Seven Northshore Students Named Finalists in State Library Literature Contest

Seven Northshore Students Named Finalists in State Library Literature Contest

Seven Northshore students from Crystal Springs Elementary School, Shelton View Elementary School and Skyview Junior High School are state finalists in the Washington State Library and Library of Congress Letters About Literature contest. Students wrote personal letters to their favorite author, living or dead, explaining how his or her work influenced their perspective on the world or themselves. Students wrote about fiction, nonfiction or poetry.

Northshore state finalists, grade level, school, chosen author and literary work:

Kayce Hsueh, grade 5, Crystal Springs Elementary School, author Andrew Clements, “No Talking”
Eilish Rhoades, grade 6, Shelton View Elementary School, author Jaqueline Sullivan, “Annie’s War”
Kendall Hawkins, grade 8, Skyview Junior High School, author David Peltzer, “A Man Named Dave”
Ben Holmes, grade 7, Skyview Junior High School, author J.R.R. Tolkien, “The Lord of the Rings”
Jenaya McCann, grade 8, Skyview Junior High School, author Lynne Cox, “Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long Distance Swimmer”  
Madison Velasquez, grade 8, Skyview Junior High School, author Jodi Picoult, “My Sister’s Keeper”
Corey Willits, grade 8, Skyview Junior High School, author Rick Riordan, “The Sun of Neptune”

Nearly 100 schools, as well as Boys & Girls Clubs from around the state, had entries. The contest ran from September to January. This is the eighth year that the Washington State Library and the Office of Secretary of State have sponsored the competition as part of Washington Reads, which highlights books about Washington or the Pacific Northwest. The project is also sponsored by The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.