NHPTV Announces Winners of 13th Annual Young Writers & Illustrators Contest

Engaging Minds | Connecting Communities | Celebrating New Hampshire

"Hello. My name is Super Kitty. I fight for truth, justice and to stop cat-astrophies." - from "Super Kitty's First Adventure" by Aaron Dustin of Bowdoin, ME, Second Place Winner, Second Grade (DURHAM, April 27, 2007) - Six-legged spiders, naughty brothers and cats with amazing superpowers were among the subjects of winning stories in this year's NHPTV Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest. This year a record 694 stories were submitted to New Hampshire Public Television by children in New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont and beyond. A panel of New Hampshire educators, librarians and community members selected first, second and third place stories from each grade level of the contest. Now in its 13th year, the contest invites children from kindergarten to fifth grade to write and illustrate their own stories and expands upon the mission of the Reading Rainbow television series, encouraging children's love for reading, writing and illustration. Reading Rainbow, hosted by LeVar Burton, airs on NHPTV weekdays @ 2 p.m. "It's a joy to see all of these colorful and inventive entries," said Peter Frid, CEO and General Manager of New Hampshire Public Television. "NHPTV is committed to providing educational programs and activities like this contest that engage young students, encouraging them to express themselves creatively while developing their reading and writing skills." The first place winners in grades K-3 will represent New Hampshire Public Television at the national level, where their stories will be judged with others from public television stations across the country. The first, second, and third place winners in all six grade categories will be recognized at an awards ceremony at the NHPTV Broadcast Center in Durham Saturday June 16th from 10 a.m. - noon. Children's book illustrator Matt Tavares of Ogunquit, Maine, will speak to the contest winners and offer encouragement for their creative endeavors. Tavares' luminous pencil illustrations have earned him the Parents' Choice Gold Award for Jack in the Beanstalk and the New England Independent Booksellers Association Bestsellers List for 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. For more information on Matt Tavares, visit www.matttavares.com The NHPTV Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest is made possible by support from NEA New Hampshire. The winners of the 13th Annual NHPTV Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest wrote and illustrated their stories. A complete list of the NHPTV contest winners, along with their stories and illustrations, is available at www.nhptv.org/kidswrite. FIRST PLACE Kindergarten The Boy's Secret Helper by Adam Dustin, Bowdoin, ME First Grade Let's Look at Jungle Animals by Olivia Marcotte, Berwick, ME Second Grade Samson the Six-Legged Spider by Neelam Sandhu, Bedford, NH Third Grade Catherine's Diary Year: 1863 by Erin Batchelder, Chester, NH Fourth Grade A Week in the Life of a Paper Doll by Brooke Solomon, Wilmont, NH Fifth Grade Riger Plumm Macburl by Kevin Zhang, Westford, MA SECOND PLACE Kindergarten - My Magic Leaf by Graham Weist, Malcolm L. Bell School, Marblehead, MA First Grade - The Naughty Brother by Rette Solomon, Wilmont, NH Second Grade -Super Kitty's First Adventure by Aaron Dustin, Bowdoin, ME Third Grade - Dear Little Fawn by Emily Curry, New Hampton, NH Fourth Grade - Stitch Gets a Job by Hannah Desautels, Raymond, NH Fifth Grade - Thanks to Mr. Rutabaga by Emilia Shipman, New Durham, NH THIRD PLACE Kindergarten - Mouse House by Patrick Mannion, New Boston, NH First Grade - I Love Sweet Music by Francisco Armando Haye III, Brooklyn, NY Second Grade -Stripes the Tiger by Dylan O'Connell, Durham, NH Third Grade - The Not-so-Wild Bear! by Abby Suchocki, Rye, NH Fourth Grade - There is a Time ...The Biography of Ziggy by Eden McInturff, Dunbarton, NH Fifth Grade - The New "Kids" In My Family - by Grace Winslow, Center Barnstead, NH HONORABLE MENTIONS Kindergarten The Lobster Fisherman by Hayden Brown, Brentwood, NH Sometimes It Feels Like by Jaden Carrier, Nashua, NH The Funny Day that Hawk was a Superhero by Tommy Conaton, Bedford, NH The Butterfly by Meegan Cronin, Marblehead, MA The Big Sister by Emma Deiana, Marblehead, MA One Flower by Gabriella Maragh, Peterborough, NH Mr. Coldfeet by Declan Schreiber, Fremont, NH Mr. Jim Saves the Day by Maggie Gossage, Russell Springs, KY First Grade Maple the Leaf Fairy by Kyra Rivest, Merrimack, NH The Hero by Vibishan Wigneswarn, Burlington, MA Friends Forever by Jacynth Abasciano, Hampton, NH There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow by Callan Decew, Tewksbury, MA Ethan's Perfect Birthday at Junkyard Heaven by Ethan Mosedale, Barnet, VT The Day of 100 by Will Brooks, Nashua, NH The Mystery of the Missing Markers by Kaizad A. Irani, Lee, NH Second Grade At The Cabin by Isabel Dawson, Andover, MA Going West by Jonathan Thomas Furlong, Londonderry, NH Molly's Memoirs by Emily Favreau, Manchester, NH The Giant Woke Me Up by Kailey Jane Andrew, Bow, NH The Magic of Teamwork by Brin Catherine Harper, Salem, NH The Polygonal Dream by Chase Mercier, Boscawen, NH The Tricky Toucan by Namratha Sajeev, Nashua, NH Third Grade Friendship by Emma Larson, Madbury, NH Gingerbread by Ariel Wiegand, Merrimack, NH It's Now Fun by Moriah McInturff, Dunbarton, NH John's Great Adventure by Shane Dube, Sandown, NH My Collection of Rhymes by Juliana Gamba, Nashua, NH Season Changes by Dominic DiPalermo, Fremont, NH Something's Changed by Talisee Carpenter, Alton, NH Supersonic Sarah and the Evil Artificial Peach Plague by Ruth Ballard, Littleton, MA The Lonely Pumpkin by Taylor Fortin, Gorham, NH The Old Man On Off The Mountain by Shannon K. Benson, Bow, NH Torin the Timid by Torin Hicks, Keene, NH Fourth Grade Behind the Brambles by Carina Ohlen, North Hampton, NH Betty the Storyteller by Olivia Dodd, Dunbarton, NH Blue Moon by Tina Rocco, North Hampton, NH How the Deer Got Their Antlers by Keeren Chung, Bedford, NH Max and the Triathlon by Karam Sandhu, Bedford, NH The Accidental Hero by Acacia Welsford, Raymond, NH The Endangered Species of New Hampshire by Jaden Dalton, Bethlehem, NH The Science of Hugs by Emily N. Rentz, Milford, NH Fifth Grade Holding On by Molly Shoer, Portsmouth, NH Resurrection on the Eiffel Tower by Christina Elaine Guessferd, Hudson, NH The Day I Bought My Electric Guitar and Amp by Lara Dienemann, Portsmouth, NH The Stone Man Allyson Stillman, Portsmouth, NH The Wapapongs by Caroline Consoli, Manchester, NH Typical by Lauren Magan, Epsom, NH Why the Water Falls by Zoë Autumn Joy Grenier, Manchester, NH

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