Level I FIRST PLACE & NATIONAL HONOR AWARD New Jersey Mark Leschinsky, Grade 5 Joyce Kilmer Elementary School, Mahwah, NJ Author: Lisa Genova of Still Alice Dear Lisa Genova, I can remember everything. I don’t struggle to recall my friends’ names. I know where everything is in my house. I never felt the horror of forgetting words or feeling read more
Level III FIRST PLACE New Jersey Julia Dobel Kenilworth, NJ 07033 Author: Markus Zusak of The Book Thief Dear Markus Zusak, I first read The Book Thief as a freshman in high school three years ago, and ever since then my mind has been transformed the way a street is transformed after a snowfall: not so bare anymore and read more
Level II FIRST PLACE New Jersey Corinne Coakley, Grade 8 The Pennington School, Pennington, NJ Author: Garth Stein of The Art of Racing in the Rain Dear Garth Stein, Ever since I have learned about the concept of death and immortality, my mind has been scrambling to come up with an explanation as to where we will go. Is there read more
2017 Letters About Literature Winners and Honorable Mentions Level 1 – Grades 4, 5, 6 2017 First Place Winner Level I Mark Leschinsky, Grade 5, Joyce Kilmer Elementary School, Mahwah 2017 Second Place Winner Level I Kelly Nigro, Grade 6, Readington Middle School, Whitehouse Station 2017 Distinguished Honors Level I Maya Alexander, Grade 5, Ryerson Elementary School, Wayne Robert read more
Level I - 2011 First Place: William Feng, Grade 4 Bobby's Run School, Lumberton, NJ Teacher: Sandra Carver Letter written to Ben Carson, author of Ben Carson Dear Dr. Carson, In second grade, a kid at recess yelled at me, "Chinese fat boy! Go back to China!" I ran to the swing as fast as I could and tried read more
Level II - 2011 First Place: Emma Burns, Grade 8, William Allen Middle School, Moorestown, NJ Teacher: Margaret Valora Letter written to Judee Blanco, author of Please Stop Laughing at Me Dear Judee Blanco, Your novel, Please Stop Laughing at Me, remains one of the most important books that I have ever read because of the profound impact it read more
William Feng, Bobby’s Run School, Lumberton, NJ. Level One (Grades 4-6), First Place, NJ State award. William wrote to Ben Carson, author of Ben Carson Dear Dr. Carson, In second grade, a kid at recess yelled at me, "Chinese fat boy! Go back to China!" I ran to the swing as fast as I could and tried to hide from read more
First Place: William Feng, Grade 4 Bobby's Run School, Lumberton, NJ William wrote to Ben Carson, author of Ben Carson Dear Dr. Carson, In second grade, a kid at recess yelled at me, "Chinese fat boy! Go back to China!" I ran to the swing as fast as I could and tried to hide from everyone. "I am not even fat!" read more
Emma Burns, William Allen Middle School, Moorestown, NJ. Level Two (Grades 7-8), First Place, NJ State award. Emma wrote to Judee Blanco, author of Please Stop Laughing at Me Dear Judee Blanco, Your novel, Please Stop Laughing at Me, remains one of the most important books that I have ever read because of the profound impact it had on my read more
Daeun Kim, Northern Valley Regional High School, Old Tappan, NJ. Level Three (Grades 9-12), First Place, NJ State award. Daeun wrote to Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner Dear Khaled Hosseini, Much as Amir spent the bulk of his childhood with Hassan in your book, The Kite Runner, I spent seven years of mine at Sun Joo's side. Our read more
Contact Us
This program is funded in whole and in part by the New Jersey State Library, the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and donors.
Contact Rutgers University Undergraduate Admissions at 732‑445‑4636.
Have a question? Ask Colonel Henry or text us at 732‑662‑2664.
Copyright © 2024, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution.