Alaska State winners for each level are:

Winners

Level I (grades 4-6)

Adam Miller, grade 6, Family Partnership Charter School, Anchorage (writing to Theodora Kroeber, author of Ishi, Last of His Tribe)

Level II (grades 7 & 8)

Shana Reichlin, grade 7, Girdwood Junior High School, Girdwood (writing to Deborah Ellis, author of The Breadwinner)

Level III (grades 9-12)

Allison Strom, grade 10, Chugiak High School, Eagle River (writing to Anne McCaffrey, author of Dragonsong)

The top state winners each receive cash awards of $100 and $50 credit on target.com.

Runners Up

Level I (grades 4-6)

Amber Rea, grade 6, Mt. Spurr Elementary, Anchorage (writing to Alice Mead, author of Soldier Mom)

Level II (grades 7 & 8)

Lindsay Murphy, grade 7, Gruening Middle School, Eagle River (writing to Sharon Creech, author of Walk Two Moons)

Level III (grades 9-12)

Holly Janka, grade 12, Cordova Jr./Sr. High School, Cordova (writing to Salman Rushdie, author of The Ground Beneath Her Feet)

Honorable Mentions

Level I (grades 4-6)

Chloe Miller, grade 6, Family Partnership Charter School, Anchorage (writing to Jerry Spinelli, author of Stargirl)

Level II (grades 7 & 8)

Mandy Pershing, grade 7, Teeland Middle School, Wasilla (writing to Susan Fletcher, author of Shadow Spinner)

Dylan Troisi, grade 7, Teeland Middle School, Wasilla (writing to Jean Craighead George, author of My Side of the Mountain)

Level III (grades 9-12)

Brittany Buchi, grade 11, homeschool, Anchorage (writing to Louisa May Alcott, author of The Inheritance)

Erick Reitz, grade 10, Chugiak High School, Eagle River (writing to Dan Brown, author of The DaVinci Code)

Krystyna Minus, grade 9, Ben Eielson High School, Eielson Air Force Base (writing to Melba Pattillo Beals, author of Warriors Don’t Cry: a searing memoir of the battle to integrate Little Rock’s Central High)