Assuming this year was going to be no different than the others Rosen was quite surprised when Children's Librarian Barbara Pally called her at home.
"When she said I won, I was like, are you serious?" said Rosen. "It was really the last thing I expected."
Close to two dozen Stoughton children entered the contest. Designs had to include the tag line of this year's theme, "What's Buzzing at Your Library?" and fit on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper.
Pally, who was one of the three contest judges, said Rosen's design was selected because it was very good.
"It was nice and photogenic and a design both boys and girls would wear," said Pally.
Rosen created the theme phrase in bubble letters and used a shading style that made the letters darker on the outside and lighter on the inside. She said she has been perfecting her shading style since earlier this year.
The teenager used her artistic talents and some extra effort to make sure the design was what she wanted.
"I really tried different ways to get all the letters on the page...and just spent time playing around with that," said Rosen.
An avid artist, Rosen said she spends a lot of her free time trying out different styles of drawing including Anime, a Japanese style of animated cartoon.
Rosen's mother, Felicia, said she was pleased with her daughter's success.
"She has been a voracious reader since she was really little... it is nice that she was able to tie in the reading with the artwork and that she won," said Felicia Rosen.
Wearing the newly printed T-shirt at the library last week, Rosen said she liked seeing her design in print.
"It feels really good," she said.
Interested?
The Summer Reading Program T-shirts are now available at the Stoughton Public Library for $8 each with proceeds going to The Friends of the Stoughton Public Library.
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