State Winners Letters About Literature 2011
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.
Yellow indicates a national winner Green indicates a national honor winner
| State | Level I | Level II | Level III |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Ellie Guyader, Birmingham, grade 5, wrote to Michelle Zink, author of The Prophecy of the Sisters | Gabrielle Aboki, Montgomery, grade 8, wrote to Langston Hughes, author of the poem “A Dream Deferred” | Mary Locker, Florence, grade 12, wrote to Ernest Hemingway, author of The Old Man and the Sea |
| Alaska | Brian Conwell, Unalaska, grade 5, wrote to Walter Dean Myers, author of The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins | Adrienne Sypeck, Juneau, grade 8, wrote to Jim Butcher, author of The Furies of Calderon | Kelsey Colclough, Anchorage, grade 11, wrote to Ned Vizzini, author of It’s Kind of a Funny Story |
| Arizona Permission pending L 2 |
Alec Smith, Mesa, grade 5, wrote to Wendy Mass, author of Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life | Name withheld pending permission, Chandler, grade 7, wrote to Shana Norris, author of Troy High | Ashlee BeGell, Mesa, grade 9, wrote to J. M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan |
| Arkansas | Taylor Mathews, Searcy, grade 6, wrote to Erin Hunter, author of Into the Wild | Jordan Skabronski, Searcy, grade 7, wrote to Jordan Sonnenblick, author of Zen and the Art of Faking It | Savanna George, Searcy, grade 9, wrote to Sarah Dessen, author of Just Listen |
| California | Alexis Saenz, Santa Monica, grade 4, wrote to Roberta John, author of Proud to Be a Blacksheep | Aric MacDavid, Mountain View, grade 7, wrote to James Howe, author of The Misfits | Akash Kar, Saratoga, grade 11, wrote to Jhumpa Lahiri, author of The Namesake |
| Colorado Permission pending 2 & 3 |
Margot Lurie, Denver, grade 6, wrote to Jay Asher, author of Thirteen Reasons Why | Name withheld pending permission, Boulder, grader 8, wrote to John Green, author of Looking for Alaska | Name withheld pending permission, Lafayette, grade 12, wrote to T. S. Eliot, author of the poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” |
| Connecticut | Tessora Chang, Hartford, grade 5, wrote to Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club | Christian Lusardi, Hartford, grade 8, wrote to George Selden, author of The Cricket in Times Square | Eliza Llewellyn, Westport, grade 9, wrote to Todd Strasser, author of If I Grow Up |
| Delaware | Ariana Acosta, Bear, grade 6, wrote to S. E. Hinton, author of The Outsiders | Aaron Jennings, Bear, grade 8, wrote to Margaret Peterson Haddix, author of Among the Imposters | Catherine Getz, Georgetown, grade 9, wrote to Jandy Nelson, author of The Sky Is Everywhere |
| District of Columbia | Clara Molot, District of Columbia, grade 6, wrote to Wendy Mass, author of A Mango Shaped Space | DeSean Bonner, Gaithersburg MD, grade 8, wrote to Paul Laurence Dunbar, author of Sympathy | Anthony Victor Clark, District of Columbia, grade 11, wrote to Margaret Atwood, author of Oryx and Crake |
| Florida | Ryan Kasak, Lake City, grade 6, wrote to Gary Paulsen, author of Brian’s Return | Diane Lee, Tampa, grade 7, wrote to Sherman Alexie, author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian | Fabiola Urdaneta, Biscayne, grade 11, wrote to Sylvia Plath, author of The Bell Jar |
| Georgia | Avery Herman, Atlanta, grade 6, wrote to Jeanne Birdsall, author of The Penderwicks | Matthew L. Ingram, Stone Mountain, grade 7, wrote to Ben Mickelsen, author of Petey | Ian Dawkins, Athens, grade 9, wrote to Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games |
| Hawaii Permissions Pending all levels |
Name withheld pending permission, Waikoloa,, grade 4, wrote to Richard and Florence Atwater, authors of Mr. Poppers’ Penquins | Name withheld pending permission,, Kailua, grade 8, wrote to Gary Paulsen, author of Hatchet | Name withheld pending permission,, Honolulu, grade 9, wrote to Pearl S. Buck, author of The Good Earth |
