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Smart Poodle Publishing Writing Contest for Librarians - $650 in Prizes!

Announcing the Smart Poodle Publishing
What I Wish Everyone Knew About Librarians
Writing Contest

Smart Poodle Publishing knows that librarians can make a world of difference in the lives of readers everywhere from every age and at every reading level! We feel that librarians are sometimes under appreciated or misunderstood. Now is your chance to speak out by entering our contest.

Please take the time to check out our new children’s picture book and CD:

The Travel Adventures of Lily P Badilly: Costa Rica

Available online or from Baker and Taylor

Sponsor
This contest is sponsored by Smart Poodle Publishing, PO Box 817468, Hollywood, FL 33081.

Eligibility

How to Enter/Official Rules

Judging
Winners will be chosen based upon content, writing style and originality.

Prizes

Contest Deadline
Entries must be received by Monday, December 1, 2008 by 5:00 pm (EST)

Winners
Winners will be notified on or before December 15th via phone call and also email.

ContestHound.com Contest and Sweepstakes Directory

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Travel Writing Contest Winners and Their Stories!

WINNERS

Category 1 (Ages 5-6)
Mina O
Age 6, 1st Grade
From Birmingham, Alabama


To Sofia and Back

A long time ago there was a writer from Bulgaria who came to America to see the World Fair in Chicago. He was called Aleko. He wrote a book about his trip and he called it To Chicago and Back. I know that because my mom is from Bulgaria.

When we went to Bulgaria I said I can write a book and it will be To Sofia and Back. But mom said I have to give credit to Aleko because it is called copyright. Also because he was born in Svishtov and my mom was born in Svishtov.

Svishtov is on the Danube River. There is a village on the river where aunt Nina and uncle Encho live. You can take a rowboat and go to the island in the middle of the river. On the other side is Romania, which is another country. You can play on the island and eat watermelon and swim. But don’t go too far because the current is very strong and it can take you all the way to the Black Sea.

Aunt Nina and uncle Encho had little turkey chicks and I got to hold the chicks. They were so cute. They were very soft and fluffy. They also had a dog that was afraid of the cat. And they had a pig but I didn’t like the pig because it wasn’t cute and it smelled bad.

Then we went to visit another aunt and uncle and they live in the mountains. They grow roses there and make rose oil from the petals. That place is called the Valley of Roses. It smells very nice. My aunt and uncle had a garden and we ate cherries from the cherry tree and lots of strawberries.

Then we went to Sofia, which is where my grandma lives. It is also the capital of Bulgaria, like Washington, DC. Sofia is very big. There are taxis, trams, busses, and the metro, and there are people everywhere. They also have Sofialand, which is like Disneyland. I did all kinds of rides and I also eat at McDonald’s. I usually don’t like McDonalds but I liked it there.

My grandma took me to see a puppet show and we also went to the park. We also saw many old buildings. I also liked to ride in a taxi and to play outside with the kids. I made two friends, Abby and Neda. You can just go outside and play anytime you want. Because there are always children outside and that’s what I like. Because in our neighborhood there is no one outside and every time I have to ask mom to call Rachel’s mom and they have to arrange a play date.

I want to go back to Bulgaria again. I am saving money because you have to fly by airplane over the Atlantic Ocean. Next time I want to go to the Black Sea. It is not black but they just called it so because it got black during storms and the sailors drowned in it. But it doesn’t have sharks because only in the ocean there are sharks.

Category 2 (Ages 7-8)
Eliza J S
Age 8, 3rd Grade
From Blacksburg, VA


Shark Island

Two girls and their blue, very fat pet piggy went to Shark Island for vacation. The girls’ names were Emma and Eliza; the pig’s name was Mandy. When they got to Shark Island, the hotel manager greeted them.

He said, “Hi. My name is Bob. Welcome to Shark Island. I hope you enjoy your stay. You will notice that there aren’t many people here. It’s too hot for them, and they’re afraid of the sharks.”

The hotel was empty, so they had their choice of rooms, so they picked two rooms: one blue room for the piggy and one rainbow room for the girls. It was late at night, so they went to bed right away.

