Six Decorah Middle School students named finalists in a writing competition

(Left to right): Decorah Middle School students Brynn Storhoff, Annika Brynsaas, Danielle Rix, Elayna Hook, Gabe Hiner and Simon Kutz have been named finalists in the 2019 Letters About Literature writing competition

Six Decorah Middle School seventh graders have been named finalists in the Letters About Literature national writing competition sponsored by the Library of Congress and Iowa Center for the Book.

Letters written by Annika Brynsaas, Gabe Hiner, Elayna Hook, Simon Kutz, Danielle Rix, and Brynn Storhoff were among the top letters written by over 720 Iowa students.    
    
The competition asked students in 4th through 12th grades to write a letter to an author explaining how that author's work changed the student's way of thinking.  Students respond to the work they have read by exploring the personal relationship between themselves, the author, and the book's characters or themes.