We Have a Winner!

Thanks to all of the online voting our contest was a huge success. The winning butterfly was created by Caroline, age 9 and will have its own special feature in the upcoming book Nana Banana and The Weirdo. All of the selected artists (runners up and finalists) will be included within the pages of this quirky tale.

Even as I write this, super talented illustrator Carrie Joers is fine tuning the placement of each beautiful butterfly and putting the finishing touches on all of her sketches. The art for this book is being created using a combination of techniques. We are hoping to produce a look that has all the playfulness of pencil sketching combined with the saturated bold colors of digital media.

Enjoy this little sneak peak and check back soon for details on an upcoming giveaway!

FINALISTS POSTED-Voting Begins!

What an awesome week we have had here in Nana Banana Land. We received over 500 beautiful butterflies for our art contest. A great job was done by one and all and let me tell you narrowing down the choices for our top picks was a pretty rough task. For those of you who want the inside scoop on how the selection processes went down, here you go.

First all entries were sorted according to age group (ages 2-6 Lower Elementary, ages 7-10 Upper Elementary, and ages 11-13 Middle School). Then the bottom tabs were folded over to conceal contestant and school names. Next the author’s team sorted through the masses until we came up with our top five picks for each age group. Lastly, the illustrator’s team identified the top two finalists out of each group. Now it is all up to the online voters to determine who will be named the Grand Prize Winner! Check out the Finalist Slideshow and then vote here on our poll for your favorite butterfly.

All of the finalists and the runners up will be featured together in the book, Nana Banana and The Weirdo! The Grand Prize Winner will have a separate showcase within the book and will also receive an autographed copy!

The poll will only be open until October 28 so be sure to vote! Follow us by email to get the most up to date information on this contest, the book release, upcoming events, and more!

Congratulations to all of the runners up and a big Thank You to everyone who participated! 

Blazing Butterflies

What an awesome response we’ve had to our art contest! Kids ages 2-13 put pencils, pens, markers, crayons, and paints to paper and created some fantastic butterflies. Several hundred entries are currently being reviewed to select the cream of the crop and identify the winners in each group. All 1^st place entries will be posted here at www.rrwrites4kids@blogspot.com  by Monday October 17^th. Online voting for the Grand Prize Winner will be open until Friday October 28^th.

I just had to snap a few quick pics to post here. While doing so, one little voter came fluttering by floating in and out of my outdoor gallery. How cool is that?