Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest

For the last three years, Benny has entered a story in this writing contest, sponsored locally by WHRO. Kids write a story of a specified length, illustrate it with at least five original pictures, and the winners get to be on TV! Sounds great. Benny has always been very motivated to create something spectacular -- last year he wrote "The Pirates of Sherool" which was an oversized lift the flap book, drawn in charcoal and pastels, and I thought it was fantastic.

The only problem with Benny's entries, and this is weird, is that they are alway completely violent. Last year's involved guns, knives, all manner of shocking weaponry.

The year before that, he actually wrote a very nice story called "Benny and Zoe." Here's a picture from it:

You can see the whole book here. Unfortunately I didn't read the instructions properly and it wasn't formatted right (he drew on both sides of the paper). So we had to start over. This time the story was about two little dogs that lived in a yard -- how could we go wrong there, right? Nope, it ended up hideously violent and the yard ended up awash with blood.

Somehow I don't have any record of the dog bloodbath book. But I do have his story from 2006:

YIME THE BAD BOY

Yime was a bad boy He did not do enethng his mother told him to do he had work he did not do it: bad not a story: bad

how old> years: 3 months: 24 amatin: 324 then he had a big disiton: good insted of bad he will be graet

I wonder what he will come up with this year. Hopefully something safe for public television. Are you and your kids interested in doing the Reading Rainbow contest? Click here for details!

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