Texas 2018 Letters About Literature Winners!

A photo of the LAL winners at the Texas Library Association Texas Association of School Libraries Meeting. From left to right: Rebekah Manley, Baxter Lowrimore, Vicki Lozano, Adam Kessler, and Director and Librarian Mark Smith

2018 Winners|2017 Winners|2016 Winners

In 2017-2018, 1,640 Texas students entered the Letters About Literature Contest. Congratulations to all the winners. First place winners advanced to national judging. Two Texans received honorable mentions*!

All fourth-12th graders are invited to participate! Read a book or poem, and write a letter. You could be on this list! For more information about the contest, see the Letters About Literature page.

Teachers, librarians, parents, neighbors, and beyond— please share this opportunity and cultivate a love of reading. As you will read in the winners’ entries, this contest takes words off pages, creates a heart connection to story, and organically cultivates lifelong readers.

Level I Grades 4-6

Placement	Winner	Letter	Hometown	Piece	Author
1^st Place	*Adam Kesselman	Read Adam's letter	Dallas, TX	The Keeper	Tim Howard
"I normally read books just for enjoyment but The Keeper was different.”

2^nd Place	Serena Martin	Read Serena's letter	Dallas, TX	The Fault in Our Stars	John Green
"When I was five years old, I was taken to the doctor's office after complaining of not feeling well for several days."

3^rd Place	Hannah Gaswirth	Read Hannah's letter	Dallas, TX	Number the Stars	Lois Lowry
"Most of the time letters start with an introduction, but I will start with a story about my heritage…"

Level II Grades 7-8

Placement	Winner	Letter	Hometown	Piece	Author
1^st Place	*Baxter Lowrimore	Read Baxter's letter	Austin, TX	Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief	Rick Riordan
"I remember the first book of yours that I ever read, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief."

2^nd Place	Audrey Wong	Read Audrey's letter	Austin, TX	I Am Malala	Malala Yousafzai
"Watching the news as a six year old may seem insignificant to most young kids, but for me, it was a window into another world."

3^rd Place	Caleb Lloyd	Read Caleb's letter	Midland, TX	The Road Not Taken	Robert Frost
"Two roads and one sheltered seven-year old with an unimaginable decision to be made."

Level III Grades 9-12

Placement	Winner	Letter	Hometown	Piece	Author
1^st Place	Vicki Lozano	Read Vicki's letter	San Antonio, TX	And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer	Fredrik Backman
“My grandpa is 84. He has dementia, and ha asks me how his Michael is, thinking I am my mother…” Video Unavailable

2^nd Place	Lauren Aung	Read Lauren's letter	Austin, TX	Joy Luck Club	Amy Tan
"I read your book, The Joy Luck Club, three summers ago.”

3^rd Place	Isabel Bynum	Read Isabel's letter	San Antonio, TX	Falling in Love with Hominids --"The Smile on the Face	Nalo Hopkinson
"If you saw me, the first thing you'd notice is that I'm fat."