Writer To Writer 2009

2009 Writer-to-Writer Awards- at CLA Conference – Literacy Interest Group –

October 31 @ Bar Celona Restaurant

This year 188 adult learners entered the Challenge from 43 library literacy programs all over California. Their letters, based on their writing skill levels, were divided into four categories: Emerging, Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced. [see earlier Post for more information !]

The letters of the winners will appear as a Four-part Series by the Literacy Interest Group E-newsletter.

Winner: Advanced Writer
Sima T - Berkeley Public Library

Dear Paulo Coelho,

I am honored by "my good fortune of the world," as you would say to be able to read your novel The Alchemist in two different languages, Farsi and English. I read the Farsi version of The Alchemist almost one decade ago when I had started to work as an architect and instructor. I read the English version of your novel when my English tutor, Judy bought it for me one very pleasant morning this June in Berkeley. Maybe one day I will have a chance to read it in your language which I am sure will be the best to understand fully all of the magic of the book.  READ MORE !

2009 Writer to Writer Challenge Winners & Runners Up

Emerging Level Winner:
Anonymous, Alhambra Civic Center Library
wrote to Anne Frank - Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl.

Runners Up:
Nick F, Downey City Library wrote to Gary Paulson - Hatchet.
Esbeida C, Altadena Library District wrote to Fernando Javier Galan - A Long Road.

Beginning Level Winner:
Evonne M, Hemet Public Library
wrote to Dave Pelzer - A Child Called It.

Runners Up:
Ramon G, Carlsbad City Library wrote to Clement Clark Moore - The Night Before Christmas.
Camila R, Carlsbad City Library wrote to Cheri Huber - Be the Person You Want to Find.

Intermediate Level Winner:
Larry E, Palmdale City Library
wrote to Sidney Poitier - The Measure of a Man.

Runners Up:
Blanca M, Riverside County Library wrote to Dr. Jorge Erdely - Pastors Who Abuse.
Laurie H Hemet Public Library wrote to Judy Blume - Deenie.

Advanced Level Winner:
Sima T, Berkeley Public Library
wrote to Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist.

Runners Up:
Juan S, San Diego Public Library wrote to Lance Wubbels - If Only I Knew.
Sharon Z, Contra Costa County Library wrote to Alan Brennert - Moloka’i.

The letters of the 2008 winners and finalists @

Join 1,000,000 for Literacy

. . . forwarded from Margaret Doughty
@ Literacy Powerline

Literacy Advocates can create a larger voice to let the President know that literacy must be a priority - Plan to meet with the President in Summer 2010.

Join 1,000,000 for Literacy Facebook group.
Connect with other literacy advocates.
Forward to all your friends - not just your literacy colleagues !

1 Join Facebook
2 CLICK on "Invite People to Join"
3 SELECT all of the friends that you want to join
4 CLICK on "Send invitation"

Shatter the Silence Video

Newport Beach Library - International Literacy Day Celebrated

International Literacy Day Celebrated
at Newport Beach Public Library
Literally Speaking: Autumn 2009

More than 140 people from the literacy program, library staff, and the Newport Beach community attended the International Literacy Day (ILD) celebration on September 10th. As in previous years, attendees were treated to wonderful, ethnic foods prepared by literacy program learners. To complete the buffet, the Corona del Mar Starbucks provided coffee, and Bristol Farms generously donated a gorgeous and tasty fruit and cheese display.

Carolyn Scheer, Literacy Board President, emceed the event. Cynthia Cowell, Library Director, graciously commended all involved in the literacy program. Newport Beach Mayor, Ed Selich, before reading the proclamation declaring Literacy Day for the city, commended tutors for their commitment and learners for their courage – which was then demonstrated by Jerry Kahn and Afsaneh Taheri Pak as they both spoke movingly about their experiences with the literacy program.

Jerry highlighted the variety of books that he and his tutor, Joe Brown, have read together, and explained what a typical tutoring session for them looks like. Afsaneh eloquently shared of her shame, after arriving in the United States just a year ago from Iran, at not being able to speak English well. She shared how it felt to leave her safe zone of home, family, and tradition and commit to a new life. Afsaneh affirmed that being new is always hard and that she has a goal to learn and keep on learning.

Parvin Tabrizi, the 2009 winner of the Rochelle Hoffman Memorial Award presented at the celebration, also received certificates of recognition from both Congressman John Campbell and Senator Tom Harmon.

It was a touching and inspirational morning.

English Express newspaper is for adults who are improving their English reading skills

English Express Website
The English Express newspaper is for adults who are improving their English reading skills. It has articles from a newspaper called English Express.

On this website, you can read articles on your computer screen. You can print articles too. Would you like to listen and read along to articles? Press the listen buttons. Some articles have videos to watch too.

You can read news stories. You can read about people, animals and holidays. Try one of the recipes and laugh at the cartoons. You can print word games to do. You can read stories from our readers.

For Teachers & Tutors:

The website has copies of the Teaching Notes that go with each issue of the English Express newspaper. Click on the menu button for teachers and tutors. Print the notes that you want to use.

English Express newspaper is published by Alberta Advanced Education and Technology 8 times a year, from September to May. There are 3 levels of articles in each issue.