The next day, they went for a hike on the beach trail. It was very hot. They saw lots of wild piggies running around the island, which was covered with a few palm trees and lots of sand. They wanted to go swimming in the ocean, but the hotel manager ran up to them. “Don’t get in! There are sharks in the ocean!” he shouted.

They hiked back and went swimming in the pool, and then they had dinner. For dinner, they had spaghetti with meatballs, fruit, milk, and cookies in the hotel. They sat on their hotel balcony to watch the sunset and noticed a ship approaching the island. The ship was all black.

The next morning, they awoke to the sound of swords clashing! They looked out the window and saw pirates tearing down the hotel. They were slashing the wood walls. The girls and their piggy were on the top floor. They got dressed (the girls wore tie-dye shirts and the piggy wore a little sailor suit,) snuck down the back stairs, and went out the backdoor. Emma, Eliza and Mandy decided to cut down a palm tree, so they could smash the pirates. When they found a good tree, they tried to push it down. Suddenly, the bark fell off the tree to reveal a hidden door!

The girls and the piggy walked the tree. They were in a big tree. There was a big slide that went down to an underground room. Just as they reached the bottom, the pirates found the tree and also slid down. Then the piggy saw some swords in the corner of the room and an engraving on the wall. The engraving was in the shape of a sword. They tried to push a sword in the engraving. The wall suddenly opened to reveal another room. The pirates, thinking there was hidden treasure in there, ran into this room. In the room, there was a trap. When the pirates ran over some rocks, it triggered a net which dropped on them and trapped them. The girls and the piggy stared at the trapped pirates.

Underneath all the swords, the girls found 18 pieces of gold! They grabbed the gold and ran out of the tree cave, leaving the pirates trapped below. They gave the gold to the hotel owner so he could repair the hotel, add air conditioning, put the sharks in an aquarium, and plant more trees so that it will be shady and cool. Lots of people would now want to come to visit Shark Island.

In return, the hotel owner gave the girls another piggy. They named her Candy. Mandy was very, very happy to have a friend!

Category 3 (Ages 9-10)
Emma J S
Age 10, 5th Grade
From Blacksburg, VA


 

Just Another National Park Vacation

“Five outfits.”

“Check!”

“Swim suit.”

“Check!”

“Snacks.”

“Check!”

“Mimi’s food and dish.”

“Check!”

“Games.”

“Check!”

We are packing to go on our fourteenth annual national park vacation. It was the year 2035.

“Everybody in the car,” yelled dad.

I picked Mimi up and headed for the car. Mimi is a black cat who loves to go on trips. My sister and I scrunched in the back seat of the Subaru. After two hours, we got to the airport, where we boarded a plane. Soon we arrived at our vacation destination – the Moon National Park!

Mom and Dad rented a UFO and we all hopped aboard and flew to the resort. There was a big crater swimming pool. I know you’ve probably heard that there’s no water on the moon, but they transported water there using rockets. The hotel was called “The Lunar Escape.” Inside, the wallpaper had stars all over it. There was a shelf of brochures. One read, “The Biggest Crater: Come and See It!” Another read, “Jump Out of the Universe at our No Gravity Playground!”

Mom and Dad checked in with the hotel clerk. We went up to our room and changed into our space suits for our first hike. We put the magnets in our shoes. The magnets will keep us from flying into space, because they found out that the moon is filled with metal. We left Mimi in the hotel room to take a nap. We got in our UFO and flew to Mount Eminent, where the aliens live. We hiked to the top of the mountain. It was a very long and hard hike. At the top, we could see the whole planet, but the best part was that the whole summit was covered with alien tents!

There was one alien that came up to me and said, “Hi.” Here name was Luny. She told me that she was very interested in humans and their ways of doing stuff. She had purple tentacles. Her eyes were on springs. She had four fingers. She was as tall as a human with her tentacles. She hopped instead of walking. She asked me if I wanted to be her friend. I said, “Sure!” She invited me to have lunch with them the next day at noon. Luny told me that she had a cat named Nicky. I told her that I had a cat too and that I would bring her up the mountain the next day so that the cats could meet.

