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Join the Writer to Writer Challenge!

We invite all Literacy Plus learners to:

1. Read a book. 📚

2. Write a letter to the author. ✍🏽

3. Turn in your letter and form by March 28, 2025. ✨

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Dear Kelvin W. Nathan

The teachings of your book, The Power of Silence are a medicine for any brain. This paragraph from your book was important to me, because it showed me the importance to know myself: ”In the quiet, you can hear your inner voice more clearly, helping you understand your needs, desires and values this self- understanding is crucial for inner peace as it enables you to live in alignment with your true self”

I think that your book allows me to see life from a better perspective, the importance to pay attention to myself as a present person, letting me notice that I exist not only because I am alive but because I know who I am and what I am expecting of life.

Remaining in silence for even 5 minutes was not easy for me because there is a lot of distractions but I tried harder to tune out of every distraction and I made it. There is a big difference in my life since I am doing it and I know that I am going to keep improving my personality and the way I build relationships and how to interact in a healthy way. I can control better my concentration level, decrease anxiety and improve my active listening.

Sincerely,

Jennyfer Portillo

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The Shadowhunter Series | Casandra Clare

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The Shadowhunter Series | Casandra Clare

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Dear Cassandra Clare,

I would love to express my admiration for your wo9rk and all the passion and dedication you have put into it. The Shadowhunter novels have become my favorite book series, as they have had a positive impact on my life.

Clary confirmed to me time and time again how important bravery is. Her life changed suddenly, she was tired after every battle and she felt cheated, but those were not reasons to stop her. Instead, she kept trying and learned to keep going despite how hurt she was.

I am an immigrant to the US and starting a new life can be challenging, but your books inspire me to keep trying, keep moving forward, and keep being brave. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Nancy Baron Mundo

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Dear Mr. White,

I want to tell you that your book, Charlotte’s Web, is wonderful, and it leaves us with a great message. It teaches us the importance of having good friends who help you grow, and that there is always someone who cares about you, even though we are very different.

Your book also teaches us about injustice, and that if we express ourselves, things can change. For example, Fern asked her father not to kill Wilbur, and asked if she were small and weak would he kill her. Sometimes we also feel like Wilbur, that we are weak and we don’t feel valued. This can be because of the people around us, or sometimes it’s our imagination.

Thank you for your book that teaches us that sometimes we are simply in the wrong place with someone who does not value us. Thank you for this book. I enjoyed it very much, and I learned a lot.

Sincerely,

Martha Mercado

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Own Your Past Change Your Future | Dr. John Delony

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Own Your Past Change Your Future | Dr. John Delony

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ear Dr. John Delony,

Thank you for writing this book, Own Your Past Change Your Future. Thank you for sharing your stories and for being you.

At one point in my life, I felt like everything was going wrong. It felt awful! I knew everything was wrong. I just didn’t want to accept it. I blamed everyone but me. I came across your book at the right time when my life was spinning out of control. My marriage was in trouble, financially unstable, mentally unstable, no friends, no family, no one to turn to and with four kids to take care of.

Most of your stories were so related to me. Sometimes I thought you were talking about me. Honestly, I think reading your book helped me make the hardest decision of my life. It was now or never to make some changes. I tried everything to save my marriage (not for the first time). It was not working no matter what I did. All I wanted was for my family to stay together. But I was not happy. My kids were not happy in that environment. I decided to take my kids and be on my own. It was a hard decision to make but it was the right decision.

After a few years on my own, I now see myself and my kids happier and thriving. I thank God and you Dr. Delony for opening my eyes and seeing things in a different way, Once again thank you. I really appreciate what you wrote.

Sincerely,

Anonymous

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Own Your Past Change Your Future | John Delony

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What Was the San Francisco Earthquake? | Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler

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What Was the San Francisco Earthquake? | Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler

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Dear Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler,

I have just finished your book What was the San Francisco Earthquake?. My favorite part of the book was when Henry Lai and Yuen Kum got married just after the Earthquake. It was nice to see a happy ending after all the damaging. Where did they get married at? Why did they go to Cleveland and not stay in San Francisco?

One thing I found interesting in the book was the ways that they fought the fire. They used hoses to put out the fire but they didn’t always reach the fire. They exploded the whole city. Did anyone think dynamite was a bad idea? It sounds like a bad idea to me. I wonder if things would have been different if Fire Chief Sullivan hasn’t been hurt at the start of the fires.

