From January 19 until March 19, 2004, Georgia Public Broadcasting was pleased to host the Tenth Annual Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest. The contest challenges children from Kindergarten through third grade to draw upon their verbal and artistic abilities by creating their own picture storybooks. This year, more than 500 students from all across the state participated in the contest, making 2004 the most successful Reading Rainbow contest for Georgia to date.
GPB collaborated with the Education Departments at Clark Atlanta University and the University of Georgia, which offered over 50 students from their teacher education program to conduct the first round of judging. The final round of judging, conducted by seasoned artists, educators, and librarians from throughout Georgia, took place here at the Georgia Public Broadcasting facility in Atlanta in April. We would like to congratulate the following students on their winning submissions:
Kindergarten
1st Place - Moriah Grace Zuckerman - "Hubble and His New Pal"
2nd Place - Vishnu Kaushik - "The Blue Dragon"
3rd Place - Caleb Lawen - "The Kid Who Saved the Farmer from the Big Giant"
First Grade
1st Place - Claire Jirasevijinda - "The Red Magic Hat"
2nd Place - Nicholas Foster - "The Dog Who Could Drive A Car"
3rd Place - J.R. Tinker - "The Dragon's Battle"
Second Grade
1st Place - Hardi Shah - "Missing Piece of Cake"
2nd Place - Brittany Baggett - "The Wandering Kitty"
3rd Place - Brittany Denise Hoell - "Brittany's Adventure to Pluto"
Third Grade
1st Place - Lauretta Zhao - "The Cloud Eagle"
2nd Place - Hannah Wiggins - "Blondie's Mystery"
3rd Place - Megan Kelsey Tabler - "A Snowy Day"
GPB held a celebration on May 22, where each of the winners was invited to read his or her story for an audience of fellow contest winners and family members. Prizes for winners included $50 Barnes and Noble gift certificates for first place winners, $20 gift certificates for second place winners, and 10 gift certificates for third place winners.
You may see the first place winners' stories, which will go on to represent Georgia at the national contest level, by visiting our website at www.gpb.org.