My family and I hiked down the mountain and went to the crater pool for a swim. That night, we went out for dinner at the Outer Space Café, which was floating just off the moon.

The next morning, we went to see the biggest crater on the moon. It was 144 miles long. There was a zip line across it. It was really, really fun. At noon, I told my family that I was going to explore. I hiked up Mount Eminent for the second time, but this time I brought Mimi. At the top, I met Luny and Nicky. Luny took me in to see her family. She had an older brother named Zipper and a mom and a dad. We had lunch in her tent. It was spaghetti and gummi bears. After lunch, we all looked at the view. We saw five people walking up the mountain. We couldn’t tell if they were men or women because they were wearing space suits. They had nets in their hands.

“Oh no,” said Luny. “I knew some day this would happen! The people are coming to take all the aliens off the moon, so they can turn the top of Mount Eminent into a resort!”

“We’ll have to stop them!” I said. “Here’s my plan: Nicky and Mimi will guard the top of the mountain using their sharp cat claws, while you and I will take a rocket down to earth to get the United States President to help us!”

“That sounds like a good plan,” said Luny. “Let’s go!”

Luny and I hiked down Mount Eminent to where the rockets were stored behind the hotel. We got in one, zoomed down to earth, and landed on the White House lawn. People were pointing at Luny because they’d never seen an alien before.

We told the guards outside the White House that our business with the President was urgent, and, as soon as they saw Luny, they let us right in. We talked to the President. She said that she would come with us to help, because the creatures in national parks should be protected.

All three of us got in the rocket and shot off to the moon. Meanwhile, back on the moon, the five alien-catchers approached the two cats, who were guarding the alien community on the mountain top. The President, Luny and I landed the rocket ship on the top of Mount Eminent. The cats were doing their best to stop the alien catchers, but the cats’ claws did not keep away the space-suited humans, who had captured one alien when the rocket ship arrived.

“Stop!” yelled the President. “The aliens are protected, because this is a national park!” The President arrested all five alien-catchers and took them back to earth to be put in jail.

To celebrate the saving of the aliens, the aliens held a big party, and my whole family came. For dessert we had chocolate cake with strawberry icing! It was delicious. Luny and I spent the rest of the vacation hiking and exploring the Moon National Park. I was very sad when it was time to go home.

I still send postcards to Luny on the moon. It was an outrageous vacation!

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Category 1 (Ages 5-6)
Colin H
Age 6, 1st Grade
From Reston, VA


My Trip to Bangladesh

My mom and I flew to Bangladesh on an airplane. My mom had to work at the US Embassy in Dhaka. The plane ride was really, really long. When we got to Dhaka, it was really hot. Our house was a big pink house. In our house we had to have mosquito nets because there were lots of mosquitoes. My mom and I had a pet goat, named Lucky. She was a baby goat when we got her. Her coat was black and white, and she was very sweet, but lonely. Mom wanted to get another goat, but dad wouldn’t let her. I thought it would have been fun to get a pet monkey. There were lots of monkeys in Dhaka.

One weekend, we went on a boat ride. It was so hot I had to lay down on the seat. When we got off the boat, we went to a big house. It had lots of arches. The building used to be a school. Behind the building, there was a pond. We saw fishes in the pond. The pond had lots of shaplas in it. Shaplas are water lilies. They are important to the people of Bangladesh. When we got back on the boat, we ate mangos and we saw endangered Gangetic dolphins. We also saw other boats filled with animals like pigs and cows. The boats were really little and the animals were really big. It was funny. The night we left Bangladesh, it rained very hard.

We flew to Bangladesh through New York and London. We flew home through Singapore, Japan, and Chicago. We are home now in Washington, DC. We have traveled around the whole planet.

The End.

Category 2 (Ages 7-8)
Alexis K
Age 8, 3rd Grade
Shelton, CT


The Passport Disaster

It was a hot, summer day and my family and I were going on holiday to London and to York, England. We were going to stay at the beautiful York Hotel.

