1st place:

Dear Joyce Hansen,

I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly when I read your book. Well, I thought right. I truly like this book because it made me think outside the box. Your book made me analyze how I felt about many things. I was not just reading for the pleasure of reading. I was thinking about how I felt about what I was reading.

Sometimes, but not often, I feel lonely. I feel like nobody honestly cares about me, except a simple book, my book of poems. My book of poems is kind of like Patsy’s diary in your book. We both express our true feelings by writing them down in a special book, or at least the books are special to us. I write mine in rhyming form and Patsy, on the other hand, just writes what she truly feels in her own words. Another difference is Patsy’s only friend is her diary and I have more friends than just a book. I can share my feelings easier to my poems than I can my friends. No one disagrees with me, tries to cheer me up, or judges me. My poems just let me be honest. I could also relate to Patsy because we are both girls and about the same age.

Your book made me think about how hard it was for the slaves. It actually put me in the place of a slave. Realizing the hardships they faced made my soul full of sorrow. When something horrible happened to Patsy, I wanted to cry for her. When good things occurred like she was going to get a school and they were going to get a good education, it made me put a smile on my face from cheek to cheek. I felt like I actually wrote the diary myself. Now that I am older, I sometimes laugh and cry as I look back on my earlier childhood and remember important events. I always knew looking back on the tears would eventually make me laugh, but what I did not know was looking back on the laughs might make me cry. Our memories are precious gifts to treasure.

At first, I did not know too much about slavery, well I guess I did but I just did not get into it much. Now I understand more and I know how they must have felt. This book really makes you examine your feelings and encourages you to write them down. I would highly recommend your book to my friends and anyone interested in what slaves had to go through. Thank you for writing a book that encourages me to write about my feelings and experiences.

Katie Landolt
Carl Junction Intermediate School, Carl Junction, Missouri

2nd place:

Dear Joan Bauer,

I would like to say “Hope Was Here” touched me and my life. Before I read “Hope Was Here,” I thought my mom was just a part of my life, always there, always will be. But after I read “Hope” I lived though Hope, the struggles people go through without theirs. I imagined life without my own, and realize how horrible and terrifying it would be. I then began to cherish the time we had together. The day I finished your book, I got off the bus and gave my mom a hug and clung to her for dear life.

Since then our relationship has grown. I feel more open and able to talk about things with her. We are closer than ever. Even though we have our fights, I always apologize because just the thought of not having my mom sends chills down my spine. I would like to thank you for giving me an opportunity to entirely have a mom.

Sincerely,
Lauren Croll
Smithton Middle School, Columbia, Missouri

Honorable Mention:

Dear Ms. McKissack,

Your book, Color Me Dark, was fantastic. The part where Uncle John Willis gave the wooden angel to Nellie Lee made me cry because I have had some family members that have died, and one that can barely talk.

Your book left me both happy and sad. Sad because of the lynching and riots. I learned what lynchings were in the book. We’ve kind of talked about stuff like that though, because we’ve talked about man vs. man, and man vs. society, and stuff like that. Happy because Nellie Lee ended up with a happy life.

Your book taught me to love every type of race. No matter what they look like. We are all equally the same inside and that is what counts.

I have some friends that are a different color, but I do not care. They are nice and that is all that matters to me. It is still kind of like the way it was back then, but it is a whole lot better than it was because only a few people do not like blacks. But there is no reason.

Your book made me want to go out into the world and stop prejudice. Also, your book made me think of what it would be like if I was living at that time. How much of a difference would it make to me? Your book was a great book!

Love,
Laura Allgood
Carl Junction Intermediate School, Carl Junction, Missouri

Honorable Mention:

Dear Barbara Ehrenreich,

Your book, Nickel and Dimed, has taught me to be careful about my actions and what I say. I have learned through your experiences that everyone deserves the chance to be looked at individually.

Before I read your book, my actions and thoughts toward people living on minimum wage were selfish. I viewed minimum wage workers as people who need to pull themselves up and make better lives for themselves. In other words, they should live just like I do. I had made the decision that the way I live is the norm, and I assumed that everyone would want that.

Your book has helped me understand the struggles of those who live hard and poor lives, what people living on minimum wage go through, everyday, just to survive. You helped me see this through their eyes. Now, when I am in a store and knock something off a shelf, I pick it up—just a small part, I know, but I want to help. I also realize that when I see children in shabby clothing or adults with bad teeth, I do not assume that they don’t care. Instead, they may work very hard, perhaps more than one job, and just can’t afford for life to be different.

I feel now that I understand the lives of the lower income working class. Thank you for introducing me to their world.

Sincerely,
Haley Stroup
Lincoln Intermediate Center, Farmington, Missouri