Write to a Friend Month

Most people don’t write letters anymore. It’s too easy to communicate by email or text. I’m amazed at how many people don’t write thank-you notes for gifts. Most people don’t even bother to RSVP for a special event. Perhaps it’s time to remind the younger generation that while email and text are fabulous ways to convey a quick message, sometimes a written note (sent via snail mail) is more appropriate. Since December is Write to a Friend Month, this is a good time to practice letter-writing skills. Like always, this site offers ways to connect books with special occasions or events. Here are suggestions for ways to make that connection with Write to a Friend Month:
●   Ask students or library patrons if they have ever received a letter from a friend or family member. Librarians and teachers should write a letter to an unnamed friend to share in class. How does the letter begin? What type of information is in the body of the letter? How does the letter end? What is the purpose of the PS at the end of the letter? How does the address appear on the envelope?

●   Have them think of a bit of news they would like to share. Perhaps it’s a victory in a sporting event or an accomplishment in the performing or visual arts. Then have them write about it to a friend.

●   Read aloud from the letters that Austin Ives writes to his brother Levi in Dear Levi: Letters from the Overland Trail by Elvira Woodruff. How do Austin’s letters reveal the plot of the story?

●   Have readers think about the events in a specific novel and write a letter from one character to another. Suggestions from Random House include:

—Freddy to Marlene in Marlene, Marlene, Queen of Mean (picture book) by Jane Lynch, Lara Embry, and A. E. Mikesell, illustrated by Tricia Tusa

—Harriet M. Welsch to Sport in Harriet the Spy (middle grade) by Louise Fitzhugh

—Little Man to Mr. Spiro in Paperboy (middle grade) by Vince Vawter

—Wahoo Cray to Tuna Gordon in Chomp (middle grade) by Carl Hiaasen

—Katie to Mark in Very Bad Things (young adult) by Susan McBride

—Angel to Inggy in Jersey Angel (young adult) by Beth Ann Bauman

●   Write a letter from a main character to another character after they are grown up. How might they remember significant moments in the plots of their lives? Suggestions from Random House Children’s Books include:

—Alvin Ho (beginning reader) series by Lenore Look, illustrated by LeUyen Pham

—Melonhead and the We-Fix-It Company (elementary age) by Katy Kelly, illustrated by Gillian Johnson

— Gabriel Finley in Gabriel Finley and the Raven’s Riddle (middle grade) by George Hagen

— Georges in Liar & Spy (middle grade) by Rebecca Stead

— Deza Malone in The Mighty Miss Malone (middle grade) by Christopher Paul Curtis

—Sylvia Mendez and Aki Munemitsu from Sylvia & Aki (middle grade) by Winifred Conkling

—Tomi from Under the Blood-Red Sun (young adult) by Graham Salisbury

—Kana Goldberg in Orchards (young adult) by Holly Thompson

—Ethan in The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy (young adult) by Kate Hattemer

—Lotus Lowenstein in The Pillow Book of Lotus Lowenstein (young adult) by Libby Schmais

●   Finally, have readers write a letter from the main character of one novel to another. An example for younger readers is Gooney Bird Greene (elementary age) to Junie B. Jones.

●   Ask for volunteers to share their letters.