We now present the 2011 contest winners!

It has been a week of close reading, intense discussions, and a few good laughs, but we have reached our decisions for our art and writing contest!

Art Contest

5 to 7
First place: North Graff - "Sweet Dream Pie"
Second place: Sarah Merklin - "The Mystery of the Circus Clown"
Third place: Augie Hawk - "Paddington Takes to TV"
Honorable Mention: Esther Cull-Kahn - "The King's Taster"

8 to 10
First place: Nayeon Chung - "George's Marvelous Medicine"
Second place: Bennett Graff - "DK Visual Encyclopedia of Science"
Third place: Cassie Schierer - "Princess and the Pea"
Honorable Mention: Kyle Sampson - "Curious George goes to the Aquarium"

11 to 13
First place: Nicholas Ornstein - "Duke Ellington"
Second place: Charlotte Holt - "Queen of Hearts"
Third place: Sophie Mark-Ng - "Same Stuff As Stars"
Honorable Mention: Sara (from Newton) - "Violet Comes to Stay"


Writing Contest

5 to 7
First place: Nalani Jones - "Compiss"
Second place: Macy Rhie - "Super Girl Saves the Day"
Third place: Calla Walsh - series of poems
Honorable Mention: Baylor Diamond - "Tiny Coffee Cup"

8 to 10
First place: Jeremy Ornstein - "Dynasty of the Blue-Eyed Feathers"
Second place: Emmet Lewis-Hoeber - "Black Willow"
Third place: Robert Shapiro - "I Have 9 Lives"
Honorable Mention: Grace Valaskovic - "(I'm) A Work in Progress"

11 to 13
First place: Alexandra Domeshek - "Clock"
Second place: Jordan Lee - "Silk Road"
Third place: John Vernaglia - "Porky Poem"
Honorable Mention: Jacob Abrams - "The Book of Animal Transformations"

Congratulations to the winners! Thank you to all who bravely submitted their work, and the families and teachers who helped make it all happen.

Within a few days we will have scanned all the art and writing to post on this blog, and the art contest winners will be displayed in our store's windows.

Our building and nearby sidewalk are currently undergoing construction, so everything is now on our ground floor. As such, our selection of merchandise and books, while still painstakingly chosen, is smaller than in previous years. We recommend coming in sooner rather than later to pick up and redeem your gift certificates. (First through third places receive levels of gift certificates, honorable mentions do not).

Poetry laurels, multiculturism, a bit of trivia, and of course, Hunger Games news! (Recent news roundup)

Have you missed me? I've been away on vacation in warmer, sunnier climes but I'm back to give you the highlights of news relating to kids, kids books, and other things that I find entertaining...

The big news first! J. Patrick Lewis is the new Children's Poet Laureate, following such other luminaries as Jack Prelutsky and Mary Ann Hoberman. I love his poetry-history picture book, The House, illustrated by Roberto Innocenti, and am looking forward to what he will do with this position.

I have tried to stay away from the constant news updates about the casting and filming of the Hunger Games movie, in the hopes that my expectations will not rocket, and thus plummet, by the time I see it. However, I am apparently weak when it comes to Entertainment Weekly and its exclusive interview with Jennifer Lawrence (who plays Katniss, and yes, they dyed her blond hair brunette. Whew.)

As I discovered through Fuse #8, the blog Delightful Children's Books has compiled a book "tour" of cultures and countries in the book list Read Around the World, including a section on children from all around the world, with DK's Children Just Like Me and Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions From Around the World.

I've only just caught up on my Bitch Magazine blogs, so I'm a bit late in reporting that the ladies at that feminist organization posted their favorite childhood and contemporary picture books in honor of Children's Book Week. It's a fresh take on a common question in book and publishing spheres, (and I do like sending folks over to their website), so take a look! They have also begun a new blog series: a YA Book Club, featuring some contested titles from their unfortunately infamous 100 Young Adults for the Feminist Reader list. Our own store's book club also recently read Margo Lanagan's Tender Morsels; it was interesting comparing our reader's responses and questions to theirs. If you are interested in joining our monthly teen and adult book club, email us at blog@curiousg.com. Because of the city construction, we will have to relocate discussions off-site, but we will continue reading!

In other store news, I bet a few kids and their parents are a bit antsy about our art and writing contest which closed last week - we are fiendishly reading the many submissions we have received and will announce the winners tomorrow! We will not be sending out postcards this year, instead the list of winners will go up on our contest blog, with our Facebook, Twitter, and store blog linking there.

I will close on something just for fun - because who doesn't like silly quizzes? Persephone Magazine has a post of Disney Songs Trivia! The Thursday staff here was a bit stumped on a few, and we are appropriately ashamed.

I'm the best artist in the ocean! (Err...the Greater Boston area?)

We're a little over a month away from our art and writing contest deadline of Friday, May 13th. We're beginning our preparations for collecting and voting on all the incredible masterpieces kids send us...and we hope you are in the midst of creating (or reminding the kids you know to) those masterpieces!


If you missed the announcement, you can find all the rules, entry form, and previous years' winners over on our contest blog, or you can download and print the form at the end of this post. All kids between the ages of 5 and 13 are eligible, excepting relatives of Curious George employees. Kids may enter each contest only once. Please enter only your own work.

