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| About the Contest |
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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.
Target Stores, along with its parent company Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT), gives back more than $2 million a week to its local communities through grants and special programs. Since opening its first store in 1962, Target has partnered with nonprofit organizations, guests and team members to help meet community needs
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.
Download and print the Guidelines/Entry Form (pdf).
For more information read the official rules or email Katie Anderson or call her at 503-378-2528.
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| Prizes |
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Approximately 54,000 young readers across the county participated in the 2009 Letters About Literature competition. Judges for the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress selected six national winners (two per competition level) and 12 national honor awards (four per competition level). National winners receive a Target GiftCard of $500. In addition, they win for their school or community library a Reading Promotion Grant of $10,000. National winners are instrumental in deciding how the library funds will be spent. The 12 national honor award recipients receive a $100 Target GiftCard and win for their school or community library a Reading Promotion Grant of $1,000, and likewise are involved in the awarding of the grant.
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 2009, Oregon had 11 honorable mentions and 81 semi-finalists. The three Oregon winners received a check for $100 and a $50 Target GiftCard, three runners-up received a check for $50, honorable mentions received a $25 bookstore gift certificate, and semi-finalists received a $10 bookstore gift certificate.
In 2009, two of the national honor award recipients were from Oregon. Erikka Potts, a national Level II honor award winner, selected Parkrose Middle School library to receive the $1,000 grant from Target. Y Thien Hoang, a national Level III honor award winner, selected St. Mary's Academy's school library to receive the $1,000 grant from Target. The letters Y and Erikka wrote are wonderful examples to share with young readers interested in entering future Letters About Literature contests.
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 receive 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.
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| Promotional Material and Resources |
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Bookmarks
Letters About Literature bookmarks present information specific to state level prizes in Oregon. Print double-sided, five bookmarks per standard 8.5 X 11 inch paper. They were developed by the Oregon Center for the Book, with official graphics from the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and Target Corporation.
Stickers
Stickers provide a link to the national Letters About Literature website, and can also be used to promote the contest each year. Print on standard Avery labels, 5294 Round, 2.5 inches diameter. (Printing of the stickers was successfully tested, but may not print properly from every machine. Be sure to test one page before printing large quantities.) They were developed by the Oregon Center for the Book, with official graphics from the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and Target Corporation.
Poster
The official Letters About Literature poster presents generic information that can be used to promote the contest each year. The poster is full color, and 22 x 28 inches.
You can resize and print it on standard 8.5 x 11 paper:
- Open the pdf
- Go to ‘file’ in the upper left corner of your screen
- Select ‘print’ from the dropdown menu
- Select ‘properties’ in the upper right corner of the pop-up box
- Go to ‘page size’ in the upper center part of the pop-up box
- Select ‘letter’ from the dropdown menu
- Select ‘OK’ at the bottom of the pop-up box
- Now, you are looking at the main print pop-up box again
- Go to ‘page scaling’ in the left middle part of the pop-up box
- Select ‘fit to printable area’ from the dropdown menu
- Select ‘OK’ to print
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.
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