On August 30 , The New York Public Library will be honoring four young readers who participated in our Summer Reading Challenge. This year’s summer reading theme was “Build a Better World through Reading” and young readers age 6 - 18 were challenged to write an essay describing how a book they have read, or reading in general, can help make the world a better place. Of the more than 150 essays received, four grand prize winners were chosen to take a bow on the field at Yankee Stadium, meet a player, and and stick around to watch the game with their families.

• Khandker Shafwan Habib, age 7, from Westchester Square Library

• Mariam Khelashvili, age 8, from Roosevelt Island Library

• Kai Lefkowitz, age 10, from Tompkins Square Library

• Anna Zhang, age 15, from George Bruce Library

Read the winning essays below, and stay tuned for the release of the next NYPL Zine, which will feature the essay winners along with other notable essays submitted by our talented young patrons.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2017 Summer Reading Essay Contest!

Khandker Shafwan Habib, age 7, from Westchester Square Library

Reading is the foundation of our world. Without reading, it would be near impossible to complete tasks as simple as reading instructions from a lab manual, reading the news, messaging friends and much more. In a globally changing world full of the latest technology, it is important for us not to allow the importance of reading to be diminished from our lives. Reading can help build an even better world as it allows us to gain a stronger education, share experiences and get us ready for adult life. Reading can help build a better world, and it all begins with us.

Reading can help give us a good education because we can learn many things by reading. For example, non-fiction books can teach us about animals, objects and our bodies. If one is interested in reading and wants to read about animals, one has to understand or one won’t know lots of facts about animals. Another reason reading can give us a good education is because it can help one in life. For example, if a little boy uses something children definitely should not touch, he can get hurt. For this reason, children can read books about how to be safe. Finally, reading gives everyone a higher education because at school, teachers teach strategies in reading and how to read with more stamina. Teachers also break down difficult vocabulary if necessary.

Reading allows us to share experiences and learn because everyone has different ideas and opinions. We can also share experiences by telling a little summary to our partners. Understanding is also important. It is a big part of reading because if we just read and don’t understand, we cannot learn or share experiences. I can share my experiences about a book called, “How do Hot Air Balloons Work?” I learned that a balloon basket can hold tanks with fuel, so I can teach my friends more about this subject. When I share my experiences, I usually talk about my predictions, questions and thoughts and ask if my partner can help me clarify a line. Also, when we talk about one idea, we delve deeper into other possible hidden meanings. We sometimes consider the moral of the story and other important questions, all in an effort to understand the true essence of the author’s writing.

Reading can help prepare us for adult life because we will know how to read. We will know how to stop when there is a period, exclamation point, comma or question mark. When we grow older, we will also read newspapers like the New York Times, which usually contain harder language. Reading can help us improve our writing in adult life, since we will have read about and know more sophisticated vocabulary, which will set us apart from the average writer. If one knows more vocabulary, one will also tend to challenge oneself, which will make him/her more successful in life. Finally, reading will help us become smarter. When I attend high school in the future, classes will get much harder and I can use reading strategies I learned when I was young to make the transition much easier.

Ultimately, reading is an important cornerstone in our lives. It allows us to become smarter and more ready for later life. From there, we can collectively build a better world, where more and more people are enthusiastic about reading. As Dr. Seuss once said, “The more you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you will go.”

Mariam Khelashvili, age 8, from Roosevelt Island Library

The world is a very busy place. Good people, bad people, small people, big people, all attending to their own business. It’s a very pleasant planet. But could it be better? Most people are honest. And most people are kind. And a lot of people have a lot of good qualities. But some people don’t. For the world to be better, more people must be kind, honest, and caring. More people must be knowledgeable, scientific, and logical. And most importantly, we should be healthy, others should be healthy, and the planet should be healthy. And how should we achieve that? We should read books. Books fill children’s lives with joy, inspiration, and wonder, but they also inspire them to be kind and to fulfill good deeds. And they also teach you other things. For Jules Verne, a French author in the 19th century, wrote books showing exotic animals never heard of, pointing out certain plants, and wrote about minerals not thought of in youngers minds, so those books teach you science and biology, one of the very important virtues that will make the world a better place. This is only one example of thousands of books with numerous interesting facts and information which will help you greatly in your life. Them there is “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It already shows the virtues of kindness when Mary and Dickon were helping Colin get to his feet, but it also shows you the skill of gardening when Mary tends the Secret Garden, which leads to another great virtue, caring for our planet. The cherry tree story about George Washington (actually invented by Parson Weems in 1800) teaches you honesty when Washington said: “I Cannot tell a lie” and told the truth, and “The Swiss Family Robinson” shows you what a family really is when they hunt game and the mother cooks it, or the whole family gets together on expeditions.

There is a book for every virtue,
There is a line for every deed,
There is a verse for every action,
And a word for all you need.

Without books, the world would not be able to change for the better.

Kai Lefkowitz, age 10, from Tompkins Square Library

Baseball books are actually my favorite kind to read. I like the Derek Jeter series for kids including The Contract, Hit or Miss and Change Up. These books talk about his childhood, both in and out of baseball. He shares ten life lessons with readers. I have five favorites like “[s]et your goals high, [t]hink before you act and [d]eal with growing pains.” The first two are pretty straightforward but are good lessons to live by. But the third idea of growing pains is just as cool because it can guide us through the disappointment and frustration that challenge us all. Jeter makes the best out of the worst experiences. His books talk about finding a way through until he can make a situation work for him. Jeter understands that he is not perfect and that he can not always win. In fact, the fourth lesson Jeter highlights says “Don’t be afraid to fail.” But at the same time, he manages to refuse accepting defeat.

I recall one part where Derek writes about how he does not worry about his stats or how they compare to anyone else on the field when he is at the plate. He does not scare himself or worry about all the things that could go wrong. He clears his mind and focuses on aggressively hitting a pitch he likes and all the training and practice he has done.

The fifth lesson I will share of Jeter’s is that “[t]he world isn’t always fair.” In Jackie & Me by Dan Gutman readers see this idea from different directions. In this ultimate fan fiction, Joe Stoshack is a Polish little league player up at bat when the book opens. It is a scrimmage between his team the Yellow Jackets and their rivals, who always make fun of Joe because he is Polish. Joe loses his cool and strikes out, But he develops a new perspective when he travels back in time, turning into a black kid, to when the legendary Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the MLB. Jackie shares the same kind of anger of wanting to fight back but Jackie explains “I have held back my fists when I wanted to hit somebody with it. I did that because some acts show courage. Others show stupidity. You’ve got to pick and choose your battles.” (page 131).

Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki is another good example of how the game became a way to stand up for and believe in yourself even when other people (including teammates, community members and people who should support you) do not. I think these books and Jeter’s series show just how important perseverance is in getting what you want the most; whether it is being accepted for who you are, being a good little league player or a clutch team captain.
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I am black and Jewish and no one else looks like me on my teams. To me, books in general, can make the world a better place because reading puts you inside of an experience and helps you understand something deeply whether you are having to live it or not. Once we apply those lessons these authors share to the lives we are living we can see how much we actually have in common. If people did this they would realize they are more alike than they thought and the world would be run more smoothly. People would judge each other on things that they can control and that matter.

Anna Zhang, age 15, from George Bruce Library

The power and ability of books is often underestimated. Books are the foundation of the world, the building blocks of the future. In this day and age, modern technology has replaced books and reading in the lives of many, who instead rely on smartphones and computers for virtually everything. Of course, these technological advancements are beneficial to society, but it is easy to forget that none of these advancements would have been possible without books.