It was a really sad book. People were burnt so badly that they couldn’t find out who they were and it was sad that a lot of people lost their lives and we don’t know how many. The fire lasted for 74 hours after the earthquake. How long did people live in tents before they could move into a house? How long did it take to build the city of San Francisco again?

I have some Questions about writing this book. How long did it take you to write this book? Was it hard to write? How many books did you write? What book did you like to write about the most?

It was fun to read your book. It was sad but had a happy ending. I learned a lot from your book. Thank you for writing it.

Sincerely,

Shana Ali

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Chicken Soup for the Soul: Random Acts of Kindness | Jennifer Zink

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Chicken Soup for the Soul: Random Acts of Kindness | Jennifer Zink

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Dear Jennifer Zink,

I am very happy to write to you. Recently, I read the book Chicken Soup for the Soul: Random acts of kindness. There are 101 stories in the book. All the stories are true. Your story Just When I Need It is one of them. It is also the story that touched me the most.

I am so sorry to know that you got divorced and had to take care of three kids alone. I think you went through a hard time. One day before Christmas, when you and your kids went grocery shopping, your kid Jimmy asked you if he could buy toy soldiers. You agreed without thinking because you wanted your kids to have a merry Christmas. You are such a good mother to let your kids choose something they liked. Unfortunately, when you added up the prices of the things, you found out you didn’t have enough money. Your heart broke when you asked them to put the things back on the shelves. I understand your feelings at the time since I am a mother of two daughters. If I were you, I couldn't stop myself from crying. It was so lucky that you found a woman standing behind you who also understood your situation. She gave you forty dollars to pay for what the children wanted to buy. That good-hearted woman changed your life from that day. Afterwards, whenever you saw someone in need, you would do the same for that person as that generous woman did for you. At the end of the story, you wrote that after helping a person, I could see the weight lift from her shoulders and it brought me such joy.

Your story touched me a lot. It also reminded me of something that once happened to me. A few years ago, I left home in a hurry and forgot to bring my wallet. When I got on the bus, I had no money to pay for the bus fare. At that time I didn’t know what to do. If I went home, I would be late. I felt very embarrassed to ask the lady next to me if she could help me pay for the bus fare because I forgot to bring my wallet. She said yes at once. I thanked her and breathed a sigh of relief. I told myself if someone asked me for help next time, I would try my best to help.

Thanks for sharing your story. I think helping someone not only solves that person’s problem, but also makes me happy. I hope other people will do the same. Then the world will be a very different and happy place.

Wish you all the best !

Sincerely

Ping Li

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Chicken Soup for the Soul: Random Acts of Kindness | Jennifer Zink

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Dear Ms. Yoda Mcdonough,

Thank you very much for writing Who was Rosa Parks? This book encouraged me. I learned a lot about American Black history. The way she grew up was hard for a young girl. Her mother sent her to Montgomery, Alabama so that she could get a good education. Rosa took care of her grandmother before she died. Rosa would go into the streets to sell fruit to make money for the whole family. She had strength to go through this even with the Ku Klux Klan.

All of this reminds me of how I grey up. I grew up in a village in Ghana and I did not get a chance to go to school. I was selling fruit, casaba, vegetables in a market just like her. She was strong to go to school. She had a faith in God. I did not know about this hatred in America until I read this in this book. Without her courage, there would be no fight for the rights of Black people.

I admire how strong she was. It made me sad she had to go through all of this just to ride a bus. Like Rosa, because I could not read or write, I tried to sew. I went to school to learn to sew but I could not sew because of my dyslexia. Until Rosa learned to read and write, she worked various jobs. Rosa worked as a nursing assistant. I also worked as a nursing assistant.

By reading how she grew up, I never through an America would grow up this way. She grew up in the country and she was poor. I grew up in the country poor with my grandmother. They raised me because I could not read or write because of my dyslexia. They sent me to live with my uncle.

He promised to send me to sewing school. Dyslexia did not work out so I was sent to the market to make money to help his family. After being with him, my mother came and took me to Liberia to get a better life. It was still hard since I could not read or write. I started selling ice water and sugar. Then I started selling clothes from Liberia and going to the Ivory coast to sell them. I wanted to start a store so I came to the U.S. with two suitcases and $2000 with plans to sell clothes. Within two weeks, a civil war started in Liberia so I could not go back. I was 25 and I could not read or write even my own name.

