« Back to Letters About Literature
State Winners Letters About Literature 2006
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.
| State | Level I | Level II | Level III |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Caleb Killough, Madison, to Norton Juster, author of “The Phantom Tollbooth” | April Whisenant, Eva, to J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series | Brent Douglas, Wilsonville, to Ayn Rand, author of “The Fountainhead” |
| Alaska | Emma Marquardt, Dutch Harbor, to Bill Richardson, author of “After Hamelin” | Sophie Wiepking-Brown, Anchorage, to Mark Haddon, author of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” | Brittnay Walters, Kenai, to James Frey, author of “A Million Little Pieces” |
| Arizona | Cadi Sande, Tucson, to Lemony Snicket, author of “The Bad Beginning” | Kelsey Wyman, Yuma, to Iain Lawrence, author of “Ghost Boy” | Iris Lee, Chandler, to Anchee Min, author of “Empress Orchid” |
| Arkansas | Harrison Gooch, Searcy, to Eve Bunting, author of “The Summer of Riley” | Stephanie Lim, Searcy, to Wilson Rawls, author of “Where the Red Fern Grows” | Louise Li, Fayetteville, to Upton Sinclair, author of “The Jungle” |
| California | Troy Just, Westlake, to Katie Couric, author of “The Brand New Kid” | Summer Dowd-Lukesh, Rancho Cucamonga, to Cate Tiernan, author of “Full Circle” | Larkin Grant, Orinda, to Tim O'Brien,author of “The Things They Carried” |
| Colorado | Keric Lamb, Colorado Springs, to Deborah Ellis, author of “The Breadwinner” | Gabe Goodman, Greeley, to all authors | Christina Wyman, Littleton, to Paulo Coelho, author of “The Alchemist” |
| Connecticut | Amy Tomasso, Farmington, to Shannon Hale,author of “The Goose Girl” | ** Sophia Harrington, West Hartford, to Peter Jenkins, author of “Walk Across America” | Lauren Hefferon, Waterbury, to Miguel de Unamuno, author of “San Manuel Bueno, Martir” |
| Delaware | Emily Waddington, Middletown, to Lois Lowry, author of “Number the Stars” | Ivette Planell, New Castle, to Richard Bach, author of “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” | Sean McCracken, Newark, to Edward Laxton, author of “The Famine Ships” |
| District of Columbia | Evan Lassman, Washington, DC, to Gary Paulsen, author of “Hatchet” | Eric Sinclair Jackson, Washington, DC, to Harper Lee, author of “To Kill a Mockingbird” | Antar Tichavakurda, Washington, DC, to Herman Hesse, author of “Siddhartha” |
| Florida | Emmanuel Ireland, Boca Raton, to Elizabeth Yates, author of “Amos Fortune, Free Man” | Chissybil Baulin, Pembroke Pines, to Sharon Draper, author of “Tears of a Tiger” | Katy Monegeau, Jacksonville, to Marya Hornbackher, author of “Wasted” |
| Georgia | Bronte A. Velez, Decatur, to David Pelzer, author of “A Child Called It” | Jihye Choi, Ringgold, to Spencer Johnson, author of “Who Moved My Cheese?” | Amanda Kate Pillatzki, Hampton, to Christopher Paul Curtis, author of “The Watsons Go To Birmingham, 1963” |
| Hawaii | Wai Sam Lao, Honolulu, to Eleanor Coerr, author of “Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes” | Rachel Turner, Haleiwa, to Lemony Snicket, author of “The Bad Beginning” | Nikki Picciotto, Kailua, to Anne Frank, author of “Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl” |
| Idaho | No state prize awarded this year | No state prize awarded this year | No state prize awarded this year |
| Illinois | Annika Sundberg, Lake Zurich, to Jerry Spinelli, author of “Stargirl” | Abby Renner, Ashland, to Ben Mikaelsen, author of “Petey” | Heather Vogt, Sheridan, to J. R. R. Tolkien, author of “The Lord of the Rings” |
| Indiana | Megan Dyer, Bloomington, to Carl Hiaasen, author of “Hoot” | Sunny Huang, Carmel, to Jane Austen, author of “Pride and Prejudice” | Dakota Risner, Rochester, to Walter Dean Myers, author of “Hoops” |
| Iowa | Hannah Soyer, Johnston, to Tamora Pierce, author of the Song of the Lioness series | Isaac Behrens, Cedar Rapids, to Joseph Girzone, author of “Joshua” | Amol Agarwal, Clive, to Chitra Divakaruni, author of “Clothes” |
