Voting for the first annual Grandparent’s Day writing contest is over. Before I reveal the winners, I would like to thank all the creative writers who participated in the contest.
Also, a big thank you to Mercer Mayer for donating an autographed copy of “Grandma, Grandpa, and Me.” Much gratitude to Laurie Jacobs for donating a signed copy of “Silly Frilly Grandma Tillie.” My deepest appreciation to the hundreds of people who took time to stop by our blogs, read the stories and vote. Without you, I would have had some very tough decisions to make. If you haven’t read the stories and would like to, click here.
To those of you who are grandparents, I wish you all an early HAPPY GRANDPARENT’S DAY!
This contest was so much fun that I plan to make it an annual event. And now, here are the winners. . . .
FIRST PLACE
“An Ocean Apart, Near by Heart” by Maria A. Velardocchia
Maria has won the following: $25 Amazon gift card, plus a signed copy of “Butterfly Kisses for Grandma and Grandpa” and a highly detailed picture book manuscript critique from me.
SECOND PLACE
“Grandma, Can You Guess How Special You Are?” by Kristina (Senese) Johnson
Kristina has won the following: One highly detailed picture book manuscript critique from me plus a signed copy of “Butterfly Kisses for Grandma and Grandpa.”
THIRD PLACE
“Vacation Sport” by Donna Sadd
Donna has won the following: A signed copy of Laurie Jacobs’s picture book, illustrated by Anne Jewett, “Silly Frilly Grandma Tillie” and a signed copy of “Butterfly Kisses for Grandma and Grandpa.”
BONUS PRIZE
All contest participants were included in a drawing for the chance to win a signed copy of Mercer Mayer’s “Grandma, Grandpa, and Me.” The winner is . . . Sally Phillips!
HONORABLE MENTION
Thank you to the other finalists for your participation. Your stories helped make this contest touching and fun. I hope you will join us again next year.
“Where’s My Grammy?” by Sally Phillips
“ Messages” by Linda Schueler
“I Hate Grandparent’s Day” by Helen Velikans
HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZES
Please contact me via the contact tab at the top of the blog page. I will need your address to send the prizes and your email address so we can discuss the critique.
Lucky for Sophie and Chloe, Grandma Tillie knows how to royally entertain her grandchildren. To their delight, whenever Grandma Tillie babysits, she seems to disappear, only to be replaced by a parade of lovable characters. There’s Tillie Vanilly with the bright pink hair, star of The Tillie Vanilly Show, who loves to tell jokes and dance the conga; Chef Silly Tillie with the lampshade hat who offers up a dinner of Worm Chili with Glue Gravy; and Madame Frilly Tillie with the sparkly eyeglasses and towel turban, the world’s most creative bath-bubble stylist. Sophie and Chloe wonder who will appear to tuck them into bed: Hiker Hilly Tillie, Explorer Chilly Tillie, or Zoo-lady Gorilly Tillie? To their surprise, it’s the best character of all—just plain Grandma Tillie. Available at Amazon.com.
Little Critter is having a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa’s farm! He’s excited—there is so much to see and do. Join Little Critter as he helps his grandparents milk the cows, pick blueberries, and bake a pie for the contest at the Country Fair. There are many delicious pies in the contest, but Little Critter’s pie has a secret ingredient that is sure to make it a favorite! Available at Amazon.com among other places.
Emily loves to visit Grandma and Grandpa. Like most grandchildren, she is showered with affection and enjoys the freedom to eat sweets, stay up late, and help Grandma in the garden. But when Emily’s visit with her grandparents ends, she’s saddened by thoughts of missing them. To comfort her, Grandma gives Emily a book that teaches her to use her imagination, memory, and natural surroundings to help her feel close when they are apart. In a surprising role reversal, Emily comforts Grandma by sharing her own secrets for staying close. Great Grandparent’s Day gift for long-distance grandparents who miss their grandchildren. Available at Amazon.com among other places.
Alayne Kay Christian 
Alayne…this was a super cool contest with AWESOME prizes…next year you can definitely count me in!!!!
Congrats to the winners and participants…and to grandparents and grandchildren EVERYWHERE! Those relationships are precious…if you don’t have grandchildren, ‘adopt’ some kids who don’t have grandparents. 🙂 At the end of this month, we are moving 2000 miles so we can be closer to our almost-five-year-old grandson!
Thank you for your constant support, Vivian. I am thrilled that you will soon be living near your grandson. What a thrill it will be for you and him. You are right, there is absolutely nothing like being a grandparent.
🙂
Oh boy, I’m thrilled–two signed picture books by two wonderful authors! I can’t wait to read to read them!
Thank you for hosting this super writing challenge, Alayne. It’s great to know that the Grandparents Day Writing Contest will be an annual event and I’m marking my calendar now.
Cheers and congratulations to Maria, Kristina, Sally, Linda and Helen! I loved your stories. :0)
Congratulations! I’ll be emailing you soon, Donna. So glad you had fun with this. Thank you for letting so many people know about the contest.
Hi, Alayne,
Wow! This is great news! I just got home from out of town, checked my email, and saw this post from you! This was the first writing contest I’ve entered and the theme you presented was wonderful. I enjoyed writing this story as I embark on a new chapter in my life.
You asked for contact info; here it is:
I thank you so much! You are an inspiration!
Respectfully,
Maria
Congratulations, Maria! It has been fun. I modified your post and deleted your personal info, because this site is public. I am thrilled that you had a good time with the contest and that you are feeling inspired. I will be in touch with you via email very soon.
Hello Alayne: I just got home from a “family” outing for the holiday weekend and yay! I’m so excited I had won something! I’m very happy and humbled to receive your Butterfly Kisses! I too am new on this journey of wanting to write for children. I’ve had the passion and the dream for many years and life has presented the opportunity to me in the last couple of years. I first started with taking the course at the Children’s Institute of LIterature. What a fun course! Now, I’m looking for more courses I can take to help me in the field. I’m am grateful to be amongst the rest of these woman, Maria, Donna, Sally, Linda and Helen! They had such wonderful heartwarming stories and fun stories! I loved reading every one of them! I love your blog and look forward to next year’s contest! : ) Thank you again, for such a fun contest! Best of luck to the rest of the woman, I look forward to seeing their picture book in print one day.
Kristina, You might already know this but I attended the Institute of Children’s Literature too. I got a lot more out of the advanced course than the original one. That might be because I requested an experienced picture book writer as my instructor. I am glad that you had fun and congratulations on being a winner! I will be in touch very soon. In my next blog post, coming soon, I will also be posting some picture book courses that you might be interested in.
Congratulations to all the winners. It was fun and a great experience. Now we all have new stories to be proud of, they were all wonderful! The prizes were definitely awesome! Thanks for all your effort Alayne! And thanks to my fellow contestants, I look forward to seeing your stories in print!
Congratulations to you Sally for creating a fun story and winning the bonus prize. I will be sending your autographed copy of Mercer Mayer’s book soon.
[…] « AND THE WINNER IS . . . […]
Congratulations to all the winners! The contest was very inspiring. I loved creating my story and reading everyone else’s.Thanks for hosting the competition.
It was my pleasure to host it. Thank you so much for joining in the fun. I hope you will participate again next year, Linda. And I hope you will keep writing.
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