| Idaho | Koby Jargstorf, Meridian, grade 6, wrote to Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games | Dillon Awes, Boise, grade 8, wrote to Rick Riordan, author of The Lightning Thief | Rosa Wolf, Boise, grade 11, wrote to Barbara Kingsolver, author of The Bean Trees |
| Illinois | Conrad Oberhaus, Lincolnshire, grade 5, wrote to Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe | Naasir Haleem, Naperville, grade 7, wrote to Mark Pfetzer, author of Within Reach | Stacie Cler, Bloomington, grade 12, wrote to Helen Siiteri, author of The Adventures of Nicholas |
| Indiana | Dominic Rossi, Zionsville, grade 6, wrote to Michael Pollen, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma Young Reader's Edition | Evelin Araiaza, Clarksville, TN, grade 7, wrote to Margaret Peterson Haddix, author of Because of Anya | Hannah Chalmers, Crawfordsville, grade 9, wrote to Virginia Lee Burton, author of Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel |
| Iowa | Juliana Osgood, Marshalltown, grade 6, wrote to Patricia MacLachlan, author of Edward’s Eyes | Claire Eide, Des Moines, grade 8, wrote to Drayton Mayrant, author of Courage is Not Given | Amy Dew, Muscatine, grade 12, wrote to Ishmael Beah, author of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier |
| Kansas | Romila Santra, Overland Park, grade 5, wrote to Cynthia Lord, author of Rules | Riley Brennan, Overland Park, grade 8, wrote to Elie Wiesel, author of Night | Robert Ludwig, Beloit, grade 12, wrote to Richard Peck, author of A Day No Pigs Would Die |
| Kentucky | Sarah Koljaka, Louisville, grade 5, wrote to J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series | Isabella Campbell, Louisville, grade 8, wrote to Betty Smith, author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn | Michael Kamer, Lexington, grade 11, wrote to Elie Wiesel, author of Night |
| Louisiana | Allison Walters, Metairie, grade 6, wrote to Christopher Paul Curtis, author of The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963 | Michael Elliot, Lake Charles, grade 8, wrote to Dr. Seuss, author of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish | Dillion Hutson, Destrehan, grade 10, wrote to John Green, author of Looking for Alaska |
| Maine | Charlie Budd, Bangor, grade 5, wrote to Christopher Paul Curtis, author of Elijah of Buxton | Libby O’Brien, Cape Elizabeth, grade 8, wrote to Lois Lowry, author of Number the Stars | Kirsten Page, Scarborough, grade 10, wrote to Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea |
| Maryland | Melina George, Towson, grade 6, wrote to Beverly Cleary, author of Ramona the Pest | Jordan Cook, Bel Air, grade 8, wrote to Rick Riordan author of The Lightning Thief | Rebecca Thayer, Cumberland, grade 12, wrote to Marjane Satrapi, author of Persepolis |
| Massachusetts | Maryam Salah, Shrewsbury, grade 6, wrote to Jerry Spinelli author of Maniac McGee | Shane Godek, Metheun, grade 8, wrote to Dustin Pedroia, author of Born to Play | Marcus Chiaretto, Pittsfield, grade 12, wrote to Shel Silverstein, author of The Giving Tree |
| Michigan | David Carpenter, Clarkston, grade 6, wrote to Louis Sachar, author of Holes | Heather Wiggins, Kalamazoo, grade 8, wrote to Sara Holbrook, author of Finals | Ashli Bynum, Ada, grade 12, wrote to Marge Piercy, author of Barbie Doll |
| Minnesota | Nicholas Behrens, Falcon Heights, Grade 6, wrote to Debra Frasier, author of On the Day You Were Born | Solomon Polansky, Minnetonka, grade 8, wrote to Daniel Keyes, author of Flowers for Algernon | Tyler Sturos, St. Michael, grade 12, wrote to Ken Hada, author of “That Evening” |
| Mississippi | Joey Kauppi, Gautier, grade 5, wrote to Margaret Peterson Haddix, author of Shadow Children | Reveena K. Makkar, Jackson, grade 8, wrote to Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird | Elizabeth Wiggs, Houston, grade 12, wrote to Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of Anne of Avonlea |
