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<p class="MsoNormal"><a name="_MailEndCompose">Michigan had 2 National Winners for Letters About Literature this year! Thank you to all of our volunteer judges.<o:p></o:p></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:_MailEndCompose"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:_MailEndCompose"><i><span style="font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;color:#1F497D">Cathy Lancaster</span></i></span><span style="mso-bookmark:_MailEndCompose"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;color:#1F497D"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:_MailEndCompose"><i><span style="font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark:_MailEndCompose"><span style="font-family:"Book Antiqua",serif;color:#1F497D">Youth Services Coordinator<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
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<p align="center" style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:center"><strong><span style="font-size:20.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif">2017 Letters About Literature</span></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:center"><strong><span style="font-size:20.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif">National Winners Announced
</span></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">June 13, 2017</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">LANSING – Michigan has two national winners for the Letters About Literature 2017 program, the Michigan Department of Education announced today.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Letters About Literature is a Library of Congress national reading and writing promotion program that asks young people in grades 4 through 12 to
write to an author (living or deceased) about how his or her book affected their lives. This year’s winners come from all parts of the country and wrote to authors as diverse as R.J. Palacio, Lisa Genova, Sharon Draper, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Stephen Chbosky.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The top letters in each competition level for each state were chosen. Then, a National winner and two National Honor winners were chosen from each
of the three competition levels: Level 1 (grades 4-6), Level 2 (grades 7-8) and Level 3 (grades 9-12). National winners receive a $1,000 gift card and National Honor winners receive a $100 gift card.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Following are this year’s winners:</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#333333"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><strong><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#333333">Level 1</span></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt">National Prize</span></em> <o:p></o:p></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color:black;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:0in;mso-list:l4 level1 lfo1">
<strong><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Claire Juip, Grosse Pointe, MI,</span></strong><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> wrote to R.J. Palacio, author of “Wonder”<em> </em></span>
<o:p></o:p></li></ul>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt">National Honor Award</span></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color:black;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Isabella Reichard, Brookline, NH, wrote to Esther Earl, author of “This Star Won’t Go Out”</span><o:p></o:p></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color:black;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Mark Leschinsky, Mahwah, NJ, wrote to Lisa Genova, author of “Still Alice”</span> <o:p></o:p></li></ul>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> </span></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><strong><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#333333">Level 2</span></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#333333"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#333333">National Prize</span></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color:black;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:0in;mso-list:l6 level1 lfo3">
<strong><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Maria Cheriyan, Farmington Hills, MI</span></strong><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">, wrote to Ruta Sepetys, author of “Salt to the Sea”<em> </em></span>
<o:p></o:p></li></ul>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#333333">National Honor Award</span></em> <o:p></o:p></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color:black;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:0in;mso-list:l5 level1 lfo4">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Sam Opinsky, Chesterfield, MO, wrote to Sharon Draper, author of “Out of My Mind”</span><o:p></o:p></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color:black;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:0in;mso-list:l5 level1 lfo4">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Madison Kelleher, Montoursville, PA, wrote to Robert Munsch, author of “Love Your Forever”</span><o:p></o:p></li></ul>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><strong><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#333333">Level 3</span></strong><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt">National Prize</span></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color:black;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:0in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo5">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Apoorva Chauhan, Las Vegas, NV, wrote to Stephen Chbosky, author of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
</span><o:p></o:p></li></ul>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><em><span style="font-size:12.0pt">National Honor Award</span></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color:black;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:0in;mso-list:l3 level1 lfo6">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Brice Jansen, Leopold, MO, wrote to Laura Ingalls Wilder, “Little House” series</span><o:p></o:p></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color:black;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:0in;mso-list:l3 level1 lfo6">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Samantha Lynn Kiss, Chesapeake, VA, wrote to David Levithan, author of “Boy Meets Boy”
<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">To access the full text of their letters, go to
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http://www.read.gov/letters/</a>.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Letters about Literature is a program is promoted in Michigan by the Library of Michigan and the Michigan Center for the Book.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">For more information or questions about Letters About Literature, contact Cathy Lancaster, Youth Services Coordinator at the Library of Michigan,
<a href="mailto:lancasterc5@michigan.gov">lancasterc5@michigan.gov</a>. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
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