In an effort to promote reading among teens, the Baltimore County Public Library produced Teen Read Week. Teens all over the Baltimore County area were invited to participate. Intertwined with the One, Maryland, One Book program, participants were asked essay questions based on the themes in James McBride’s Song Yet Sung. Kathi Appelt’s The Underneath was another option for teens to choose in the essay contest.
The outcome of Teen Read Week was disappointing. Only five essays were submitted, and we were not overly happy with the ir quality. We presumed that the students did not put forth their best efforts into the essay contest due to the fact that it was completed on the participants' own time, outside of school--they were not graded. So we were fortunate enough to receive the responses that we did.
Teen Read Week also was not as publicized as well as we had hoped. We talked with our service coordinator, Elizabeth Rafferty, in an effort to improve the participation in Teen Read Week for the future. We thought that questions focusing on just one novel would help to improve the direction of the essays. Facilitating book discussions could also help kids better understand the novel.
There was no winner determined for the Teen Read Week essay
contest.
Teen Read Week essay contest guidelines
About Song Yet Sung and The Underneath