Two RCS fourth grade students won honorable mention in a Letters About Literature contest sponsored by the Library of Congress and the New York Center for The Book.

Ashley Ricci and Donovan Varney were part of 200 students to be honored in the contest. More than 1,800 students submitted entries to the contest.

To enter, students wrote a personal letter to an author, living or dead, from any genre-- fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or classic, explaining how that author's work changed the student's way of thinking about the world or themselves.

Ashley, who attends Pieter B. Coeymans Elementary School, wrote to Jean Craighead George, author of the book My Side of the Mountain. 

"I learned a valuable lesson from this book, and once I memorize it, I will NEVER forget it," Ashley wrote. " If you have a problem in life and you try to run away from the problem, it could follow you, making you think about it day and night, until you can’t outrun it anymore.  You must go back to the center of the problem and try to fix it the best you can; then it could turn into a solution."

Donovan, who attends A.W. Becker Elementary School, wrote to Max Lucado, author of The Crippled Lamb and You Are Special. 

"One reason why I like those books were because they had a first-class lesson.  For example, in The Crippled Lamb the moral was that there is always a reason why you are the way you are.  The moral taught me not to wish for things because God already has a plan for me," Donovan wrote.

"In conclusion, The Crimpled Lamb and You Are Special inspired me very much.  They had a well written lesson, they showed a relationship with God, and they convinced me to be the way God wants me to be.  I love your books!," Donovan wrote.