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State Winners Letters About Literature 2004

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Each year, six National and 12 National Honor letters are chosen from the tens of thousands of entries. National winners can name the library of their choice to receive a $10,000 award from Target, and the students receive a $500 Target GiftCard. National Honor winners can name a library to receive a $1,000 award from Target, and the students receive a $50 Target GiftCard.

National Winners are marked with a ** (double asterisk). Honorable Mention are marked with a * (single asterisk).

State	Level I	Level II	Level III
Alabama	Ashley Shamblin, Tuscaloosa, to L. M. Montgomery, “Anne of Green Gables”	Julia Anna Ezell, Tuscaloosa, to S. E. Hinton, “The Outsiders”	Rusty Grant Russell, Florence, to J. D. Salinger, “The Catcher in the Rye”
Alaska	Adam Miller, Anchorage, to Theodora Kroeber, Ishi, “Last of His Tribe”	Allison Strom, Eagle River, to Anne McCaffrey, “Dragonsong”	Shana Reichlin, Girdwood, to Deborah Ellis,““ The Breadwinner””
Arkansas	Elizabeth White, Searcy, to Cynthia Voigt, “Homecoming”	Jessika Ballew, Searcy, to Maya Angelou, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”	Whitney E. Barringer, Bismarck, to Philip Pullman, “The Amber Spyglass”
California	Alexandra Dwight, Palo Alto, to Pam Muñoz Ryan, “Esperanza Rising”	Alex Bland, Windsor, to Terry Trueman, “Stuck in Neutral”	Altaf Saadi, Irvine, to Lawrence Thornton, “Imagining Argentina”
Colorado	Alexis Smith, Greeley, to Lemony Snicket, “A Series of Unfortunate Events”	Paul Hamilton-Pennell, Denver, to Charles Lindbergh, “The Spirit of St. Louis”	Ian Karonea, Denver, to “Ralph Ellison, The Invisible” Man
Connecticut	Manuela Silvestre, Rocky Hill, to Pam Muñoz Ryan, “Esperanza Rising”	** Mary-Caitlin Harding, Brookfield, to Hans Christian Andersen,“ The Little Match Girl”	Brendan Stumpf, Bethel, to Ansel Adams, “The Negative”
Delaware	Shauna Kaufman, Dagsboro, to Shel Silverstein, “Where the Sidewalk Ends”	James Campbell, New Castle, to Anne Frank, “The Diary of Anne Frank”	Rebekah Kaplan, Newark, to Judy Blume, “Places I Never Meant to Be”
District of Columbia	Sofonias Haile to R. L. Stine, “The Nightmare Room”	Gretchen Heberling to Jerry Spinelli, “Stargirl”	William Vasquez, to Ben Mikaelsen, “Red Midnight”
Florida	Ali Castro, Boca Raton, to Deborah Ellis, “The Breadwinner”	Leah May, Hollywood, to Pat Frank, “Alas Babylon”	Brianna Grantham, Fort Myers, to Stephen Lawhead, “Song of Albion”
Georgia	Ryan Brush, Emerson, to J. K. Rowling, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone”	Elisabeth P. O'Quinn, Fitzgerald, to Jean Lee Latham, “Carry On, Mr. Bowditch”	Joanna Bove, Atlanta, to Michael Moore, “Stupid White Men”
Hawaii	Hanna Norwicki, Wahiawa, to Eleanor Coerr, “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes”	Lisa Keilani Akoi, Laie, to Gael Mustapha, “The Hula Girl”	Ryan M. Matsumoto, Honolulu, to Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, “Farewell to Manzanar”
Illinois	Julia Quintero, Hinsdale, to Judith Harlan, “Girl Talk”	Danae Alexopoulos, Glenview, to Terry Spencer Hesser, “Kissing Doorknobs”	LaToya Hicks, Chicago, to Mary Monroe, ““God Don't Like Ugly””
