August Story Contest Winner: ‘The Adventure of Bob’ by Simon

CONGRATULATIONS to 10-year-old Simon, winner of this month’s Faber-Castell Scribble Your Story contest! Hidden treasure, far-away planets and a great escape were the topics of

Simon creating an award winning story and having fun doing so!

Simon’s creative and colorful comic book, “The Adventure of Bob.”

Our guest judge this month is Sherri Duskey Rinker, author of one of the best picture books of 2011, GOODNIGHT, GOODNIGHT, CONSTRUCTION SITE. Why we love Rinker:  Her book is filled with surprising rhymes and creative uses of words.  Also, she wrote Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site in her free time – while juggling multiple full time jobs as the head of her own graphic design firm and mom of two. What a great inspiration for all our aspiring young authors. Scribble Press was lucky to be able to host Rinker for a reading during her book tour, and we’re thrilled she’s joined us here to help choose the first of 12 winners of the Faber-Castell Scribble Your Story Contest! Simon received $100 of art supplies from Faber-Castell including a Young Artists Essentials Gift Set and a Comic Illustrations Set. Simon also received a gift certificate to make more books at Scribble Press.

Here’s what Sherri wrote about Simon’s book:

“I love the creativity shown in Simon’s book (dare I say “graphic novel?!”), The Adventure of Bob!
Simon shows great maturity in his illustration style and his ability to aptly divide up his pages into strong graphic vignettes that move the story along and keep the reader interested. Additionally, Simon’s plot twists are lively and his dialog nicely fits the illustrations (and sometimes elicits a laugh from the reader!). Simon’s’ combination of text and graphics make him a sure winner with a promising future ahead! (Nicely done, Simon. I can’t believe you’re only almost-11 years old!)”

Congrats again to Simon! We can’t wait to read all the stories you’ll write!

To read other great books written by kids, to learn how to enter the Faber-Castell Scribble Your Story contest, check out the Scribble Press eBookshelf.

Time-out for adventure? A thought or two… and a quick book review

The other day, I was teaching some exuberant third grade girls all about The Hero’s Journey. A little ambitious, I know. 

As usual, “the refusal of the call” was the toughest part of “the journey” to convey. I explained that it’s the part of the story when the hero is faced with the chance for adventure; however, because it takes him out of his comfort zone, he doesn’t really want to do it. After a short while talking about what makes a character’s comfort zone, we set out to write our stories. 

“My character is going to be a girly-girl. She likes makeup and nice clothes,” announced Mioko.

“Girly-girl” is definitely a comfort zone for this third grader–so much so that I didn’t have the heart to point out the unladylike pizza stain on her pretty green jumper as she went on to describe her story: “The hero’s purse is going to fall into a hole in the ground and she’s gonna have to decide whether to mess up her hair and go get it in Sportland…” (Where, naturally, she’ll have to play a sweaty game of soccer to get the purse back.)

Not bad for a third grader, right? 

Now as a child, I didn’t know much of anything about “girly-girl.” When I was three, I asked for a football helmet. My comfort zone involved Star Wars figures battling Strawberry Shortcake for domination of the mud hole underneath the kitchen window. I loved all things NOT girly-girl.

See NY Times Bestseller Sherri Rinker at Scribble Press UWS tomorrow at 4 p.m.!

 So imagine my delight to learn about “Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site,” a clever book by Sherri Rinker that brings the anti-girly-girls back to their comfort zone when it’s time to go to bed. After all, as my sister walked the periphery of the bedroom giving the dolls delicate kisses goodnight, I was battening the hatches, hunkering down for a night on watch, ready to battle the evil armies of tarantulas that were set to attack my bed as soon as the lights went out.  That or I was using my gargantuan Barbie camper as the getaway vehicle in a Hall of Justice take-over. Yes, getting me to go to sleep was itself a hero’s journey. The point is, no ordinary bedtime story with bunnies or moons was going to cut it.

While Rinker’s book may not be the perfect story for a child preparing for an epic arachnid war (“Get the F—k to Sleep” by Adam Mansbach and Ricardo Cortés might have been more up my parents’ alley), “Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site” is an amazing alternative for the energetic child who just wants to spend bedtime yelling VROOOM!  

Whether your child is a girly-girl, a dump truck kid, or a mix of the two, find bedtime books that speak to him/her. Remember that going to sleep is a hero’s journey. And as Mioko’s protagonist dreaded Sportsland, it is your child’s job to refuse the call.

So, be the Mentor. Guide the journey.  And if it helps, bring a dump truck.

Come meet Sherri Rinker and get a copy of “Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site” this Wednesday at 4 p.m., Scribble Press UWS.

-Jennifer Sarja