Journeys: Young Readers' Letters to Authors Who Changed Their Lives: Library of Congress Center for the Book - Softcover

Library Of Congress

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0763695785 ISBN 13: 9780763695781

Publisher: Candlewick, 2017

Synopsis

Books can change lives — and here are more than fifty powerful letters from young readers to authors revealing some of the ways that is true.

Annie Schnitzer tells Elie Wiesel, “Reading your story allowed me to connect with my own history,” explaining how reading his memoir deepened her understanding of her grandparents’ plight during the Holocaust. After reading The House on Mango Street, Julia Mueller writes to Sandra Cisneros, “You didn’t tell me how to pull myself back together; you just showed me that I could. I was tired of trying to be somebody else’s definition of beautiful, and you told me that was okay.” Culled from the Letters About Literature contest of the Library of Congress Center for the Book, the fifty-two letters in this collection — written by students in grades four through twelve — reveal how deeply books and poetry affect the lives of readers. Offering letters that are as profound as they are personal and as moving as they are enlightening, this collection, which also features artwork by some of the contest entrants, provides a glimpse into young people’s lives and their connections — both expected and unexpected — to the written word.

About this title

About the Author:

The Center for the Book at the Library of Congress promotes books, reading, literacy, and libraries, as well as the scholarly study of books. It was founded in 1977 and has established affiliate centers across the country and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Center’s mission is carried out around the world.

Catherine Gourley has been the national director of the Letters About Literature reading promotion program since 2004. She is also an author of many nonfiction books about women’s history and the principal curriculum writer for The Story of Movies, an educational outreach program. She lives in Virginia.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 6 Up—Since 1984, the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress has conducted an annual essay contest in which students in grades four through 12 write letters to authors of books that have influenced their lives. The best of those written in over the past decade have been published in this volume, and they are remarkable. The letters are not merely fan flattery: authors, both living and dead, are addressed in conversational tones. "I have always struggled with being Jewish," a young girl admits to Anne Frank. But after reading Frank's diary, as she studied for her bat mitzvah, she continues: "I hope you will be there, standing right next to me, reciting and praying along with me." A high school student seeking a definition of masculinity that departs from his father's traditional interpretation says to Rudyard Kipling, "Because of 'If,' I am able to walk with my chest pushed out like a man, not because of bulging pectoral muscles but because of the heart under them." Though each entry is eloquently written and noticeably articulate, the work does have an audience issue—most kids are unlikely to pick this up for pleasure reading. VERDICT This well-crafted collection offers excellent examples for student writers and could easily be incorporated into lessons as a mentor text. Creative writing teachers may want to consider for classroom use.—Katherine Koenig, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

About this edition

• Publisher: Candlewick
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0763695785
• ISBN 13: 9780763695781
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240