2010 LAL Winners

Congratulations to our 2010 winners!

Level 1 winner Nimai Agarwal, The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
Individual Entry

Dear Kate DiCamillo,

Who am I? I am a ten-year-old boy who is 4' 2". I am a freakishly small creature. All my friends are way taller than me. One of them is even 5' 9". I have always thought that tall people are superior because they take up more space in a room.

Once, while walking around with my friends, one of them sneered, "You're so small. Look! Your head only comes up to my chest." His comment shamed me. I didn't know what to say. I looked down at my feet, my pride crushed, and felt humiliated. My friend kept on making a fuss about my height. His teasing deeply affected me, and still flashes through my mind.

One day, my mom and I were discussing my height and how I could overcome my insecurity. She showed me a list of great people who were short, but this didn't really change how I felt. It is one thing to understand something intellectually, yet another to be convinced about it in your heart.

Then one day, when we went to the library, my mom said she had found a book I might like. I went into the J-K section and found myself staring right into a Newbery Medal. My first instinct was, "oh no". I have always had a fear of award winning books. I thought such books were too "educational" and "boring". I couldn't even pronounce the name.

After a lot of resistance, I finally gave in to my mother's insistence, and took the book home, along with a pile of other books of my own choosing. After I had read all my other books about a thousand times, I reluctantly picked up The Tale of Despereaux. Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. I was addicted!

I saw Despereaux in me -- the way he was never liked any of his mice friends, and how his friends made sure he remembered it. Even though he was so small -- small even by mouse standards -- he did greater things than even his absolutely "normal" peers.

Despereaux showed me to go beyond what is normal, to a whole new spectrum. For the mice, hunting for crumbs and scampering around were standard activities, but Despereaux had little interest in them. He liked to read, listen to music, and save princesses. Because of this "weirdness," as the mice saw it, everyone became happy. The mice were given freedom to roam the palace, the princess was rescued from the dungeon, and the king was overjoyed.

After reading Despereaux, I felt as if a burden had been lifted from my shoulders. I felt I could achieve my dreams and ambitions, even though I am short, and make everyone, including myself, happy.

I can't thank you enough, Kate, for writing this book. It has changed my life.

Sincerely,
Nimai Agarwal

Level 2 winner Claire Wang, The Bridge to Terabithia by Katerine Paterson
Individual Entry

Dear Katherine Paterson,

What brings two completely different people together and creates a lasting bond between them? In what way does it change their lives forever? To me, a friendship seemed useless and superficial. I believed that something or someone will always break it and destroy it. Erase it with no trace at all. When my family moved back to Beijing, I lost some of my best friends. Years worth of friendship was broken in a matter of minutes. I became bitter and cautious to any potential companions. In a Chinese public school, I was known as the "tall thin Chinese-American girl who has no feelings at all." However, I was indifferent to the gossip around me. The hurtful gossip further proved my point.

Thankfully, my parents transferred me to a bilingual private -- school. Slowly, but surely, I became attached to some of the people there. In that group of people was a girl named Vicky. Her attitude and characteristics was similar to your character, "Leslie Burke". Bright and lively. Bold and somewhat rebellious. We helped each other's struggles. She was a leader and I was a follower. Regardless of our completely different personality, Vicky and I were soon fast friends. Although my parents started to home school me, things remained the same between us. I thought that I would always see her again. One cloudy day, someone told me the shocking news, "Vicky is dead." I felt stunned and helpless that entire day. A car accident took away her bright life. Again, a perfect friendship was destroyed in a matter of minutes. Again, I became bitter. Never again should I ever rely on friendship. Never again should I have a close friend. I repeated the promises to myself almost every night.

As books are one of my escapes from the real world, I picked up the book, Bridge to Terabithia from my dusty bookshelf. Although I had read Bridge to Terabithia before, I felt something different this time. I understood Jess Aaron's feelings before Leslie came into his life. I smiled at the adventure Jess and Leslie had in their magical world of Terabithia. I thought that their perfect friendship will go on forever. I was shocked when Brenda told Jess that Leslie is dead. That part was like a clear reflection of my present situation. However, I was curious to see how Jess reacted to this event. When I finished your book, I knew immediately what to do. Just like Jess who passed down the valuable lessons Leslie taught him, I will try to do the same. I will remember how Vicky impacted others through her cheerful, creative spirit and strong leadership. Instead of being timid and shy, I will try to help others with my leadership and smile to pass down the gift Vicky left me. I used to think that death marks an ending. However, now I know that it also marks a new beginning, for a new friendship. Thank you so much for teaching me this valuable lesson through your book. Thank you for making me understand how God intended friendship to be.

Sincerely,
Claire Wang

Level 3 winner Carson Wigley, Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
Worchester Preparatory School

Dear Ms. Patricia Polacco,

When I was much younger, your book, Thank You, Mr. Falker, was given to me as a gift from my aunt, who is a teacher. I would sit on the couch with my mother as she read your book to me, not knowing that it would have personal meaning in my life years later. In your book, you shared your personal story of how you endured the struggle of growing up wondering what was wrong with your reading and why you seemed different from the rest of your classmates. Although it is a children's book, I can relate to it more now than ever before.

Ever since I was in elementary school, I despised reading out loud. I would listen to how all of my classmates read through stories with quickness and fluency, sounding out words and comprehending their readings. I was different. I was always embarrassed to read out loud for fear that the other students would laugh at my pronunciation of words and my lack of fluency while reading stories. I thought that if I looked down at my text, instead of at the teacher, maybe I wouldn't be called on to read. As every student advanced in reading, I felt as if I hit a plateau and never improved as much. At some point, I felt isolated and alone just as you did. I was unable to sound out words phonetically, and would normally memorize how a word was pronounced rather than sounding it out. I was frustrated and never understood why I could not read as well as the other students.

I went through all of elementary school, middle school, and half of high school before I was tested for a learning disability. I was never examined before high school because all of my teachers thought that since I had A's on my report card; nothing could be wrong with me, but I felt different. I was eager to learn, but self-conscious about my reading. It was not until the middle of my sophomore year that I was diagnosed with dyslexia.

Once I was diagnosed, I felt relieved in some way to finally understand why I was different from the other students. I didn't feel stupid anymore for not reading as swiftly as my classmates and I felt as if the question of why I read differently had been answered.

I can personally relate to your struggle with reading; not only in elementary school, but in high school as well. Spanish was the class I dreaded the most. Not because I wasn't interested in the language, but because of all the new words and different syllable pronunciations. We always read aloud in Spanish class, and I would often use the excuse of going to the bathroom to avoid my turn for reading. It was embarrassing to read orally because I mispronounced words. Even though I laughed about my mispronunciations, I would think about my reading mistakes for the rest of the day.

Mr. Falker was your pathway to the world of reading. He understood that you processed words differently, and instead of just recognizing this difference, he helped you overcome dyslexia. I never had a Mr. Falker, but discovering I was dyslexic helped me understand the reason I read differently than my classmates and I have embraced my dyslexia rather than being ashamed of it. I am being tutored for dyslexia and I have improved my phonetic accuracy. I have accepted the challenge of both AP English and AP History this year. In some ways Ms. Polacco, you are my Mr. Falker. Even though I have never met you, you have shown me that I am not the only person who has struggled with a reading difference. You have taught me that there is always a way to compensate and conquer any obstacle and I am forever grateful. I would just like to say thank you for touching my life. You have taught me that instead of cowering away from a disability, it can be embraced and that greatness can be achieved.

Sincerely,
Carson Wigley

For a complete list of 2010 winners, click here.