While we were on the plane, I asked my mother if I could look at my passport.

“I don’t want you to lose it,” my mother said.

“Puh—–leeeeeeze,” I begged.

“Fine, but for only a second,” she replied.

Just as my mother handed me the passport, I noticed my favorite show was about to start on the television. I put my passport down for only a second. We hit some turbulence and next thing I knew my passport was flying all over the airplane. My mother gave me “that look,” so I chased my passport around the plane. After crawling under several seats, and stepping over one very large foot, I caught it.

“Whew!” I exclaimed as I sat back down.

“Give it!” said my mother. Wisely, I gave it.

When we finally landed in England, we had our first English meal – delicious, crispy fish and chips. We took a cab to our hotel, and you wouldn’t believe it……he drove on the wrong side of the street! That’s how they do it in England.

At the hotel, we waited for the bellboy to take our luggage. As we waited, I pestered my mother to see my passport again. She finally agreed. I was looking at it when the bellboy came, and I accidentally handed him my passport. I grabbed for it, but the doors closed on it instead. I yanked it out, but I was too late. My passport was in shreds!!

“Oh no,” I cried, “ I should have left it with my mother!”

When we got up to our room I quickly hid my passport under my pillow.

“Come on,” said my parents, “Time for sight-seeing.”

I figured I could deal with my passport later. The sight-seeing was really fun. First we went to the Houses of Parliament. That is where they make the laws in England. There were policemen……I mean bobbies standing outside. We also saw Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, and Westminster Abbey. We went into Westminster Cathedral, and I said a prayer that my mother wouldn’t kill me for shredding my passport. Last we saw a very big clock called Big Ben.

We had so much to do in England that I forgot all about my passport. All too quickly it was time to go home. We drove on the wrong side of the road to the airport.

When we got in line at customs, I yelled, “Oh no– My passport!”

“Oh dear,” said my mother, “Let’s go back to the hotel.”

When we walked out of the airport, we almost ran into a pack of bobbies. They were protecting Queen Elizabeth. We waved to her, and she came over. My mother told her about my passport.

“Why don’t you come to the palace for high tea, and we’ll figure out what to do about your passport,” said the Queen.

We went to the palace and had tea and scones and biscuits with jam. Queen Elizabeth called President Bush and he had a new passport made and faxed to the palace.

My mother said, “I’m mad at you for being careless with your passport, but if you didn’t have problems, we would never have been invited to high tea with the Queen. But, next time, I hold the passport.”

“That’s a deal!!”

I love vacations!!!!

The end.

Category 3 (Ages 9-10)
Courtney B.
Age 9, 4th Grade
From Ochelata, Ok


Roswell Visitor Vacation

It all started like a regular old trailer park day in Oklahoma USA. Dear old Dad was reading the newspaper. Mom was cooking up some fried possum and grits for breakfast. My dog Skidmark was laying on the couch in the living room watching TV. Anyway to make my story shorter, I’m going to Roswell New Mexico baby!!! Never mind about that now. Well, my Dad was reading the paper. Then he read an article aloud, “Strange sightings were being reported west of Roswell New Mexico by Mac Brazel, a local rancher. He reported that his cows were stolen by some bizarre green dwarf human like creatures. They were dressed in shiny silver space suits.” I then said, “I think that’s extremely weird.” “Dad, can we pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease go to Roswell and see those little creatures?” I was shocked about what my Dad said, “Why sure honey. Then if we find and capture one of those things, you can have it as a pet.” My Mom also shocked me about what she said too. “I think that’s a wonderful idea,” my Mom said. “ I think it’s time you to have bonding experiences, plus, more responsibility,” Dad said. “We’ll get a litter box, just in case,” mom said. I’ll buy 5 more newspapers, just in case,” Dad said. “Can we go to Roswell now Dad?,” I asked impatiently. “We’re going immediately!!!,” dad said. We all got in the car, with trusty Skidmark too, and took off.

