Announcements and Activties
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The Essence of a Year in the Life of the   New Jersey Center for the Book by Pat Morris . The New Jersey Center for the Book completed its tenth year as a vibrant organization under the extraordinarily capable direction of the chair, Renee B. Swartz, and succeeding in its mission to provide multiple ways to highlight avenues for literacy in the Garden State. . This year marked several events that showed the diversity of literacy. Science is Fundamental was a program at Monmouth  County Library that targeted, on various day, different age groups. This was modeled on the first science literacy activity held a couple of years ago for the Center, Stellar Science Spectacular, at the Liberty Science Center. . Another event held at the Monmouth County Library to commemorate the anniversary of the Civil War was the Civil War Tea. September is always a great time for the National Book Festival in Washington on the Great Mall. New Jersey Center for the Book promotes the state and its reading efforts there. . The Center honored New Jersey’s own Walter Dean Myers at its Tenth Anniversary celebration held at the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers, New Brunswick. SC&I Dean Jorge Reina Schement presented acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers with the Rutgers School of Communication & Information Award for Distinguished Literature for Children and Young Adults. . The Literary Lion Award was awarded to Riletta Cream, Camden County Freeholder. One of the events that Freeholder Cream chaired was the celebration of the Walt Whitman House in Camden. Riletta Cream is a true literary lion. . The Miss Rumphius Award this year went to Dr. Dana Sheridan of the Cotsen Children’s Library at Princeton. Dr. Sheridan received her award at the Fall NJASL Conference. . The Letters About Literature Celebration for 86 finalists and winners was held at the Princeton University Art Museum. In addition to honoring the students, the Center paid special attention to the teachers who have been so instrumental over the years in using the program in their curriculum and helping their students succeed. . Teacher of the Decade Award was given to Brian Hanson-Harding, Northern Valley Regional High School, Old Tappan, NJ. . Special Teacher Recognition Citations were awarded to Laura Stegmuller, Burlington Township Middle School; Donna Marcy, Columbia Middle School, Berkeley Heights; Catherine Mc Guinness and Lisa O’Shea, Community Middle School, West Windsor-Plainsboro; Cean Spahn and Charles Janesak, Lewis F. Cole Middle School, Fort Lee; Christine Maffa, Churchill Jr. High School, East Brunswick; Joan Marie Bellotti, High Tech High School; Mary B. Vargas, Toms River High School North; and Janis Rose, Rutherford Schools. |
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On Saturday, December 3, 2011, the NJ Center for the Book awarded the 2011 Miss Rumphius Award to Kim Zito, school media specialist at Crossroads Middle School, South Brunswick. It was presented at the NJ Association of School Librarians Conference at the Ocean Place Resort & Spa, Long Branch, NJ.
 .The Miss Rumphius Award celebrates collaboration between librarians and teachers. What great project have you done recently that can be replicated by your peers? This year’s winner, Kim Zito, was the driving force behind South Brunswick’s first ever 2011 community-wide reading initiative entitled South Brunswick Reads . . .,The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It was a ground-breaking partnership between the South Brunswick Public School District and the South Brunswick Public Library. . The concept won quick approval from both the School District Board of Education and the Public Library. Kim created a wiki for school district staff, library staff, students, and the public to explore and celebrate South Brunswick Reads. The wiki included access to free e-book and audio versions of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as well as video clips from different film versions. There were resources for students, links to lesson plans for teachers, and listings for activities at the public library. The wiki also included interactive learning opportunities for students and a number of internet resources. . In the schools, students who read the book hung a golden brick with their name on it on the school walls, building a yellow brick road throughout the district. . Kim was nominated for the award by Chris Carbone, Library Director of the South Brunswick Public Library. Carbone pointed out that schools and public libraries can easily partner together and promote a title for their community to read. The program naturally lends itself to creative ways to incorporate a theme into library programs, school assignments, family experiences and a shared journey that will increase a sense of community. . To quote Betty Turock, who chaired the awards committee, "this was among the most ambitious activities that I remember reported in the years of this contest." Her creative use of internet resources, collaboration, innovation, and ability to be replicated made Kim an outstanding selection this year. Other members of the committee were Dr. Gus Friedrich, Marianne Gaunt, and Dagmar Finkle.
