Thank you to everyone who participated in this year's “From Trash to Treasure” Kidlit Poetry Contest!
It was so fun to read the stories behind this year's entries and see everyone's creativity on display.
We are thrilled to announce our WINNER...
TRACIE RENEE
Kale Chips and Pickled Beets
Parents aren’t supposed to lie but
tonight Mom said, This is really good!
and I can’t decide what’s worse:
Mom telling that lie...
or believing that’s the truth?!
Congratulations, Tracie!
"Kale Chips and Pickled Beets" is humorous and oh so relatable! We gobbled it up!
As our kid judge put it, the line This is really good! "is exactly what moms say and it's hardly ever true."
Kudos to this winning poem for finding that perfect balance of kid and adult appeal!
There was such an inspiring blend of humor and heart in this year's entries. It wasn't easy to choose our favorites but please join us in congratulating our two HONORABLE MENTIONS...
JULIE HAUSWIRTH
"Mermaids aren't REAL," Carlie said,
but the river disagreed in every shade of turquoise
and tossed shimmers of glittery silt
into a swirling kaleidoscope of sunbeams...
or was that the flick of a tail?
We love the beautiful descriptions of the river that add to the sense of magic in this poem and the little mysterious twist at the end is a delight.
KELLY
Boogie Monster Trap
With sticks and string, bucket of water, squirt of soap,
the mop, hat rack, and Dad’s overcoat,
I set the trap, then went to bed—
SNAP! CRASH! Surprise!
Caught Mom instead.
How fun to try to picture this monster trap fully constructed and to be able to see the ending coming even if Mom doesn't!
My seven-year-old represented young readers by selecting his favorite.
The winner of our KID CHOICE is...
BABY CHICKADEE
I am a baby chickadee
My wings are black my body sleek
and as I call, I chirp and squeak.
I store my seeds and tons of it.
Is that too much? No not a bit!
Ben, on why he chose Baby Chickadee: "I love anything with animals and the ending where the chickadee says 'Is that too much? No not a bit!' is so cute and funny."
Congratulations to the author of Baby Chickadee. There was no name posted with this poem, so please shout out in the comments if you wrote this one so we can update this post and properly congratulate you.
Congratulations to all our winners and thank you to all of the poets who participated this year! We loved seeing the treasures you created and we hope you'll join in when we do this again next year! In the meantime, our Go Wild! issue launches on Wednesday, November 20th. Order a print copy, or check out our issues page on Wednesday for a link to a free PDF of the issue. We are also hosting a Kid-Lit Celebration on Sunday, December 1st from 2–4 pm (EST) featuring readings from our contributors, prizes & announcements for the year ahead. This event is virtual and free to attend, but registration is required.
Thank you so much!! This contest is so fun. I loved reading everyone’s entries!
I almost fell out of my chair when I opened this blog post, so I guess it's good that I was sitting down to begin with?!
To echo Kelly, it was really fun to breathe new life into a beloved line I was convinced would languish in my "Fragments" file forever, alongside other words I don't know what to do with but can't bring myself to completely delete.
Thank you so much, LTP, and here's to all of us finding lots more treasure in our "trash." I REALLY enjoyed reading all of the poems posted in the blog and I'm sending love and good writing mojo to everyone who participated.
I am thrilled! What an honor--and so much fun! Thank you for giving me a reason to dust off a messy line and make a poem shine!