Runner-Up
Letters About Literature 2002
Level I

Dear Ms. Williams:

I used to think that I had the worst life in the world. I have to move every three years, leave all my friends each time, and I have a terribly evil brother (at least he's terribly evil to me). That was before I read your book Titanic Crossing. In the book, the kids have a worse life than I do. They are being forced to move by their kind but strict grandmother. They lost their father, and all I lost were my friends. At least I can still see my friends. They can never see their father again. When their mother and uncle died they hardly had any family left - only their grandmother. I still have my family.

I used to think that having to do things you didn't want to do was worse. The kids in the book are always forced to do things that they don't want to do. Just as bad, they have been treated terribly because they are in second class. I think mean parents are bad, but having no parents is worse. I know that I feel like my parents are mean sometimes for making me move and leave my friends, even though it's really the Coast Guard's fault. Making friends is hard to do, and it is very annoying to be forced to do it again every three years. When I'm angry or frustrated with my parents, sometimes I have to stop and remember that I love them, and the book reminded me again that I have parents that are with me, and Virginia and Albert don't.

Your book really made me think about what life is like for people whose parents died when they were young and they had to live with other relatives. This book made me think about how good my life actually is, and how much better it is to still have a family, even if they make you mad sometimes.

Thank you,
Addie Tousley

Addie Tousley
5th Grade
Glacier Valley School, Juneau, Alaska
Teacher: Florence Hayward