| Missouri | Samantha Trout, Jefferson City, grade 6, wrote to Mildred Taylor, author of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry | Allura Jones, Neosho, grade 8, wrote to Jodi Picoult, author of House Rules | Vanessa Perou, St. Louis, grade 11, wrote to Sharon Draper, author of Copper Sun |
| Montana | Tristan Tudor, Seeley Lake, grade 6, wrote to Lisa Graff, author of Umbrella Summer | Erin Dringman, Big Timber, grade 7, wrote to Rebecca Wells, author of The Crowning Glory of Cala Lily Ponder | Christian Smoker, Poplar, grade 12, wrote to Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, author of “World in Hounding Me” |
| Nebraska | Grace Doll, Lincoln, grade 6, wrote to Willa Cather, author of My Antonia | Meagan Brookhauser, Omaha, grade 8, wrote to Jeanette Walls, author of The Glass Castle | Arash Hamidi, Omaha, grade 10, wrote to Gene Luen Yang, Author of American-Born Chinese |
| Nevada | Caroline Liu, La Vegas, grade 6, wrote to Elizabeth George Speare, author of The Witch of Blackbird Pond | Austin Ripley, Las Vegas, grade 8, wrote to Eli Wiesel, author of Night | Shelby Ence, Minden, grade 9, wrote to J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series |
| New Hampshire | Drew L. Stetson, Stratham, grade 5, wrote to Robert Frost about his seasonal poems | Erin Choate, Lisbon, grade 7, wrote to Dave Pelzer, author of A Child Called ‘It’ | Jake Tinkham, Gilford grade 12, wrote to Brian Jacques, author of the Redwall Series |
| New Jersey | Ben Carson, Lumberton, grade 4, wrote to Ben Carson, author of Ben Carson | Emma Burns, Moorestown, grade 8, wrote to Judee Blanco, author of Please Stop Laughing at Me | Daeun Kim, Old Tappan, grade 11, wrote to Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner |
| New Mexico | Elizabeth Walztoni, Lmay, grade 6, wrote to Pablo Nerudo, author of the poem “Shyness” | Stephanie Torres, Albuquerque, grade 8, wrote to Anne Frank, author of The Diary of Anne Frank | Daeun Kim, Old Tappan, grade 11, wrote to Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner |
| New York | Michael Ferdinand, West Babylon, grade 6, wrote to Martin Luther King, Jr., author of “I Have a Dream” | Alexandra Kung, Chappaqua, grade 8, wrote to Serena Williams, author of On the Line | Alexandra Saali, New York, grade 11, wrote to Barbara Kingsolver, author of The Poisonwood Bible |
| North Carolina | Joey Johnson, Raleigh, grade 5, wrote to J. K. Rowling, author of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. | Janet Snow, Elkin, grade 8, wrote to Susan Cooper, author of Over Sea, Under Stone. | Sydney Smith, grade 12, Salisbury, wrote to Stephen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. |
| North Dakota | MaKayla M. Finlinson, West Fargo, grade 6, wrote to Elissa Weissman, author of Standing for Socks | Sedalia D. Mahlum, city to come, grade 7, wrote to Cynthia Kadohata, author of Kira-Kira | Marie Freije, Mondan, grade 10, wrote to Rick Yancey, author of Monstronologist |
| Ohio | Alexis Hughes, Bay Village, grade 6, wrote to Lois Lowry, author of Number the Stars | Sarah Cantley, Milan, grade 8, wrote to Barbara Park, author of the Junie B. Jones series | Mekeala Riley, Gahanna, grade 11, wrote to Koren Zailckas, author of Smashed, Story of a Drunken Girlhood |
| Oklahoma | Morgan Allison, Tulsa, grade 6, wrote to Kate DiCamillo, author of The Tale of Despereaux | Hadyn Kirkpatrick, Edmond, grade 8, wrote to Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451 | Jessy Walton, Washington, grade 12, wrote to Barry Peterson, author of Jan’s Story |
| Oregon | Rachel Barnhart, Coburg, grade 6, wrote to Lisa Graff, author of Umbrella Summer | Kayle Kelso, Vale, grade 8, wrote to Jay Asher, author of Thirteen Reasons Why | Allison Zhou, Portland, grade 9, wrote to Ayn Rand, author of Anthem |
