UA News

Thirteen K-3 students from southern Arizona were recently honored for their entries in the 14th annual Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest.

Thirteen young authors have been recognized for their creative writing and artistic efforts in the 14th annual Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest, sponsored by Arizona Public Media at The University of Arizona.

A panel of local authors, educators and community volunteers reviewed 413 entries submitted by K-3 students from 26 schools in southern Arizona. Each student wrote and illustrated an original story for the contest.

The 13 winning students each earned a $50 U.S. Savings Bond donated by Bank of America. All student winners received certificates signed by Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton, Reading Rainbow backpacks, books, DVDs and gift certificates from Bookman’s Entertainment Exchange.

Winning entries included:

Kindergarten:

First Place – “Sweetcakes” by Adam Pace
Runner-up – “Rear’s Adventures” by Leah Rae McCarthy
Honorable Mention – “Shooting Stars” by Chloe Brown

First Grade:

First Place – “Silly Turkey, Silly Chicken” by Tori Park
Runner-up – “The Woman I Never Knew” by Faithe Lorraine Elsberry
Honorable Mention – “Riley and Robo” by Riley Babson

Second Grade:

First Place – “The Perfect Home” by Madi Gomm
Runner-up – “The Sugar Girls” by Cindy Hockens
Honorable Mention – “Snail Party” by Amber Marie Bell

Third Grade:

First Place – “How Zero Came to Be - An Historical Fiction Story” by Reid Brümmer
Runner-up – “Olimar’s Magic Violin” by Nathan Vandivort
Honorable Mention – “When the Sun Did Not Come Up” by Manchester Bradley and “The Barbie and the Dryer" by Mikayla Curcio.

Sponsoring the Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest is one of the outreach activities that Arizona Public Media provides for the community.

The “Ready to Learn” program brings a rich and comprehensive reading experience to participating students in selected local schools. “Ready to Learn” features comprehensive teacher resource materials centered on monthly themes, corresponding videos and free books delivered each month to first-grade students.

Participating schools are primarily in low-income neighborhoods and serve a high percentage of students with limited literacy. To date, more than 70,000 free books have been distributed to local children through the “Ready to Learn” initiative.

Arizona Public Media is the public media organization of the UA, and includes PBS stations KUAT Channel 6 and KUAS Channel 27; Digital TV Channels 6-1 KUAT6 Digital; 6-2 PBS Kids; 6-3 V-me (en Español); 6-4 Create; KUAS Channel 27-1 PBS HDTV; the UA Channel (Cox 116/Comcast 76); classical music station KUAT-FM 90.5; NPR affiliate KUAZ 1550AM/89.1 FM; and a variety of online activities under the umbrella AZpublicmedia.org.