It took like forever because we had to stop at a few gas stations along the way. But that was not the half of it. One of them had a boring, little, animal zoo. They had a two-headed snake, a rabbit that could tap dance, a koala that ate ham and cheese sandwiches, a parrot that spoke French, and a squid that shot jelly out instead of ink. There was also a empty display, that curiously said, coming soon, bizarre green dwarf human like creature. I have to go tell my parents about this. I ran to my parents. “Mom, Dad!,” I shouted. “What is it sweetheart?,” My Dad asked. “You have to come see this,” I said. I showed him the empty display. He also read the sign. “Hmmmmm…, interesting. Thanks for showing that to me, Honey,” Dad said. “What’s wrong? I saw you two come in here and……,” Mom paused. She looked at the case, then read the sign. “Oh…… I see… That’s why you dragged your Dad in here. I see,” Mom said “Ok, let’s not get your hair in a frazzle. The paper said the aliens were seen west of Mac Brazel’s ranch.” “Well, let’s not sit around here, let’s park our butts in the car!,” Dad hollered. We all did what he told us to do.

After driving 4 hours in dry desert heat, I was starting to get bored. But then, I saw it! A jackalope, running at lighting speed. It’s a good thing we didn’t hit it… 2 miles later we saw a trinket sale, on alien toys! “Oh, how adorable! Do you want some of those alien toys over there sweetheart?,” Mom asked me. “Yeeeeeeeeeeeeessss!!!!!! The answer is yeeeesss!,” I shouted in excitement. “Ok, we’ll get some then,” Dad said. We stopped next to the trinket shop. Guess who owned it? A pudgy dude with a name tag that said, Kevin Pinky Hot- Shot. waiting to buy these cute, little, kind of creepy, alien toys. Let’s get back to the story then ! “Go pick out what ever you like sweetheart,” said Mom. I went to go look around. I saw a toy alien spaceship, an alien marionette, alien operation, alien bobble head, then, I saw it. An inflated alien toy about three feet tall. I grabbed it, then, I picked up the alien bobble head, alien goop, the alien marionette and the alien plush doll. Oh, and the toy alien spaceship. We bought the toys, we said bye to the pudgy dude, got in the car, and continued our “little trip.” By the way, I noticed that Skidmark was wearing an alien costume and headband. It was kind of weird, but cute if you ask me.

We kept on driving until, we came to Roswell! We drove and drove until finally we found the perfect place. It was called the Area 51 Hotel and Café. We were abducted to our room on the third floor overlooking the green water swimming pool. Everyone around the pool looked rather strange, like aliens. We were all tried and needed a nap. That’s when I suspect the trouble began. We were sucked up by the alien spaceship like dust bunnies getting sucked up into a vacuum. The creatures we saw inside were very strange. They were 3 feet tall and looked like garden gnomes only uglier and with bad breath. They reminded me of like the elves that follow Santa around in the mall at Christmas. And for a strange reason, I saw…cows? I remembered something in the paper. Mac Brazel said that his cows were stolen. They were stolen by bizarre green dwarf human like creatures! These were the ones! “ Mom, Dad! These were the creatures in the paper!” I shouted. I eyed my Mom suspiciously. “Ummmm, Mom? Why are you holding Skidmark’s dog carrier?” I asked. Mom replied, “Because I had nothing else to put it in in.” My parents sprang into action. My Mom opened up the cage’s door. My Dad grabbed one and threw it into the cage. “Wiki!”, one of them shouted, and they opened the spaceship’s door and ran like a bunch of scared sissy girls. “Yeah! We got one!” I shouted with joy. “Wooooky! Wikiwoo! Woo-woowe!” It said. “Well, that’s pretty much it Zack,” I said. “Please tell me another story Grandma. Please?” Zack asked. “Oh, all right. This time, I’ll tell you the story of when I went to Scotland. I saw the Loch Ness monster.”

The End

Congratulations to All our Winners and to All Who Entered!

