READING – Two Reading children recently took the center stage at a recent literature awards ceremony celebrating a series of letters penned by students across the state to famous authors.
According to Ellen Flanagan Kenny, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Center for the Book (MCB), Reading sixth graders Amy Ren and Ryan Moran both earned honorable mentions while appearing at the annual “Letters about Literature” awards ceremony at the Massachusetts State House in Boston late last month.
With their letters selected from a pool of thousands of other submissions, both Coolidge Middle Schoolers were named as one of ten finalists vying for the three top prizes in the annual competition for students in Grades 4 through 6. Overall, just 30 finalist submissions from K-12 students across Massachusetts were reviewed by a panel of celebrity judges.
“Letters About Literature is a reading and writing initiative that invites students from Grades 4 to 12 to write letters to authors about books that have resonated with them,” Kenny said of the event, which was the first awards ceremony held in the State House since the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe in 2020.
“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free,” said State Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa upon greeting the contest finalists, whom the legislator congratulated for “having the courage to tell your stories and for being active and engaged readers and citizens”.
Moran was nominated to appear at the special ceremony after penning a letter to author Elisa Kleven in regards to her children’s book, “Sunbread”, while classmate Ren’s submission was addressed to “What If” children’s book author Randall Munroe.
After being named as runner’s up in the awards ceremony, both Coolidge Middle Schoolers were handed ‘honorable mention’ certificates by local children’s book author Josh Funk, a Massachusetts writer who served as a guest judge.
Though Moran’s letter has not yet been posted to the MCB’s awards website, Ren’s correspondence can be read in its entirety.
In her message, the sixth grader explains that she stumbled across Munroe’s book while conversing with a friend in China via a video call on a snow day.
Ren humorously recalls that she had just come indoors after playing in the snow and building a snowman, so she was originally dismayed to hear that the friend wanted to discuss the children’s book. However, her attitude changed shortly after flipping through the first few pages.
“The last thing I wanted to do was read, so you could imagine my disappointment when my buddy said he wanted to show me a book. I didn’t want to be rude though, so I agreed,” the Reading resident wrote.
“Although I wasn’t exactly interested at first, it was there that I learned the meaning of, ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover,’ because literally 5 seconds later, he said, ‘Bro, this book literally has a picture of a squirrel on an AK-47,’” the sixth grader continued. “THAT caught my attention, because never in my whole life would I have imagined a book having a picture of a squirrel on a machine gun.”
Ren in her letter later recalls digging into the book and a series of questions and answers it raised. And ultimately, that thought-provoking experience led to her applying real math skills she had learned in the classroom.
“You see, I love math, but I didn’t exactly have a reason to use math. Sure, I used it when I had math problems and equations and when I had homework and stuff, but I never used it in real life, and I especially never asked what if questions,” the local student revealed. “However, while I was reading, I noticed that you used math and other scientific knowledge to answer questions, and that made me think about what I could do with my knowledge.”
Founded in 2000, the Massachusetts Center for the Book is the Commonwealth affiliate of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. MCB is charged with developing, supporting, and promoting cultural programming to advance the cause of books, reading, and libraries across Massachusetts. The Center runs youth and family literacy programs; operates the Massachusetts Book Awards and the writing initiative, Letters About Literature; represents the Commonwealth at the National Book Festival; and partners with community organizations on literary initiatives and events, big and small, across the Commonwealth. We engage readers at all stages of life with relevant, diverse, and vibrant programming, reaching thousands of Massachusetts residents each year.
