Nashua Kindergarten Student Takes Second Place in National PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest

(Durham, August 4, 2010) – Have you ever been teased for having blue feet? Well, Betsy the Blue-Footed Booby has. In Nashua kindergartener Briar Ainscough’s original story, Betsy’s Blue Feet, Betsy handles the teasing gracefully and shows her friends why her blue feet are special. Ainscough’s writing about a sensitive subject and endearing watercolor pictures earned her second place in the kindergarten category of the national PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest. Earlier this spring, the Broad Street Elementary student’s story placed first in the kindergarten category in the New Hampshire Public Television PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest. All of NHPTV’s grade K-3 first-place winners competed in the national PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest. Ainscough’s story was one of 12 national winners selected from more than 25,000 submissions.“When we received the phone call from NHPTV about Briar's first place win in the NHPTV-PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest, we were shocked,” said Michelle Henninger, Ainscough’s mother. “And when we later learned she had placed second nationally, we were stunned! I think Briar’s exact words were ‘Whaaat?? Are you serious? Second place in the whole country?!’ Then a smile spread across her face that stayed there for days!”The art of storytelling runs in Ainscough’s family. Her older sister Eden, a second grader, has been writing and illustrating original stories for years, and received honorable mentions in the annual NHPTV contest over the last three years. The family learned about the writing and illustrating contest at the Nashua Public Library. "The NHPTV-PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest gives kids the chance to express their creativity through writing and art," said Susan Adams, NHPTV Education Manager. "Research shows that writing plays a critical role in the development of literacy skills in children. We surveyed parents and teachers after the contest and 95% report improvement in children's writing skills and an increased interest in writing as a result of the contest."Ainscough’s winning story can be found on the ReadyToLearnReading.org website along with an audio recording of Betsy’s Blue Feet by PBS KIDS GO! character Martha from MARTHA SPEAKS. The PBS Kids GO! Writers Contest website also features Concord first grader Isabella Payne’s story, Perfect in Every (Filthy) Way. She placed first in the first grade entries for the NHPTV-PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest. All of the winning first, second and third place winners from New Hampshire and video of the first place winners reading their stories can be viewed at nhptv.org/kidswrite. The contest is supported locally by New Hampshire Public Television and sponsored by PBS KIDS GO! and WNED-TV Buffalo/Toronto encourages children in grades K-3 to celebrate the power of creating stories and illustrations by submitting their original work. NHPTV was one of 87 public television stations that participated in this year’s contest. Final national entries were selected by a panel of America’s foremost children’s authors, illustrators and content experts, including Ann M. Martin, author of The Baby-sitters Club® series; R.L. Stine, author of the Goosebumps® series; Marc Brown, creator of Arthur; Tony DiTerlizzi, creator of The Spiderwick Chronicles; and Lisa Henson, CEO of The Jim Henson Company. The PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest is a part of PBS KIDS Raising Readers, a national initiative that uses the power of public media to build the reading skills of children ages two to eight, with an emphasis on children from low-income families. The effort is funded by a Ready To Learn grant from the U.S. Department of Education, part of a cooperative agreement with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), PBS and The Ready To Learn Partnership. The NHPTV-PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest is made possible with support from NEA New Hampshire. New Hampshire Public Television Knowledge Network educational services are recognized as a trusted and highly valued resource for outstanding media-rich programs, services, and resources. They promote excellence in teaching and learning for educators, childcare providers, parents, students, and learners of all ages. NHPTV airs more than 55 hours of quality PBS children’s programming each week.

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