2007 Children's Poetry and Book Illustration Contest Offered by The Macaroon Moon for National Poetry Month

Middletown, CT (PRWeb) November 21, 2006 -- Just in time for National Poetry Month in April 2007, the publisher of The Macaroon Moon: A Book of Poems and Rhymes for Children is offering its second annual poetry and cut paper book illustration contest. The contest is open to American and Canadian children in kindergarten, first, second and third grades, ages 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 years old. Contest rules require the entrant to submit a poem and a cut paper illustration for that poem.

Again in 2007, ten prizes will be awarded by the book's publisher, Southfarm Press of Middletown, Connecticut. Winning entries will be selected by Southfarm Press based on the literary quality of the poems and creativity of the cut paper art submitted to illustrate the poems:

First Prize: $100
Second Prize: $75
Third Prize: $50
Fourth through Tenth Prizes: $25

In addition, copies of the children's poetry book The Macaroon Moon (ISBN: 0-913337-51-X) will be provided to every child in each winner's homeroom classroom.

To make it easy for children to enter, the publisher has created The Macaroon Moon Poetry/Art Box. The Macaroon Moon Poetry/Art Box introduces children ages 4 to 9 to poetry by Wanda Haan, an award winning, former managing editor of Weekly Reader™ and to the world of book illustration.

Each 12 ¼" x 9" x 2" high box contains The Macaroon Moon 32 page, full color, 7 ¼" x 10 ¼" hard cover book by Haan. In addition, the box includes 25 sheets of colored paper, a pair of children's scissors, a glue stick and an instructional booklet on how to enter the contest, write a poem and make a cut paper illustration for the poem, just as illustrator Donald Christensen did for the poems in The Macaroon Moon.

The Macaroon Moon Poetry/Art Box may be purchased online at www.wandahaan.com for $17.95 plus shipping. All poetry and book illustration contest entries must be postmarked no later than April 2, 2007 at the beginning of National Poetry Month and received by the publisher no later than April 9, 2007. Winners will be announced on April 23, 2007. Complete contest rules and the company's address may be found on the home page for www.wandahaan.com. Online entries are not allowed and all entries become the property of Southfarm Press, Publisher.

It is not necessary to buy anything to enter the contest, but in analyzing the entries for the 2006 contest, the publisher found that having a copy of The Macaroon Moon seemed to aid children in competing in the contest, especially for the book illustration part of their entries.

Winning entries from the 2006 contest are being shown on www.wandahaan.com. Ten children won prizes in April 2006. While you would expect that more girls than boys would be in the winners' circle, it turned out that six boys and four girls won, though girls won the first and second place prizes.

The publisher found that the boys chose subjects that were very creative, even unusual, more so than the subjects chosen by girls. About 1,000 entries were sent in by parents, teachers and children from 18 states.

Six of the winners were nine years old, while only four were seven or eight. A seven-year-old boy had won for his poem "Joshua, Squashua" and an eight year old boy for his "Soccer Ball" poem and art.

William Emrich, general manager of Southfarm Press, says there are many reasons for this contest. One reason according to Emrich is to make young children aware that poems are written with as much care and thought as story books. Walter de la Mare (1873-1956) in "Come Hither" makes the point that "...like a carpenter who makes a table, a man who has written a poem has written it like that on purpose."

Another reason according to Emrich is that young children have the ability to create poetry and should be encouraged to do so. In The Art of Thinking (1928), writer and lecturer Ernest Dimnet stated that "All children under nine or ten years of age are poets and philosophers."

In other words according to Emrich, poetry by children draws on two natural tendencies of childhood: imagination and play. And poetry can be a good tool to use to teach reading.

Emrich also wants children to be aware of the thought that goes into illustrating a book. He thought it important for children to realize that the art for a book could be simple and be created from simple things like colored paper, pencils, glue and scissors.

"We've found that parents and teachers both appreciate that last point. No messy paints are needed to create art for a book. That makes clean up for this contest a cinch," says Emrich.

Journalist and humorist Franklin Pierce Adams (1881-1960) wrote:

"I shot a poem into the air,
It was reprinted everywhere…"

With the Adams' poem in mind, Emrich says that he hopes the poetry and cut paper illustrations that the children create for this contest will be widely read and shown. He encourages parents, teachers and children to look at the 2006 winning entries at www.wandahaan.com.

"Young children are capable of literary criticism, if only at a very simple level. It is very important to recognize the valuable skill-building nature of such reflection and discussion," adds Emrich.

# # #

Related Articles:

Outskirts Press Announces Rainbows and Butterflies, the Latest Highly Anticipated Poetry/General Book From Omaha, NE, Author James E. Griffiths
Outskirts Press, Inc. has published Rainbows and Butterflies: Heartfelt poems to comfort and inspire by James E Griffiths, which is the author's most recent book to date. The 5.5 x 8.5 paperback in the Poetry/General category is available worldwide on book retailer websites such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble for a suggested retail price of $12.95. The webpage at www.www.outskirtspress.com/RainbowsandButterflies was launched simultaneously with the book's publication.

