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Twelve children have been selected as winners of the national PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest, an initiative designed to promote the advancement of reading skills by encouraging children to develop original stories and illustrations.\u00a0 The winning entries (first, second and third place from grades K-3)\u00a0 for the national-local Contest were chosen from over 25,000 submissions from across the country by a panel of America\u2019s foremost children\u2019s authors, illustrators and content experts including Ann M. Martin, author of The Baby-sitters Club\u00ae series; R.L. Stine, author of the Goosebumps\u00ae series; Marc Brown, creator of Arthur; Tony DiTerlizzi, creator of The Spiderwick Chronicles; and Lisa Henson, CEO of The Jim Henson Company, among others.\u00a0 A complete list of the honorary judges can be viewed here .\n\u00a0
\nThe winning stories can be found on the Contest website, located on ReadyToLearnReading.org, along with audio recordings of beloved PBS KIDS GO! characters from MARTHA SPEAKS, WORD GIRL, and THE ELECTRIC COMPANY reading the winning entries aloud.\u00a0 The website also features interactive writing activities as well as a special message from singer-songwriter and American Idol winner Jordin Sparks about the influence of writing in her life.
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\nThe national winners include:
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\nKindergarten
\n1st – Best Friends in Space, by Brooks Daniel\/WHUT \u2013 Howard University, Washington, DC
\n2nd – Betsy\u2019s Blue Feet, by Briar Ainscough\/New Hampshire Public TV
\n3rd – The Ladybug Doesn\u2019t Find Her Spots, by Farah Isabella Novoa\/KCTS, Seattle, WA
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\nFirst Grade
\n1st – Naughty Gnomes, by Meriah Nicole Fearon\/WTVP 47, Peoria, IL
\n2nd – How to Get Rid of the Shy Bugs, by Andr\u00e9 F. Gomes Lopez\/WXEL – West Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, FL
\n3rd – My Next-Door Neighbors, by Evan Kerr\/HoustonPBS, TX
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\nSecond Grade
\n1st – The Forgotten Shadows, by Michaela Stell\/WHUT \u2013 Howard University, Washington, DC
\n2nd – My Angel Wings, by Filumena Muro\/Milwaukee Public Television
\n3rd – The Cat Who Went to Israel by Mistake, by Jordan Sara Barbour\/Vermont Public Television
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\nThird Grade
\n1st – The Secret Ingredient, by Tatiana Ortiz\/KEDT, Corpus Cristi, TX
\n2nd – DESK: A Totally True Tale of Terror, by Ethan Hansen\/Milwaukee Public Television
\n3rd – The Adventures of Sniffy, Pete and Drono, by Quinn Kribell\/South Dakota Public Broadcasting
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\n\u201cWe are proud that through our partnership with PBS KIDS GO! and PBS stations around the country, we are able to celebrate the success of all of the Contest winners and participants as they explore the importance of literacy and creativity,\u201d said WNED President and CEO Donald K. Boswell.
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\nThe PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest is a part of PBS KIDS Raising Readers, a national initiative which 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"