Community Corner

Students Read, Write and Win

The Crystal Lake Public Library teams with the Dawnbreakers and MCC for a students' reading program.

Seven years ago, while vacationing in Florida, Karen Hutchings had a brainstorm.  The State of Florida was conducting a contest that encouraged residents to read a book written by a fellow Floridian and to write a new ending. Hutchings, a member of the , connected the dots between the organization’s goals for literacy worldwide, with a vision for how a program like this could work for students in her hometown.

Several weeks later, Hutchings was back in Crystal Lake talking to the Dawnbreakers and (CLPL) Director Kathryn I. Martens about the idea. Both organizations were excited about the concept, and in 2006 the first Read, Write and Win program was launched for students in Crystal Lake.

Now in its seventh year, Read, Write and Win continues to gain momentum. In the first year of the contest, there were 26 entries; this year there were 127.

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Although some of the parameters of the program have evolved, the basic concept has remained the same. The program invites Crystal Lake students, grades 3-8, to rewrite an ending for a book selected by the Library. The Dawnbreakers provide the funds for the books and the student prizes, the library organizes the contest, (MCC) provides the judges and School District 47 promotes the events throughout the schools. Hutchings refers to the entities responsible for the program as “power partners.”  

This year’s selected books were Dying to Meet You by Kate Klise and Room One: A Mystery or Two by Andrew Clements for grades 3-5. The Compound by S.A. Bodeen and Scat by Carl Hiaasen were selected for grades 6-8. Winners for each of the four books were awarded cash prizes of $100, $75, $50 and $25, respectively, on May 5 at the award ceremony at Husmann Elementary School.

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All students received a T-shirt and a participant’s certificate. First place winners read their essays at the event.

The 2011 winners of Read, Write and Win for Room One are:

  • Carolyn Sveden (1st place)
  • Carley Frisch (2nd place)
  • Katie Smeenge (3rd place)
  • Sylvia Hensley (4th place)

Winners for Dying to Meet You are:

  • Julie Freund (1st place)
  • Samantha Tucker (2nd place)
  • Nora Sabol (3rd place)
  • Sidney Dickinson (4th place)

Winners for The Compound are:

  • Elizabeth Schmidt (1st place)
  • Kiley Britten (2nd place)
  • Anna Landon (3rd place)
  • Alex Mowthorpe (4th place)

Winners for Scat are:

  • Cheyenne Hofmann (1st place)
  • Valerie Sveden (2nd place)
  • Annie Wuest (3rd place)
  • Freddie Birr (4th place)

“This is a great way for students to combine their reading and writing skills in one event,” says Jessie Exum, CLPL’s Head of Youth Services. “It has been a good partnership with other community organizations. We really appreciate the financial support from the Dawnbreakers and their consideration of the Crystal Lake Public Library as a partner in beginning this project.”

—Author Linda Price is the Public Relations Coordinator for the Crystal Lake Public Library


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