Elizabeth Guthrie, a fourth grade student at Briarwood Elementary School, has taken first place in the Level I Kentucky Letters About Literature contest, a national reading-writing contest sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and Target Stores. To enter, readers write a personal letter to an author, living or dead, explaining how that author's work changed the student's way of thinking about the world or themselves. Guthrie won for her letter to Pam Munoz Ryan, author of Esperanza Rising.

There are three competition levels: Level I for children in grades 4-6; Level II for grades 7-8; and Level III for grades 9-12. As Kentucky's Level I winner, Guthrie receives a cash award of $75 and a Target gift card valued at $50. Her letter has advanced as one of 50 to national-level judging. This year's contest attracted 59,000 letters nationwide.

Kentucky's other winners are Braden Deifel of Louisville in Level II and Lydia Pope of Danville in Level III. The Level I semifinalists included four more Briarwood students -- Kelsey Morton, Nicole Carr, Franklin Stone and Wil Scott.