The NJCFTB thanks Fran King, President of the NJ Association of School Librarians, and April Bunn, Conference Chair, for monitoring and arranging all the details to make the presentation of this award possible at the Conference. It was indeed a wonderful day. |
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Letters about Literature Contest Deadline: Friday, January 6, 2012 New Address: Box 5308, Woodbridge, Virginia 22194 The 2012 Letters about Literature contest officially starts on September 24, 2011, at the National Book Festival on the Mall in Washington, DC. Even though the National Book Festival is a fun time, you don't have to go there to be in the contest. Go to http://www.lettersaboutliterature.org/ and download all the information and the all-important ENTRY COUPON that has to be affixed to every entry. PLEASE put an email address on your entry coupon so that we can contact you. Mail it by the contest deadline of Friday, January 6, 2012. Your original letter to an author is sent to the national contest headquarters where it goes through two rounds of judging. If your letter comes back to us for state judging, it is the original letter with your entry coupon still attached. New Jersey Center for the Book Letters about Literature committee might have two additional rounds of judging.  What is the Letters about Literature contest? It's a great way to tell an author why you enjoyed / learned from /understood what the author was saying.
To enter, you have to write a letter to an author of a book or a poem you read or a speech you heard (sorry, no song lyrics!). But first, you have to think about how what you read affected you. And then, you have to put it into words that the author would love to read. What you write is NOT a fan letter telling the author how much you liked the book. What you write is NOT a book report telling the author all about the book. The author already knows all about the book-- he/she wrote it! What you write calls for deep personal feeling about how the book affected you. Did what you read mirror something that happened to you? Did what you read change something in you? Did what you read make you understand something that happened to you in the past a little bit better? Write honestly as if you were having a conversation with the author. On the Letters about Literature website are examples of winning entries. Read them, but don't feel you have to use the same topic. |
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Recent Events |
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From Renee Swartz, Chair
New Jersey Center for the Book Happy 2012 and Best Wishes to you all as we move forward into another year of innovative programming for the New Jersey Center for the Book! As we tuck away 2011, it is most rewarding to look back and celebrate the great choices we have made of authors to honor, of books to bring to the National Book Festival, of literary designations in our great state, and presentation of statewide programming that has been both informative and entertaining to thousands of New Jersey citizens. . - Patricia McKissack, the author of Goin’ Someplace Special, our 2002 selection for the National Book Festival, emphasizing the library experience as access for all, was one of the featured speakers at the 2011 National Book Festival Event.
. - In 2005 Walter Dean Myers was a featured national author at our New Jersey exhibit at the National Book Festival.
. - Our National Book Festival selection of Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret went on to receive the Caldecott Award in 2008 and was recently released as the feature film “Hugo” by Academy Award winning director Martin Scorsese and has been nominated for 3 Golden Globe Awards including Best Picture and Best Director!
. - Our selected book for this year’s National Book Festival 2011 exhibit, Meadowlands: A Wetlands Survival Story by Thomas Yezerski, has been selected by The New York Times as one of 10 Notable Picture Books of 2011.
.. - Last year, Walter Dean Myers was our keynote speaker at the New Jersey Center for the Book’s 10th Anniversary Celebration at the Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers campus, where we awarded Mr. Myers the 2011 Rutgers SCI Award for Distinguished Literature for Children and Young Adults.
. - It is with great pride that we are pleased to announce that Walter Dean Myers has been chosen by the Library of Congress as its third National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, succeeding Jon Scieszka and Katherine Paterson.
Thank you for the great camaraderie, the team effort and the many volunteer hours that have enabled us together to craft this remarkable success story for the New Jersey Center for the Book. . Looking forward to seeing you at our first event in 2012: . “Food for Thought” Food as Science, Food as Culture, Food as Career
What's on Your Plate? A statewide New Jersey Center for the Book/Library of Congress partnership program with the Monmouth County Library System which will take place on Sunday, March 4th, 2012 at the Monmouth County Library Headquarters in Manalapan from 11:30am – 4:30pm featuring renowned Chef David Burke as the keynote speaker. A roster of the day’s events will be forthcoming in the next few weeks.
Letters about Literature
Student Essay Competition
2012 
What Teachers Tell Us about Letters about Literature "There was a 'buzz' in the air when we lived out our LAL days! They were excited to share their opinions and talk to the author. . . . I now encourage mys tudents to read books in a new light. It has enhanced my curriculum, becoming a major part of it. LAL gave reluctant reders a purpose and anew perspective." Library Science Teacher from Hazleton, PA I cannot begin to tell you how rewarding this experience is. My class grew so much as they analzyed their lives, their hearts, and the wonderful books they have read. I have taught over 20 years and this is my 16th year in 6th grade. By far, this is one of the best, most meaningful things I have ever done with kids. Just to go through the challenge of writing these letters changes lives! I excitedly look forward to doing this as long as I am teaching in the classroom.
Sincerely, Mrs. Dale Johnson, Utah |
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Trader Joe’s • Sickles Market • Wegmans • Monmouth County Historical Association • Master Gardeners of Monmouth County • 
