US Letter Writing Contest Open to Kids in Grades 4-12

The U.S. Library of Congress and its Center for the Book are hosting the 24th annual Letters About Literature contest for kids in fourth through 12th grades.

To enter the contest, students must read a book, poem or speech and then write to the author (living or dead) about how the book affected them personally. The contest information lists the theme as "How did an author's work change your view of the world or yourself?"

 Letters are judged on state and national levels in each of three age group categories -- 4-6, 7-8 and 9-12. The state winners in each category are awarded $200 each, and their entries are forwarded to the national level. The national winner in each category will be awarded $1,000.

For more details on how to enter, the criteria, etc., visit the Letters About Literature website, http://www.read.gov/letters/ . You'll especially want this PDF of entry guidelines and entry coupon http://www.read.gov/documents/LAL16-Guidelines.pdf .

If you are an adult, encourage the children in your life to enter this great contest! If you're a kid, find a great book to read and then write that letter! Good luck!

Great Air Mail Sticky Notes!

There’s a recognized phenomena that involves “coincidence.” And, it happens to me all of the time.

Have you ever been thinking about someone and then they call or text? Have you ever seen something on Facebook and then the topic is everywhere, even in non-social media places?  It could be that the topic is just trending in the world, but it also could be synchronicity or “Baader-Meinhof phenomenon” or frequency illusion.

Whatever you call it, I find that once I focus on letter writing, I see related things everywhere. TV shows and songs mention letters; even my daughter’s high school recently had the kids write thank you letters to the community’s first responders. 

Last weekend, I was wandering around Walmart, waiting on the pharmacy to fill a prescription, when I came across these air mail-themed Sticky Notes. They start out opened up flat, but the directions show how to fold them into a mini-envelope, about 2x3.5 inches.

 

How could I resist? Check at your local store that carries Casemate products.

Happy letter writing!

USPS launches Star Trek stamps

Last week, the U.S. Postal Service dedicated the Star Trek Forever stamps in New York City. The first-day-of-issue ceremony launched a three-day celebration that drew thousands of Star Trek fans.

“The Postal Service is proud to commemorate ‘Star Trek’ on the eve of its 50th anniversary,” said Postmaster General Megan J. Brennan in a USPS news release, referring to the iconic television program’s Sept. 8, 1966, debut. “Star Trek’s intricate futuristic setting, multicultural cast and story lines touched on social issues and pushed past the boundaries of popular science fiction becoming a worldwide phenomenon.”

Joining Brennan in dedicating the stamps were actor and humanitarian Walter Koenig, who portrayed U.S.S. Enterprise’s navigation officer Pavel Chekov in the series; NASA Deputy Director of Science for Communication Michelle Thaller; CBS Consumer Products Executive Vice President and General Manager Liz Kaloduer; and, U.S. Postal Service Chief Postal Inspector Guy Cottrell.

“With the chaos in today’s world, hopefully the stamps and what they signify can inspire a better future for us all,” Koenig said, in the release.

“’Star Trek’ gave us a universe that we could explore in our imagination,” Thaller said. “In this universe we pioneered not only new technology and new worlds, but — more importantly — new social rules and new definitions of tolerance and diversity. In Star Trek’s universe, we found better ways to be human.”

The stamps, under license by CBS Consumer Products, showcase four digital illustrations inspired by classic elements of the television program:

• The Starship Enterprise inside the outline of a Starfleet insignia against a gold background;
• The silhouette of a crewman in a transporter against a red background;
• The silhouette of the Enterprise from above against a green background; and,
• The Enterprise inside the outline of the Vulcan salute (Spock’s iconic hand gesture) against a blue background.

The words “SPACE… THE FINAL FRONTIER,” from Captain Kirk’s famous voice-over appears beneath the stamps against a background of stars. The stamp images were created by the design firm Heads of State of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, under the art direction of Antonio Alcalá of Alexandria, Virginia.

“Star Trek” celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2016. Created by Gene Roddenberry, the original “Star Trek” series aired for three seasons. It spawned five more television series and 13 feature films spanning the course of half a century.