The Fourth Better Sex -- Erotic Fiction Writing Contest BetterSex.com Seeks Next Candace Bushnell
The Sinclair Institute and BetterSex.com announced today that it will award over $4,000 in cash and prizes great amateur erotic fiction writers.

Facelift for Resumes Offers Hope for Job Seekers, says Resume Writing Service
Professional Pixie Dust from Resume Writing Service Can Help You Land a Job

Outskirts Press Announces 'Crush', Latest Highly-Anticipated Poetry Book From Davenport, IA Author Jodie Toohey
Outskirts Press, Inc. has published Crush: and Other Love Poems for Girls by Jodie Toohey, which is the author's most recent book to date. The 5 x 8 Paperback in the Poetry category is available worldwide on book retailer websites such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble for a suggested retail price of $9.95. The webpage at www.outskirtspress.com/JToohey was launched simultaneously with the book's publication.

Art and Poetry Even in Your Bar Chairs
When you are designing that great bar or lounge you want to set up, the last thing it should ever be is boring After all, the reason anyone would want to hang out in your bar or lounge, whether its a public place or your private little hideaway just for friends, is because its a fun place to be

The Earth Vision Nature Writing Contest
The Earth Vision Nature Writing Contest short fiction, creative non-fiction, poetic prose, or poetry.

Top 5 ways to find an Authentic Custom Dissertation Writing Service
When a dissertation is written according to your requirements and subject of your interest and choice, without any sort of plagiarism, then it?s called a custom dissertation. Custom dissertations cannot be written hurriedly or haphazardly. Writing a custom dissertation is a grueling task because of its long process and it requires assistance at all stages. Let?s see in what ways you might require help and then how you can manage to find an authentic dissertation writing service:

Great Job Opportunities for Spoken Word/Poetry Enthusiast Now Being Offered at PoeticWorks
PoeticWorks (www.poeticworks.com) has 25 immediate part time positions that's perfect for someone who loves to frequent poetry events. One can perform Spoken Word, interact with interesting people and get the word out about the many different publishing options available by PoeticWorks to assist them in writing/publishing their work.

TLF Announces Fourth Annual Worldwide Art, Essay and Poetry Invitational for Global Love Day
The Love Foundation is once again presenting their annual Art, Essay and Poetry Invitational in honor of Global Love Day this May 1, 2007. Children of all ages and from around the world are invited to participate with this year's theme "Love Begins With Me."

Poetry Band ... A Christian 'Revival'
Meet the premiere one of a kind 21st Century band ... Poetry Band

Loose Diamond Online Retailer, AWDiamonds.com -- Mother's Day Poetry Contest
A&W Diamonds is holding their first of many annual Mother's Day Poem Competitions. The winner of A&W Diamonds Mother's Day Poem competition will win a beautiful princess shaped diamond. To participate and contend for a princess diamond contestants are to write an original poem for mother's day, including the phrase "princess diamond" throughout their poem.

Outskirts Press Announces Oceanic Heart, the Latest Highly Anticipated Poetry Book by Author Harshada Pathare
Outskirts Press, Inc. has published Oceanic Heart by Harshada Pathare, which is the author's most recent book to date. The 7.4 x 9.7 paperback in the Poetry category is available worldwide on book retailer websites such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble for a suggested retail price of $13.95. The webpage at www.outskirtspress.com/Oceanicheart was launched simultaneously with the book's publication.

Order Essay-The Writing Service
Order essay is probably one of the simplest ways to submit a paper on time. Aside from the schoolwork in day to day classes, you need to write papers which are intended to expand your knowledge and improve your writing skills. However because some students do not have the capacity to do so, or do not have that necessary enough time to complete an article, it is very likely that they will end up producing erroneously written papers and with very low quality attributes. In such a case, it would be just ideal to seek help from expert entities so that the student will get the necessary help to succeed in school.

Promoting Your Poetry Book
At long last your book is finished. As a self-publisher poet it is up to you to market your anthology or chapbook. Self-publishing requires you to self-market successfully. Marketing your book can become a full time job and it isn?t going to happen overnight. So you might be asking yourself, ?Where do I begin to market my book??

Leading Literary Contest Website Will Award Over $24,000 in Poetry and Prose Contests
Five poetry and story contests now open at Winning Writers will award over $24,000 in cash. The contests include the Tom Howard/John H. Reid Short Story Contest, the Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest (no fee), the War Poetry Contest, the Margaret Reid Poetry Contest for Traditional Verse, and the Tom Howard/John H. Reid Poetry Contest. These contests aim to be models in the publishing industry for their excellence, transparency and ease of entry. Winning Writers was named one of the "101 Best Websites for Writers" by Writer's Digest in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Guidelines for all contests are available at www.winningwriters.com