| Pennsylvania | Nicole Baldy, Murrysville, grade 6, wrote to Cynthia Lord, author of Rules | May Wang, Holland, grade 7, wrote to Jiang Ji Li, author of The Red Scarf Girl | Katie Wingert, Lebanon, grade 9, wrote to Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of The Long Winter |
| Rhode Island | Isobel M. McCullough, Wakefield, grade 6, wrote to M. T. Anderson, author of Feed | Jessica Bellows, Hope, grade 8, wrote to Scott Westerfeld, author of Uglies | Grace Perkins, Portsmouth, grade 12, wrote to Paulo Coehlo, author of The Alchemist |
| South Carolina | Ellie Fuller, North Augusta, grade 5, wrote to Michael Buckley, author of The Sisters Grimm | Dan Freeman, Greer, grade 8, wrote to Pierre Haski, author of The Diary of Ma Yan | Creighton Boggs, Columbia, grade 11, wrote to J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series |
| South Dakota | No state winners selected this year |
Ellie Stevenson, Hayti, wrote to Barbara Park, author of Junie. B. Hones and the Stupid Smelly Bus | Neal Digre, Brookings, grade 11, wrote to T. H. White, author of The Once and Future King |
| Tennessee | Name withheld pending permission, Memphis, grade 4, wrote to Connie McIntyre, author of Flowers for Grandpa Dan | Taylor Saling, Murfreesboro, grade 8, wrote to Jay Asher, author of Thirteen Reasons Why | Namchi Do, Memphis, grade 11, wrote to Jodi Picoult, author of My Sister’s Keeper |
| Texas | Hanna Lee, Plano, grade 6, wrote to Tony Abbott, author of Firegirl | Laney Morris, Flower Mound, grade 7, wrote to Corrie ten Boom, author of The Hiding Place | Jada Brown, grade 10, Flower Mound, wrote to the unknown author of the poem “What If I Am a Black Woman?” |
| US Virgin Islands | Name withheld pending permission , Kingshill, St. Croix, grade 6, wrote to Ralph Fletcher, author of Flying Solo | Anayah Ferris, Kingshille, St. Croix, grade 8, wrote to Stephanie Meyer, author of Eclipse | No winner selected this year |
| Utah | Sierra Eyre, Murray, grade 6, wrote to Blaine Yorgasen, author of Charlie’s Monument | Christi Kim, Sandy, grade 8, wrote to An Na, author of The Fold | Erik Daniel Silsby, Ogden, grade 11, wrote to Jeff Scott Savage, author of Far World: Water Keep |
| Vermont | No winner selected this year |
No winner selected this year |
No winner selected this year |
| Virginia | Alexis Stafford, grade 6, wrote to Jane Maddox, author of Running Rivals | Audrey Wood, Waynesboro, grade 7, wrote to J. M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan | Charlotte Boatner-Doane, Charlottesville, grade 11, wrote to Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of Little House in the Big Woods |
| Washington | McKenna Conlin, Redmond, grade 6, wrote to Sherman Alexie author of The Absolutely True diary of a Part-Time Indian | Abby Bateman, Snoqualmie, grade 7, wrote to Katherine Paterson, author of Bridge to Terabithia | John Kang, Shoreline, grade 11, wrote to Mary Paik Lee, author of Quiet Odyssey: A Pioneer Korean Woman in America |
| West Virginia | Dustin Jarvis, Chapmanville, grade 4, wrote to J. Campbell Bruce, author of The Picture that Thrilled a Nation | Elijah Stull, Grafton, grade 8, wrote to Sharon Draper, author of The Hazelwood Trilogy | Mikalyn Murphy, Charleston, grade 9, wrote to Portia de Rossi, author of Unbearable Lightness |
| Wisconsin Permission Pending L 2 |
Clare Honan, Wauwatosa, grade 6, wrote to Carolyn Meyer, author of In Mozart’s Shadow | Name withheld pending permission, Colgate, grade 8, wrote to Pam Munoz Ryan, author of Esperanza Rising | Erika Ysais, Appleton, grade 12, wrote to Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street |
| Wyoming | Elisha Smith, Cody, grade 6, wrote to Lynda Durrant, author of Beaded Moccasins | Emily Smith, Dubois, grade 8, wrote to Misty Bernall, author of She Said Yes | Sarah Shafer, Big Piney, grade 9, wrote to Martha Finley, author of Elsie Dinsmore |