| Kansas | Jessi Glueck, Leawood, to Esmé Raji Codell, author of “Shara Special” | Anna Petrow, Mission Hills, to Wilson Rawls, author of “Where the Red Fern Grows” | Autumn Myers, Ottawa, to Max Lucado, author of “You Are Special” |
| Kentucky | No state prize awarded this year | No state prize awarded this year | No state prize awarded this year |
| Louisiana | No state prize awarded this year | Amanda Reed, Lafayette, to Alice Sebold, author of “The Lovely Bones” | No state prize awarded this year |
| Maine | Sarah Fitch , North Yarmouth, to Gary Schmidt, author of “Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy” | ** Lacie Craven, Bucks Harbor, to Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, author of “The Yearling” | Beatrice Abbott, Windsor, Robert Frost, author of "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" |
| Maryland | Angela Reeves, Burtonsville, to Megan McDonald, author of “Judy Moody Gets Famous” | Michael Ruzzi, Arnold, to George Orwell, author of “1984” | Verida Jennings Leandre, Laurel, to Maya Angelou, author of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” |
| Massachusetts | Bruno Araujo, Brockton, to David Pelzer, author of “A Child Called It” | Janelle Garcelon, Salisbury, to Elie Wiesel,author of “Night” | Jessenia Gonzalez, Worcester, to Sandra Cisneros, author of “Woman Hollering Creek” |
| Michigan | Ashlyn Schaefer Feige, Gaines, to Gail Carson Levine, author of “Ella Enchanted” | Meagan Photiou, Swartz Creek, to J. K. Rowling, author of “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” | Alexandra Puiu, Troy, to Paulo Coelho, author of “The Alchemist” |
| Minnesota | Melissa Thomey, St. Paul, to Wilson Rawls, author of “Where the Red Fern Grows” | Tucker Everette, Edina, to George Harrar, author of “Parents Wanted” | ** Jeehyun Choi, St. Paul, to Peter Hedges, author of “What's Eating Gilbert Grape” |
| Mississippi | No state prize awarded this year | No state prize awarded this year | No state prize awarded this year |
| Missouri | Franklin McCracken-VanFleet, Chesterfield, to Avi, author of “The Fighting Grounds” | Pari Jafari, Columbia, to Jean Webster, author of “Daddy Long Legs” | Casey Lynette Morrow, Mansfield, to Aldous Huxley, author of “Brave New World” |
| Montana | Devan Fitzpatrick, Big Fork, to Kenneth Thomasma, author of “Pathki Nana” | Hunter Lapp, Kalispell, to C. S. Lewis,author of “The Screwtape Letters” | Christie Hanna, Bozeman, to Mitch Albom, author of “Tuesdays with Morrie” |
| Nebraska | Connor Goecke, Omaha, to Lois Lowry, author of “The Giver” | Ellen Muchling, Lincoln, to Lurlene McDaniel,author of “A Rose for Melinda” | Sallie Dietrich, Lincoln, to Hannah Green, author of “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” |
| Nevada | No state prize awarded this year | No state prize awarded this year | No state prize awarded this year |
| New Hampshire | Isabel Starr, Hollis, to Natalie Babbitt, author of “The Search for Delicious” | Kylee Drugan-Eppich, Madbury, to Jenni Schaefer, author of “Life Without Ed” | Steve Therrien, Exeter, to Rowland Sill, author of "Opportunity" |
| New Jersey | Wesley McLeon, Jersey City, to Linda Sue Park, author of “A Single Shard” | Elizabeth Camuti, Skillman, to Todd Strasser, author of “The Wave” | Kristin Hanratty, Cinnaminson, to Robert Frost, author of "The Road Not Taken" |
| New Mexico | Miles Barkley, Los Alamos, to Dav Pilkey, author of “The Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman” | Zeph Jennings, Roswell, to Norton Juster, author of “The Phantom Tollbooth” | No state prize awarded this year |
| New York | Hanna Bruy, Jericho, to Patricia Riley Giff, author of “Pictures of Holis Woods” | Colby Eisen, Mt. Kisco, to Mark Haddon, author of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime” | Sarah Brenner, New City, to Daniel Keyes, author of “Flowers for Algernon” |
| North Carolina | Danielle Gargano, Matthews, to Beverly Cleary, author of “Ramona Quimby, Age 8” | Danielle Enrique, Mooresville, to Harper Lee, author of “To Kill a Mockingbird” | Austen Stovall, Kill Devil Hills, to Ann Brashares, author of “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” |