The ‘Hard Copy’ of English Express is not sent to other provinces, to other countries or to individual readers.

Centro Latino for Literacy - Three Lives and a Literate City's Shame

Three Lives and a Literate City's Shame
L A Times: October 13, 2009 by Hector Tobar

Julia Rodriguez, Juan Contreras and Mercedes Meza couldn't read or write. For years they got by with the help of friends and good memories for the sorts of sights that differentiated streets.

There is a neighborhood in L.A. where you can hear people converse in the language spoken by the Aztec emperors Montezuma and Cuauhtémoc.

Julia Rodriguez lives there -- in Pico-Union, just west of downtown. She spoke only Nahuatl when she arrived in Los Angeles 15 years ago.

In L.A., she quickly taught herself to speak Spanish. But when she was growing up in a small village in Mexico's Guerrero state, she never went to school. So she'd never been taught to read in any language.

Story continues below ↓

Mercedes Meza, a 64-year-old Westside housekeeper and nanny, always wanted to read too.

Story continues below ↓

Julia, Juan and Mercedes all told me they were deeply ashamed of being illiterate in the modern city they now call home. But the shame is really ours.

We Angelenos have allowed people from desperately poor places to come to our city to do the hardest jobs for the lowest wages. We all benefit from their labor, but many live among us with the private suffering and stigmas that are the legacy of the small Central American farms and Mexican villages where they were born.

The Census Bureau estimates that there are more than 200,000 Spanish-speaking people living in Los Angeles County who did not attend primary school as children.

Add up the American lives of just three of them -- Julia, Juan and Mercedes -- and you get three-quarters of a century of L.A. nanny work, clothes-making and meal-cooking. Giving them the alphabet and the ability to read and write the names of their children seems like the least we can do.

The good people at the Centro Latino for Literacy agree. The Pico-Union nonprofit recently announced the ambitious goal of teaching 10,000 Southern California adults to read and write in the next 10 months. READ MORE !

Cheerios Serves Up Six Million Children's Books Inside Boxes this Fall

Cheerios Serves Up Six Million Children's Books Inside Boxes this Fall; Que Bueno! All Five Books Are Specially Printed in English and Spanish
Reuters: Oct 12, 2009

Bedtime stories are a tradition for many families, but this fall families are invited to also START their day with a great book.

Beginning in October 2009, Cheerios® is again bringing books to the breakfast table, by providing six million children's books free inside Cheerios boxes.

"Parents and caregivers play an important role in nurturing children's love of reading, by reading with their child every day," said Jeff Hingher, Cheerios marketing manager. "We hope this simple action of putting great books inside Cheerios boxes can make it easier for families to enjoy a book together, and help set the foundation for more children to grow up as readers."

Cheerios is also making a financial donation to First Book, an award-winning children's nonprofit organization that gets new books to children from low-income families. "For many kids, just having a book to read is the biggest obstacle to learning," said Kyle Zimmer, president of First Book.

Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories kicks off during Give a Child a Book Week, October 12 - 19. With the help of Cheerios' financial support, First Book will give a year's worth of books to every child participating in 50 selected reading programs, one in each state across the country.

This year's book offerings from Cheerios - all by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing - are:

Junkyard Fort – Jon Scieszka
Tea for Ruby – The Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson
Sleepyhead – Karma Wilson
Ballyhoo Bay – Judy Sierra
What's Under the Bed? – Joe Fenton

Families can see which book is inside through a special cut-out window on the front of the box, so they can select the specific book they want, or collect all 5.

READ MORE !"1 Zany Zoo" by Lori Degman Wins the Cheerios® Spoonfuls of Stories® Children's Book contest! Watch for it: March 2010.

Oxnard Library - Adult Literacy at the Oxnard Library

Adult Literacy at the Oxnard Library
Ventura County Star: September 23, 2009
by Barbara Warrington
Oxnard is a city where people help one another!

This story is only one of many heart-warming examples from the Adult Literacy Outreach Program at the Oxnard Library where volunteer tutors help their Oxnard neighbors make progress toward their goals by improving their reading and writing.

One of the Literacy Program's tutors-in-training is a City of Oxnard employee who found out about the volunteer opportunity through her friend who is an adult learner in the program. This "to be" tutor habitually stops at Starbucks on her way to work on weekday mornings. At those times she is dressed professionally; so Saturday, when she stopped for her coffee before coming to the training class, the person behind the counter, who recognized her, noticed her casual dress, and asked where she was headed. She replied that she was attending the tutor-training class for the Literacy Program at the library.

Upon hearing that, the Starbucks employee came around from behind the counter, and with teary eyes, gave the new tutor a hug and said, "I just have to thank you for being part of such a wonderful program where people help because it comes from their hearts. I know people who are getting tutoring, and what you are doing is so important. Thank you!"

The future tutor will never forget the sincere gratitude of this person and is glad that she decided to become another Oxnard citizen who will help others in this way.

If you are interested in being trained as a tutor or you know of someone who could benefit from being helped in literacy skills, please call the Oxnard Library Adult Literacy Outreach Program at 385-7536.