On April 24, Massachusetts Center for the Book welcomed 30 students, grades 4-12, to a State House awards ceremony held in the Reading Room of the State Library. An Arlington student was among those honored. In Level 1 (grades 4-6), Amrit Chadha received honors for his letter to Rupi Kaur about “The Sun and Her Flowers.” A sixth-grader at Ottoson Middle School, Chadha also received State House citations and personal congratulations from both Sen. Cindy Friedman and Rep. Sean Garballey.
Representing the top 1 percent of participants from across Massachusetts, the honorees wrote letters addressed to an author, poet or playwright whose work had impacted them personally. Joined by family, teachers and librarians, the students were commended individually by their program judges and legislators. The top honorees in each of three grade levels will proceed to the national level of the competition.