« Back to Letters About Literature

2008 Letters About Literature National Winners

See State Winners »

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.

Level I Grades 4-6

Winner Letter Home Town Book Author
 
McKenzie Dent Read McKenzie's letter Puyallup, Washington “Soldier Mom” Alice Mead
Hunter Hastings Read Hunter's letter Springfield, Oregon “Taylor” Lawrence Taylor
Honorable Mention
Michael Hampton Read Michael's letter East Longmeadow, Massachusetts “Three Cups of Tea” Greg Mortenson
Sarah Jenkins Read Sarah's letter Kaunakakai, Hawaii “Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry” Mildred Taylor
Anna Le Read Anna's letter Staten Island, New York “Birdwing” Rafe Martin
Sarah Startz Read Sarah's letter Johnston, Iowa “The Graduation of Jake Moon” Barbara Park

Level II Grades 7-8

Winner Letter Home Town Book Author
 
Anna Rodis Read Anna's letter Farmington, Connecticut “The Listening Walk” Paul Showers
Dana Vigue Letter withheld by request Maine “Meet Kaya” Janet Shaw
Honorable Mention
Micaela Gerhardt Read Micaela's letter Bismarck, North Dakota “Walk Two Moons” Sharon Creech
Daniel Le Read Daniel's letter Great Neck, New York “To Kill a Mockingbird” Harper Lee
Anna Priore Read Anna's letter Kenyon, Minnesota “A Long March Home” Clarence K. Larson
Laura Wang Read Laura's letter Cedar Rapids, Iowa “Harry Potter” J. K. Rowling

Level III Grades 9-12

Winner Letter Home Town Book Author
 
Maggie Tighe Read Maggie's letter Frederick, Maryland “Brave New World” Aldous Huxley
Ayesha Usmani Read Ayesha's letter Memphis, Tennessee “The Joy Luck Club” Amy Tan
Honorable Mention
Marissa Brogger Read Marissa's letter Rumson, New Jersey “The Secret Life of Bees” Sue Monk Kidd
Courtney Hartnett Read Courtney's letter King George, Virginia “Seabiscuit: An American Legend” Laura Hillenbrand
Ryan Heffrin Read Ryan's letter Marblehead, Massachusetts “Nineteen Minutes” Jodi Picoult
Gabrielle Sclafani Read Gabrielle's letter Barrington, Rhode Island “She's Come Undone” Wally Lamb