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Teen Read Week 2009 Essay Contest - Win $100 gift card!
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Teen Read Week Essay Contest
October 18-24, 2009
Participate in One Maryland, One Book and Teen Read Week at the same time! Read
James McBride’s Song Yet Sung or Kathi Appelt’s Newbery Honor Book The
Underneath. Write an essay on one of the following topics:
The Underneath – appropriate for middle school age teens and up
Ranger, Mama, Sabine, and Puck refer to themselves as a family. What makes a family? Does a family only consist of parents, children, and relatives? Describe your own family -- does it include people who aren't related to you?
Until he meets Mama the calico cat, Ranger the bloodhound doesn't realize how lonely he is. What are the differences between being alone, and being lonely? Is it possible to be lonely even when you're surrounded by people?
When children don't obey to their parents in The Underneath, bad things happen. Who were the characters who didn't listen to their parents? What were the consequences of their disobedience? Did these characters learn from their mistakes?
Song Yet Sung – appropriate for older teens
How would you describe the Woolman? Why is he such a mystery? What do you
believe is his
role in this story?
Amber believes that “Some [people] is up to the job of being decent, and some
ain’t.” What
do you think of this assessment? Is decency an inherent trait, or is it a
conscious choice? Which
character do you feel exhibits this inherent decency? Which doesn’t?
If you were enslaved in the antebellum United States, would you try to escape?
Why or why not?
What are the dangers of escaping? Of staying?
Eligibility & Guidelines:
1. Open to teens age 11-17 who reside in Baltimore County. Essays must have
student's full name, grade, address, e-mail and home telephone number, and name
of high school. Essays submitted without the above details will be disqualified.
2. Essays must be at least two and no more than three double-spaced pages, using
12-point font. Email your essay as an attachment in Microsoft Word compatible
format to teens@bcpl.net. To be eligible, all entries must be received by
midnight on Sunday, October 25, 2009. Submissions by any other means will not be
considered.
3. Entries will not be returned. By entering the Contest, contestants agree to
abide by these rules, and represent and warrant that the entries are their own
and original creations, and do not violate or infringe the rights, including,
without limitation, copyrights, trademark rights or rights of publicity/privacy,
of any third party.
4. Entries are void if they are in whole or in part illegible, incomplete,
damaged or handwritten. No responsibility is assumed for late, lost, damaged,
incomplete, illegible, postage due or misdirected mail entries.
5. Submissions will be judged on style, content, grammar and originality. Judges
will look for clear, concise writing that is original, articulate, logically
organized and well-supported. Winners will be notified by November 6, 2009 via
telephone or email.
6. BCPL employees, their immediate family members and individuals living in the
same household are not eligible for this Contest.
7. By accepting a prize, winners grant to Sponsor the right to edit, publish,
copy, display and otherwise use their entries in connection with this Contest,
and to further use their names, likenesses, and biographical information in
advertising and promotional materials, without further compensation or
permission, except where prohibited by law.
Prizes
One (1) winner will receive a $100 gift card to Wal-Mart.
In the event that there is an insufficient number of qualified entries or if the
judges determine in their absolute discretion that no or too few entries meet
the quality standards established to award the prizes, Sponsor reserves the
right not to award the prizes.
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This page is provided by the Baltimore County Public Library, Towson, Maryland USA.
The text version of this page was last revised on
06 November 2009.
The graphics version of this page was last revised on
06 November 2009.
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