Indiana	Ezra Nelson, Indianapolis, to Eleanor Coerr, “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes”	Paul Martin, Carmel, to Gary Paulsen, “Hatchet”	Julian Alcantar, South Bend, to Sandra Cisneros, “The House on Mango Street”
Iowa	Haley Hermanson, Ankeny, to Terry Treseder, “Hear O Israel”	Jonathan Hahn, St. Olaf, to Mark Twain, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”	Lori Cannon, Keokuk, to Alice Sebold, “The Lovely Bones”
Maine	Ann Fagan, Camden, to Roald Dahl, Danny, “Champion of the World”	William Guida, Dennysville, to Erich Maria Remarque, “All Quiet on the Western Front”	Aimee Nielsen, Searsport, to Elie Wiesel, “Night”
Maryland	Garrett A. Brooks, Columbia, to Gary Pualsen, “Hatchet”	Susanna Gaking Cockeysville, to Constance M. Foland, “A Song for Jeffrey”	Kristin Beach, Edgewater, to Dai Sijie, “Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress”
Massachusetts	Brya Sunshine Gross, Bolton, to Anne McCaffrey, “Dragonflight”	Emily Larson, Holliston, to Andrew Clements, “The School Story”	** Gregory Tellier, Westminster, to Valerie Tripp, “Kit Learns a Lesson”
Minnesota	Holly Bolstad, White Bear Lake, to Cat Bauer, “Harley Like a Person”	Muhammad Bilal Islam, Blaine, to Richard Wormser, “American Islam: Growing Up Muslim in America”	Anna Kunin, Plymouth, to George Orwell, “1984”
Missouri	Katie Landolt, Carl Junction, to Joyce Hansen, “I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly”	Kathryn Rainey, Kansas City, to Janet Evanovich, for the Stephanie Plum series	Brett O'Neal, Nixa, to Hermann Hesse,“ Steppenwolf”
Montana	Grace Hegger, Bigfork, to Shel Silverstein, “The Giving Tree”	Morielle Stroethoff, Missoula, to Daniel Keyes, “Flowers for Algernon”	Ashley Nielson, Msla, to Janet Fitch, “White Oleander”
Nebraska	** Jackson D. Fisher, Lincoln, to Carl Hiaasen, “Hoot”	Molly Keran, Lincoln, to Charlotte Bronte, “Jane Eyre”	Philip Thrailkill, North Platte, to F. Herbert, “Dune”
New Hampshire	Samantha Lo, Merrimack, to Candace Goldapper, "Daddy's Girl . . . At Long Last"	Helen H. Aki, Weare, to Tamora Pierce, “Protector of the Small”	Zoe Cannon, Nottingham, to Stephanie Tolan, “Welcome to the Ark”
New Jersey	Robert Liu, Princeton, to S. E. Hinton, “The Outsiders”	Lauren Papotto, Morrestown, to Jerry Spinelli, “Stargirl”	Diana Chien, Holmdel, to Patricia A. McKillip, “Winter Rose”
New Mexico	Bryana Baird, Albuquerque, to J. K. Rowling, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”	Priya Shah, Albuquerque, to Julia Andrews Edwards, “Mandy”	Zachary Manning, Las Cruces, to Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken"
New York	Shannon Barnet, West Babylon, to Caroline B. Cooney, “Freeze Tag”	Cedilla Sachar, Bedford, to Gunter Grass, “The Tin Drum”	Ana Maria Barbas, New City, to Mitch Albom, “Tuesdays with Morrie”
North Carolina	Brittany Tuttle, Asheboro, to Stewart and Polly Anne Graff, “Helen Keller, Crusader for the Blind and Deaf”	** Adam Jackson, Mooresville, to Ben Mikaelsen, “Petey”	Chelsea Jones, Kitty Hawk, to Nicholas Sparks, “A Walk to Remember”