Reading this book made me cry a lot, not in a bad way, knowing someone in America went through what I went through. This is the first book I ever read. I am sixty years old. It really hit me.

Sincerely,

Comfort Picchi

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Dear Chef Swanson,

My name is Cuc and I live in San Francisco with my husband and daughter. I am from Vietnam and I generally cook Vietnamese food.

I work hard to eat healthy foods and I really enjoy reading your book titled SUPER NATURAL SIMPLE because it introduced me to new and healthy recipes. I learned how to make an asparagus salad, guacamole dip, and sunflower bristle. I also learned how to use lemon zest to enhance my dishes. Another technique I learned from your book is how to use a mortar and pestle. Now I use my mortar and pestle to smash sesame seeds, pepper and garlic to make a sauce for my Vietnamese food.

I really loved the photography in your book. I always take pictures of dishes I prepare because I enjoy decorating and styling food. Do you have any tips on taking really good photos?

I have been eating more healthy foods over the last 3 years. I am curious to know what motivated you to write a book about healthy cooking? Also, how long did it take you to author this book? Can you share some experiences about writing a book? For example, what did you find to be easy and also difficult?

Overall, I like your book because it has a beautiful photographs, the recipes are easy to understand, and natural ingredients are easy to find. Your book captivated me with its enticing recipes and amazing photography.

There are some recipes I struggled with. For example with the asparagus salad some of the asparagus spears were hard to eat, and the sunflower bristle I made wasn't sticky. I am not sure what went wrong when I was preparing both recipes I made a note some of your recipes so I can look at them in my kitchen and I also shared the recipes with my friends. I appreciate your work, and it has inspired me to learn cuisine from other cultures. Now my meals will have a variety of different foods.

Have you tried Vietnamese cooking before? My favorite recipe that I would like to recommend to you is the Vietnamese spring roll. You can learn how to make it by searching "how to make Vietnamese spring roll" on YouTube..

Thank you for reading my letter. I wish you well in your career as a chef.

Sincerely,

Cuc Le

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The Story of Simone Biles | Rachelle Burk

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The Story of Simone Biles | Rachelle Burk

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Dear Rachelle,

Thank you for writing The Story of Simone Biles. I love this book. This book reminds me of many parts of my life.

First, Simone was born into poverty and her grandmother raised her. When I was growing up, my mother could not take care of me. My grandmother raised me in a poor village in Ghana, West Africa. My grandmother sent me to school, but for some reason, I could not concentrate. She decided for me to stay home and work on the farm. When I was 10, my grandmother decided to send me to go live with my uncle in the city. He promised to send me to be sewing school. He did not and his wife sent me to the market to sell bread. When I was 15 years old, I came back to live with my grandmother.

Secondly, Simone Biles had a dream to become a professional champion gymnast and go to the Olympics one day. She worked very hard to prove to herself that she could do it. When I was fifteen, my mother came to take me to Liberia to live with her. Again, I was selling bread for her to pay the rent. I could not read or write so I decided to go to night school. I started having the same problems. I could not concentrate so I stopped. My friends called me stupid because I could not read or write. Later I came to America. I was living in San Francisco. I started going to night school again. I started having the same problem, so I stopped. I got married and moved to San Mateo. When I got pregnant, I went to night school. I started having the same problem, so I stopped. I decided to go to the library for help and they sent a tutor to my house because I was pregnant. The library did a test on me, and I found out I have dyslexia. All this time I was not stupid. I moved to Hayward. I went to the library for help and the library sent a tutor to my house because I have two kids and could not read or write to take the driving test. I was inspired by Simone Biles working very hard, not giving up. Similarly, I have been working hard to learn to read and write.

The library tutors helped me work hard to get a driver's license and my nursing assistant license. I never thought I would be able to drive a car, become a nursing assistant or buy a house all by myself. Now my whole life has changed because I can read and write. I am very happy. I never gave up. I am still learning.

Simone found her passion in gymnastics. I found my passion in reading and writing. I thank God that I came to America and there is a program that would help people like me.

Thank you for writing this book.

Sincerely,

Comfort Picchi