This week brings a double bonus to my Where Are they Now? series, as I checked in with sisters Willa and Grace Lane from Vermont. Willa has been a 3 time finalists in my Be-a-Famous Writer Contest. She entered her 1st story Gabbie Atwood when she was 8 years old. I still remember the comments from Danny Kallis, creator of the Disney Channel's "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" and “The Suite Life on Deck,” television’s top-rated shows for kids. “Every time I read this one out loud it amused me a little more. It's a wonderful slice of life story; seemingly meandering through her days only to arrive at a lovely conclusion that came unexpectedly, pulling it all together. It stuck with me.” So imagine how excited I was to see her be named a finalist again for her story “The Summer of Cousins”. And that wasn’t all, then last year she and her sister Grace were both named finalists. This time Willa’s story was called “Moonshine” and her sister Grace’s story was titled “The Magic Piano”. Grace went onto win top honors in the 4-to-8 year-old category for The Magic Piano, a fantasy about a piano that can read its owner’s mind and mimic the sound of other instruments, weather conditions, and even the 12-Days-of-Christmas characters. If you missed my Skype with Grace at her school. Here it is again for you to enjoy:
When I checked in on the sisters, this is what I learned from their mom: As she always has, Willa continues to write incredible realistic fiction. She keeps a running file of the half dozen or so stories she is working on and adds to them when she can. Her writing skills also serve her well in school. Recently, a school essay she wrote about Rachel Carson was selected to serve as an example of writing excellence for state and national educator training for the Common Core State Standards. Willa was as thrilled by this accolade as she was by the honor of being named a Mrs. P finalist for three years in a row.
Grace continues to write. Following her Mrs. P grand prize win for "The Magic Piano," she wrote and illustrated "The Bird Brains: Cracked Open!" for the PBS Kids GO! Young Writers and Illustrators Contest in Vermont. She designed the story as if it was a tour booklet for a fictional band of chickens following their first national concert tour. Although the story did not win her a prize, that hasn't stopped Grace! She continues to think up fantastic ideas for new stories and to try her hand at other kinds of writing. When her school set up an exhibit of student artwork at our local library, Grace wrote a review of the show that is scheduled to appear in our local newspaper.
Next week I will be catching up with finalist Meridan Boyd. You won’t believe what this 3rd grader has been up too.
Be sure to bookmark my contest site for your classroom. And if you are a parent, please let your child’s teacher know about the contest. The contest opens September 1st for entries. And a special thanks to my sponsors too. BuyerTopia, Tales2Go, Powell’s Books & Polka Dots Publishing and Penelope the Purple Pirate and myOn Reader. They are making sure the schools win all year long with their great prizes!
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