Plano Senior High School, TX.  Lina Holsinger is Xinyue’s teacher. She wrote to  F. Scott Fitzgerald regarding The Great Gatsby.

Xio Torres, grade 10, Holy Name School, PA. Her teacher is Michael Wildoner. Xio won for her letter to Randa Abdel-Fattah, Does My Head Look Big in This?

Nilesh Raval, grade 11. NIlesh entered LAL individually and not through a school or teacher. Nilesh wrote to Jhumpa Lahiri, author of  The Namesake.

Y Thien Hoang, grade 12, St. Mary’s Academy, OR. Teacher is Sarah Salvi. Y wrote to Catherine Sager Pringle, author of Across the Plains in 1844.

What We Do

The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, in cooperation with affiliate state centers for the book and in partnership with Target Stores, invites readers in grades 4 through 12 to enter Letters About Literature, a national reading-writing contest.

To enter, readers write a personal letter to an author, living or dead, from any genre--fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, 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 in grades 4 through 6;
  

• Level II for grades 7 and 8, 

• Level III, grades 9 - 12. 

State winners, announced in March each year, receive cash awards. National winners, announce in late April, receive additional prizes and earn for their school or community library LAL Reading Promotion Grants valued at thousands of dollars!

LAL focuses on reader response and reflective writing. We provide free teaching materials, including lesson plans, writing samples, assessment checklists, and teacher tips--all downloadable through this site.

LAL supports educational standards established for reading and language arts as recommended by the International Reading Association and the National Council for the Teaching of English.

 Check out this month's lesson plan: Correspond, Don't Compliment! Click here.

I started to read. Your book made a vrooom as it went by. I finished the book in a week!

--Taylor, 12, from Texas, writing to Ann Brashares, author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants)

There are lots of books on library shelves and in bookstore stalls, but not every book vroooms through a reader’s hands. And not every reader is so inspired by a book as to go out and buy it. LAL knows that not all books are right for all readers. In this section, our readers share their opinions about the books they read—and really, really liked!

Your book was so good . . .

. . . I was squirming on the floor.

--Kelsey, grade 6 

. . . I jumped right out of my skin. Literally!

--Samantha, NJ 

. . . I fell off my bed with hysterical laughter.

--Kira, Georgia, grade 6

. . . it blew my socks off!

--Dylan, SC, grade 5

. . . I was seriously sobbing.

--Alex, IL

. . . I started to fall apart into tiny microscopic little pieces.

--Sommy, NJ age 11

. . . it addled my brain!

--Michael, age 12, WA

. . . it knocked J. R. Rowling out of the number spot!

--Kayla, WI, grade 7, writing to Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight series

Read! Be Inspired!

Write Back!

Many of the letters impressed us with the honesty and the maturity of the writer's voices, like this passage from Kelsey's letter, written to Christopher Paolini, author of the Eragon series of books. Kelsey is from Georgia.

When I first read  Brisinger, I must admit I found it difficult to relate to. I felt like I was sitting in a train, watching everything rush past my window but without the ability to really see what was happening. I was comfortable in my warm, safe compartment. I think it was Eragon's determination that first spearked my curiosity about what was taking place just outside the clouded glass. I was intrigued as I watched this boy who was younger than me, who had never really stepped outside his provincial farm world, lay down his plow and take up a sword.

We loved this opening line, written by 8th grader Lucy from Wyoming: 

My world is alive with sensation and sound, laughter and music. But there are also shadows. Lying in those shadows are secrets, so deep they will never be uncovered.

And this line, written by Michael, an 8th grade student from Washington, PA, truly expressed his pain: 

Cancer, that dreadul, horrific monster,  clawed its way into our lives.

Of course, not every letter was about dead serious subjects. In fact, many letters made us smile and even laugh aloud, like this line from Max, age 11, writing to Eoin Colfer:

Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident made me rip out my hair with confusion, laugh out loud, and made me yell at my dad for letting me continue to read. It also gave me nightmares.