This Reading Rainbow 14th Annual Young Writers & Illustrators Contest is sponsored by Western New York Public Broadcasting Association (WNED- TV) and Smarterville Productions LLC.
The Contest begins on January 1, 2008 and ends on May 30, 2008. Contact your local PBS station for exact local Contest dates.
Reading Rainbow Contest Information:
Eligibility
· Children in K-5th Grade are eligible for the 14th Annual Reading Rainbow Contest.
Children in K-3rd Grade will advance to the National Competition.
· Children should create their own original stories with illustrations and submit them with a completed “Entry Form” attached to the “Official Rules”.
Text
· Text should be typed or printed legibly. Participants who can not write may dictate their story to an adult, but the story must be the original work of the child.
· Invented spelling is accepted.
· Page numbers must appear on the back side of each piece of paper.
· Stories for K - 1st graders should contain between 50 - 200 words. Stories for 2nd - 3rd graders should contain between 100 - 350 words. Stories for 4th - 5th graders should contain between 150 – 400 words.
· For purposes of counting words, include “a”, “an”, and “the”, but do not include words on non-story pages such as the title page.
· Stories may be fact, fiction, prose or poetry.
Illustrations
· Stories must include at least five (5) original, clear and colorful illustrations.
· Illustrations can appear on opposite pages from text or combined on text pages.
Judging
· Local judging for KTXT-TV’s K-5th Grade competition will occur in early April.
· National judging for K-3rd Grade entries will occur after April 25, 2008.
Prizes
· All participating children will receive an award.
· First, Second and Third Place winners in each grade will receive local prizes sponsored by KTXT-TV, Barnes & Noble and the Science Spectrum. Winners will also be invited with their families to attend the Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest Awards Dinner Ceremony, sponsored by Papa John’s and Balloons By The Bunch during late May 2008.
· First place winners in K-3rd Grade will advance to the national competition. National prizes for K-3rd Grade winners are as follows:
First Place: laptop computer
Second Place: flat panel TV with DVD player
Third Place: MP3 player
*All will also receive three (3) sets of five (5) Reading Rainbow DVDs and feature books – one for their school, community library and home!
Notification
· All children will receive their awards through mail. Every effort is made to return stories to children.
· Local winners will be notified either through telephone, email or both during April 2008 by KTXT-TV’s outreach department.
· After August 1, 2008, visit <pbskids.org/readingrainbow> for the national winners.
