Contest! | Cathy C. Hall Writes

Holy cow! We’re already half-way through National Children’s Book Week! But not to worry–the keepers I’ve found for you will be around till the end of the week. And the blogs and websites, books and activities, will be around long after. So off we go!

First, you should know that National Children’s Book Week is the national celebration of books and reading for youth. Honestly, I celebrate reading every day. My nose is always stuck in a book, or a blog, or a newspaper. I blame it on my chock-full-of-books-youth. I just have to read. Without books, I’d be…well, that’s just too scary to think about.

Fortunately, there are A LOT of folks who are as hooked on books as I am, who understand how books can change a life. And they celebrate each year with special events, story-telling, book giveaways…the list goes on and on. It’s probably about time I shared the list with you!

1. Donna over at Donna’s Book Pub is giving away a couple of ARC’s (that’s Advanced Reader Copy) for middle grade readers. Scoot over there for a chance to win!

2. Margo at Read These Books and Use Them is sponsoring a book giveaway, too. I’m not sure what the book will be, but I know it’s ghost stories. Sign me up for that one!

3. Do you think you’re a great cartoonist? The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Comics Contest is going on right now! You have some time for this contest, but sorry. You have to be 6-16 years old to enter. (Phooey. I had a BRILLIANT idea.)

4. You’ll want to check out the sponsors over at the CBW. I had a great time over at Read it Loud! Lots of wonderful resources there, but I really got carried away with the Storybook Adventure.

I’ll bet your community is celebrating National Children’s Book Week, too. Take a look around and see what you can find close to home. Or better yet, grab a book and start reading to the children in your life. Trust me, they’ll grow up to thank you. (P.S. Thanks, Mom and Dad–and awesome kindergarten teacher whose name I can never remember!)

Don’t you just LOVE serendipity? Here’s what happened:

I had said to myself last night, whilst pondering my Things To Do list for tomorrow, “Self, quit fooling around and post on Finders & Keepers!” But here is what I wrote on my Things to Do Note for Monday: “F & K: ? ” And I had no idea what to write about when I woke up this morning.

Time passed, and the working day was nearly done. And STILL no post for F & K. But wait! I decided to zip through Facebook one last time before calling the workday quits. And there I found a post from my buddy Margo Dill who blogs over at “Read These Books and Use Them.” (A very fine blog with lots of wonderful reviews of children’s books for all ages.) She commented about a contest for 4th to 8th grade writers!

Oh, frabjous joy! So then I zipped over to Clara Gillow Clark’s blog to find out about her wonderful contest. In a nutshell, she’s giving away a copy of Spilling Ink, a Young Writer’s Handbook. But young authors can also win cash prizes and other autographed books by a slew of wonderful writers! The contest ends on May 1st, and you must write something based on the prompts provided.

Now, dash over to Clara’s wonderful blog post here to get ALL the details, and may the best 4th to 8th grade writer win!

(P.S. You do know that you don’t have to be a young writer to appreciate this writing handbook, right? Or to enjoy the website, for that matter. And you’ll want to drop in on Clara often, too. Oh, how I LOVE serendipity!)