| North Dakota | ** Phillip Brockman, Thompson, to Michael Crichton, author of “Sphere” | Mia Barnett, Fargo, to Rodman Philbrick, author of “Freak the Mighty” | Timothy Cooper, Fargo, to Iris Chang, author of “The Rape of Nanking” |
| Ohio | Hallie Davidson, Solon, to Sharon Creech, author of “Walk Two Moons” | Paul Burgess, Minster, to Orson Scott Card, author of “Ender's Game” | Gavin Wandrey, Chagrin Falls, to William Butler Yeats, author of "The Second Coming" |
| Oklahoma | Jessica Shenoi, Tulsa, to E. B. White, author of “Charlotte's Web” | Bryne Harris, Oklahoma City, to Kyoko Mori,author of “Shizuko's Daughter” | Amy Tai, Tulsa, to Jean Plaidy, author of “Queen of this Realm” |
| Oregon | Aubrey Means, Portland, to Ann Rinaldi, author of “A Break with Charity” | Jessie Karlovich, Ashland, to Tamora Pierce, author of “Alanna” | Nick Engelfried, Hillsboro, to Janet Tashjian, author of “The Gospel According to Larry” |
| Pennsylvania | Chris Cox, New Wilmington, to Temple Grandin, author of “Emergence Labeled Autistic” | Jenny Uehling, Glenside, to Jerry Spinelli, author of “Stargirl” | Natasha Kumar, Hummelstown, to Lois Lowry, author of “The Giver” |
| Rhode Island | Matthew DePietro, Johnston, to Chris Van Allsburg, author of “Zathura” | Gabrielle Sclafani, Barrington, to Mitch Albom, author of “Tuesdays with Morrie” | Linh Dang, Cranston, to Sherry Garland, author of “Song of the Buffalo Boy” |
| South Carolina | Daisi Rubi Flores, Prosperity, to Pam Muñoz Ryan, author of “Esperanza Rising” | Haynes Werner, Beaufort, to Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, author of “The Yearling” | Whitley Fulcher, Easley, to Davida Hurwin, author of “A Time for Dancing” |
| South Dakota | Erica Ramstad, Crooks, to Wilson Rawls, author of “Summer of the Monkeys” | Katie Sorenson, Britton, to L. M. Montgomery, author of “Anne of Green Gables” | Alyssa Erickson, Sioux Falls, to Henrik Ibsen, author of “A Doll's House” |
| Tennessee | Molly Tague, Oak Ridge, to Georgia Byng, author of “Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism” | Sarah Noor, Germantown, to Anne Frank, author of “The Diary of Anne Frank” | ** Martha Park, Memphis, to J. D. Salinger, author of “The Catcher in the Rye” |
| Texas | Emily Devereaux, Austin, to C. S. Lewis, author of “The Chronicles of Narnia” | Samantha Abundes, Brownsville, to Gary Paulsen, author of “The Crossing” | Esperanza Cantu, Monte Alto, to J. D. Salinger, author of “The Catcher in the Rye” |
| Utah | Devan Betts, Murray, to Lois Lowry, author of “The Giver” | Breanne Anderson, Lehi, to Mette Ivie Harrison, author of “Mira, Mirror” | Lexie Labertew, Park City, to Deborah Hautzig, author of “Second Star to the Right” |
| Vermont | No state prize awarded this year | No state prize awarded this year | No state prize awarded this year |
| Virginia | Justin Hazelwood, Chesterfield, to Suzanne Moyer, author of “One Brave Heart” | Elizabeth Heifets, Newport News, to Anne Frank, author of “The Diary of Anne Frank” | No state prize awarded this year |
| Washington | Zach Minnerly, Spokane, to Jerry Spinelli, author of “Loser” | Clare Kane, Olympia, to L. M. Montgomery, author of “Anne of Green Gables” | Carly Houser, Camano Island, to Sylvia Plath Hughes, author of “Ariel” |
| West Virginia | Leila Feuchtenberger, Bluefield, to Helen Lester, author of “Tacky” | Bayan Misaghi, Charleston, to Lois Lowry, author of “The Giver” | Mashal Shaikh, Charleston, to Amy Tan, author of “The Joy Luck Club” |
| Wisconsin | Brett W. Tobin, Milwaukee, to Montrew Dunham, author of “Neil Armstrong” | Olivia Wulf, Appleton, to Jodee Bianco, author of “Please Stop Laughing at Me” | Jessica Hjort, Clintonville, to L. M. Montgomery, author of “Anne of Green Gables” |
| Wyoming | ** Britney Titensor, Thayne, to Deborah Ellis, author of “The Breadwinner” | Kristi Mingus, Powell, to Mary Hahn, author of “Daphne's Book” | Greg Luegering, Worland, to David Baldacci, author of “The Simple Truth” |