North Dakota	Danae Geiger, St. Anthony, to Ivy Ruckman, “Night of the Twisters”	Alison Weigel, Bismarck, to Max Lucado, “You Are Special”	Nicole Penas, Fargo, to Sinclair Lewis, “Main Street”
Ohio	Lyndon Adanich, Parma, to Judy Donnelly, “A Wall of Names”	Liza Smirnoff, West Chester, to Sharon Creech, “Bloomability”	Rachel Roseberry, Galion, to Madeline L'Engle, “A Wrinkle in Time”
Oklahoma	Kalissa Somers, Oklahoma City, to Katherine Patterson, “The Bridge to Terabithia”	Madison Sandefer, Oklahoma City, to Agatha Christie, “And Then There Were None”	Sarah Richards, Bartlesville, William Cullen Bryant, "The Crowded Street"
Oregon	J. Burns, Lyons, to Phyllis Reynolds, “Shiloh”	Jessie Johnson, West Linn, to Livia Bitton-Jackson, “I Have Lived a Thousand Years”	Kara Ng, Beaverton, to J. D. Salinger,“ The Catcher in the Rye”
Pennsylvania	Meghan Harrison, Gwynedd Valley, to C. S. Lewis, “Perelandra”	Natasha Kumar, Hummelstown, to the Dalai Lama, “Freedom in Exile”	Cory M. Merrill, Milford, to Allen Ginsberg, "Howl"
Rhode Island	** T. J. Cienki, East Greenwich, to Avi, “Crispin: The Cross of Lead”	Jessica Carey, Barrington, to Jane Austen, “Pride and Prejudice”	** Hannah Catabia, Providence, to Erich Maria Remarque, “All Quiet on the Western Front”
South Carolina	Kira O'Neal, Orangeburg, to Robert Coles, “Ruby Bridges”	Jared Uribe-Sullivan, Columbia, to J. R. R. Tolkien, “The Fellowship of the Ring”	Claresa Turner, Newberry, to Maya Angelou, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”
South Dakota	Tarah Voss, Webster, to Dick King-Smith, “Funny Frank”	Kristina Yerigan, Watertown, to Mary Downing Hahn, “The Wind Blows Backward”	Nicholas B. Engstler, Tea, to J. K. Rowling, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”
Tennessee	Sunny Xu, Oak Ridge, to J. K. Rowling, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”	Hannah Shaffer, Memphis, to Mark Mathabane, “Kaffir Boy”	Jenny Hansom, Memphis, to Jack Kerouac, “On the Road”
Texas	Blanca Lopez, Austin to Marie McSwigan, “Snow Treasure”	Caufield Schnug, Austin, to J. D. Salinger, “The Catcher in the Rye”	William Farley, Houston, to Ray Bradbury, “Dandelion Wine”
Utah	Bryan Asco, Logan, to J. R. R. Tolkien, “The Lord of the Rings”	Jennifer Monsen, South Jordan, to David Almond, “Skellig”	Sarah Nicole Milner, Salt Lake City, to Frances Hodgson Burnett, “The Secret Garden”
Virginia	Kelly Mulquin, McLean, to Priscilla Cummings, “Saving Grace”	Lauren Costlow, Vienna, to L. M. Montgomery, “Anne of Green Gables”	Alyssa Jenkins, Norfolk, to Harper Lee, “To Kill a Mockingbird”
West Virginia	Haley Nicole Hurst Hodges, Crumpler, to Kimberly Willis Holt, “My Louisiana Sky”	Carolyn Rose Garcia, Fairmont, to Charlotte Zolotow, “When the Wind Stops”	Jill Meadows, Fayetteville, to Frank McCourt, “Angela's Ashes”
Wisconsin	Anna Stefanic, Stoughton, to Billy Collins, "Creatures" in Nine Horses	Emily Gerrior, Green Bay, to Mitch Albom, “Tuesdays with Morrie”	Kristen Carnahan, Twin Lakes, to Virginia Euwer Wolff,“ True Believer”
Wyoming	Rebecca Thompson, Casper, to Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little “House on the Prairie”	Rebecca Thorsness, Laramie, to Peg Kehret, “My Brother Made Me Do It”	Whitney Lauren Cheek, Diamondville, to Charles De Lint, “Jack of Kinrowan”