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Meet the Judges for the Youngest Travel Writer Contest

Debbie Glade

Debbie is the author/illustrator and voice talent for The Travel Adventures of Lilly P Badilly: Costa Rica and the owner of Smart Poodle Publishing. She is a member of the Florida Publisher’s Association and the Independent Publishers Association. For 15 years, she was a freelance travel writer for upscale cruise lines, writing and editing hundreds of brochures and travel excursion tour descriptions. She wrote Lilly Badilly and recorded it on CD to make reading extraordinarily fun and get kids more interested in books. Debbie has a BA in Creative Writing from Florida State University. She has written online articles recently for momsnetwork.com and education.com. She blogs daily at www.smartpoodlepublishing.com/blog. Her favorite authors are William Shakespeare, JD Salinger, Ayn Rand, Erma Bombeck, J California Cooper and Johnathon Safran Foer. In addition to running her publishing business Debbie enjoys working out, running with her dog, Gigi, cooking, baking, painting, quilting and gardening - and of course, traveling. Debbie loves kids and likes to act like one herself – pretty much all of the time.

Patty Weir

Patty brings a wealth of experience to the Smart Poodle Kids Travel Writing Contest. She has worked as a marketing professional in the travel industry for 15 years. She has been responsible for producing countless travel brochures, including overseeing both writing and design. She is now the owner of The Copelin Group, which provides innovative marketing consulting services, primarily for the Travel Industry. She has a BA in Advertising/Marketing from The University of Florida and a Masters Degree in Direct Marketing from Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, NY. Patty is the Mom of an eleven year-old son, and has enjoyed reading many picture books with him! Her favorite children’s book authors are Dr. Seuss, and Debbie Glade J. Her favorite novelists are Anne Rice and Pat Conroy. Patty loves taking Karate and spinning classes. She has a talent for attracting stray animals and has done her share of rescuing and nurturing them. Given her line of work, Patty has had the opportunity to travel all over the world and take many amazing photographs along the way

John Glade

John was the co-composer of songs from the CD from The Travel Adventures of Lilly P Badilly: Costa Rica. He has been playing guitar since he was a child and has a fantastic singing voice. John loves folk music, funk and classic rock. John has been a bank executive for many years. He has a BA in Finance from Illinois State University and an MBA in Finance from The University of Illinois. In his spare time, He loves kayaking, hiking, bike riding and has a great appreciation for wildlife, especially in the Florida Everglades. John’s favorite authors are J.R. Tolkein, Carl Hiaasen, and Frank Rivers. John has a knack for making people laugh hysterically, and he finds humor in just about everything.

Rachel Glade

Rachel is a high school junior, a disciplined student and lover of piano. She has been playing for more than 10 years and is the co-composer of the original sound track for the Travel Adventures of Lilly P Badilly: Costa Rica. She also enjoys playing jazz, classical and rock music on piano and taught herself to play sitar. At school she has accompanied the actors in two musicals and is the accompanist for the Traveling Choir. As the Director of Internet Marketing for Smart Poodle Publishing, Rachel manages the company’s websites, writes copy and promoted this writing contest. Having read hundreds of novels herself, Rachel can really appreciate good writing. She is a skilled writer and has several pen pals, writing very creative, old-fashioned snail mail letters. Rachel’s favorite authors are Phillip Pullman, Ayn Rand, Terry Gooodkind, Stephanie Meyer, Nick Bantock and poet Billy Collins. In addition to reading and music she likes to play tennis, ride her bike, go geocaching, and hang out with her Smart Poodle, Gigi.

Ben Picolo

Ben is also a high school junior, who is an excellent student an avid reader and a talented writer. His favorite authors are Terry Goodkind, L.E Modesitt Jr., Ayn Rand, Brian Jacques, Robert Jordan and George R.R. Martin. Ben is the President of the Friends of St. Francis (animal welfare) Club at his school. A lover of animals, Ben has 4 cats at home and 2 dogs. He has a part time job at a game store. He enjoys playing electric guitar and alto saxophone and listening to classic rock and blues (some of his favorites are Journey, Coheed and Cambria, Boston, and Led Zeppelin). He loves snow boarding and just being in cold weather (however he lives in boiling hot Florida!) He enjoys doing a variety of interesting projects; right now, he’s making a bow and arrow. Ben’s witty sense of humor and eye for great writing made him an ideal judge for this contest.

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