Reception for the 2011 Letters about Literature Finalists and Winners
at the Princeton University Art Museum

The New Jersey Center for the Book reception for the 86 finalists and winners in the Library of Congress / NJ Center for the Book 2011 Letters About Literature essay competition was held at the Princeton Art Museum, Princeton University, on Wednesday, May 11th, from 3:00pm to 5:00pm.

Letters About Literature is a national reading promotion program of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, presented in partnership with Target and affiliated state centers for the book.  The task for young readers is to, “Write a letter to an author explaining how his or her work somehow changed your view of the world or yourself.” There are three levels of competition: Level I: Grades 4-6 Level II: Grades 7-8
and Level III: Grades 9-12.  Once again, New Jersey has a NATIONAL HONOR WINNER from among the 69,700 entries nationwide. In addition to a $100 gift card from Target, National Honor Prize winners will also secure a $1,000 Letters About Literature Reading Promotion Grant, courtesy of Target, for a community or school library.

Former NASA Columbia STS 61-C astronaut Bob Cenker
will be the featured speaker

Directions to Princeton Art Museum: http://artmuseum.princeton.edu/

The New Jersey Center for the Book will present special recognition awards to teachers whose students, over the years, have been especially prominent among the ranks of finalists and winners in the annual Letters about Literature competition.  And a very special thanks to the New Jersey Association of School Librarians for publicizing the competition.

Teacher of the Decade Award

Brian Hanson-Harding

Northern Valley Regional High School, Old Tappan, NJ
Fred Hessler, Principal

Special Teacher Recognition Citations

Laura Stegmuller, Burlington Township Middle School

Donna Marcy, Columbia Middle School, Berkeley Heights

Catherine Mc Guinness, Community Middle School, West Windsor-Plainsboro

Lisa O'Shea, Community Middle School, West Windsor-Plainsboro

Cean Spahn, Lewis F. Cole Middle School, Fort Lee

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

Janis Rose, Rutherford Schools  

Information for the 2011 Contest 

Congratulationsto all of the 2011 winners and finalists in this year's Letters about Literature contest sponsored by the Library of Congress.  You should be proud of your accomplishment, because your entry was one of more than two thousand submitted from New Jersey!

Special recognition goes to Daeun Kim of Northern Valley Regional High School in Old Tappan for being chosen as a 2011 National Honor Winner.  Ms. Kim's high school library will receive a $1,000 reading grant from Target Stores.

All of the finalists, their teachers, and their families are invited to the 2011 Letters about Literature reception at Princeton University on Wednesday, May 11, 2011.  The reception will be in the Art Museum, Room 120.  Parking will be available on campus in Lot 23.  Click for an interactive map of the Princeton campus.

Questions?

Contact Pat Morris. Chairman, Letters About Literature Project
New Jersey Center for the Book / Library of Congress
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