Guidelines for each contest are as follows:

Art contest: Illustrate your favorite poem, fairy tale, or story. Please label your drawing with the author and story you have chosen to illustrate.
Writing contest: Write an original short story, poem, or essay. Please limit your submission to three pages.
If you choose to illustrate a story of your own writing, please tell us which contest you would like us to judge it for.

Annual Art and Writing Contests

It is early spring, and you know what that means - our annual art and writing contests are kicking off! All kids (excepting relatives of Curious George employees) between the ages of 5 and 13 are eligible. Each contest will be subdivided into age categories: 5 to 7, 8 to 10, and 11 to 13.

Art Contest

Illustrate your favorite fairy tale, poem, short story, or book. Label your artwork with the author and title of the story you're illustrating.

Writing Contest

Write an original story, poem, or essay. Please keep your submissions to 3 pages.

Entering both contests means illustrating your favorite story as well as writing an original story: we're very excited to read stories you have illustrated, only tell us which contest you would like us to judge it for!






With all entries, please include our submission form that tells us your name, address, phone number, school and age. This submission form, which you can pick up in the store or download from our blogs (right click on the image above), enables us to contact the winners. Winning artwork will be on display in the store, and winning writing will be posted to our contest blog. Winners will also receive store gift certificates!

The deadline for entries is Friday, May 13th. Winners will be announced the following Friday the 20th.

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!

We're thrilled to announced the winners of this year's annual Art and Writing Contest (fanfare and ticker-tape, please!):

	ages 5-7 art
1st	Augie Oppenheimer	"The Dragons of Wayward Crescent"
2nd	Ben Pratt	"Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus"
3rd	Piper Larin	"Arthur Writes a Story"
HM	Julia Rasmussen	"The Old Meadow"
	ages 8-10 art
1st	Bennett Graff	"National Audubon Society Field Guide to Fishes of North America"
2nd	Valerie Dubinsky	"The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate"
3rd	Irene Wu	"If You Give a Pig a Pancake"
HM	Lena Rhie	"Yummers"
	ages 11-13 art
1st	Charlotte Holt	"The Hundred Dresses"
2nd	Kay Goodhart	"Indigo's Star"
3rd	Sara Mittelmeier Curtis	"Silent Pond"
HM	Abigail Dickson	"Highwire 66"
	ages 5-7 writing
1st	Pete Christensen	"The Monkeys are Scared"
2nd	Grace Valaskovic	"We Us Mittens"
3rd	Peter Loutzenhiser	"The Bear and the Hare Were Fighting Over a Pear"
HM	Kayla Bernard	"Jazz"
	ages 8-10 writing
1st	John Vernaglia	"Ode to Baseball"
2nd	Sam Wachman	"Dugongs"
3rd	Ben Ringler	"A Flock of Leaping Words"
HM	Eliza Broughton	"A Pilgrim's Diary"
HM	Lila Cardillo	"The Pre-Birthday Mystery"
HM	Gabriel Colburn	"The Unknown, the Mysteries, the Death"
	ages 11-13 writing
1st	Max Zegans	"Like a Rat"
2nd	Dasol Lee	"Peculiar Happenings"
3rd	Coby Gray	"Inheritance"
HM	Eva Koplow	"Reading Emily"

All the writing and artwork is posted on our separate contest-centric blog. See the winning entries here and congratulate the authors and artists!

The end of an era....

Today's the last day for sending in entries to our art and writing contests. So far, we've gotten an unprecedented amount of submissions, and they're still coming!

On May 28th, we will announce the winners here and on our contest blog, with the winning entries posted on the contest blog and the winning art displayed in the store. Winners will also be notified by mail.

Thanks to every kid who has submitted their work, and thanks to all the parents and teachers - especially those kind, worried souls rushing in these last few hours.

Post-Valentine's Post

Happy school vacation! Don't forget to pick up some comfort snowed-in reading - those spring new titles are already coming our way...we've got all kinds of genres from Erin Hunter's latest Seekers installment, The Last Wilderness and Jeff Stone's newest of the Five Ancestors series, Dragon, to Elizabeth Eulberg's teen romance The Lonely Hearts Club and native Cantabrigian Kathryn Lasky's Ashes, set in Germany during WWII. And of course, if you haven't read him yet and want to be an informed movie-goer, there's always Percy Jackson...

Thank you everyone who came out for Alison Paul (and ice cream sundaes!) on Sunday! We sure had lots of fun and it looked, sounded, and smelled (mmm, the scent of hot fudge on sticky little fingers) like you guys did too! I saw some intimidating burglar masks and hilarious Polaroid mug shots - and best of all, some gorgeously delicious, heavily decorated ice cream sundaes. We'll have pictures up here and on our Facebook in a few days if you want to relive the fun, or if you sadly had to miss it.

Last bit of news to look out for: we'll be announcing the guidelines and deadline for our annual art and writing contests in a few weeks, we hope you're working on your masterpieces!

Claiming art contest entries

Our display of art contest winners has received much praise and appreciation these past few months - we're extremely proud of the talented artists who submitted!

We will continue the display through September, and any artist who entered may pick up their piece at any point - but should take their picture next to the display before they go!

Thanks for submitting, and we hope to see your masterpieces again next spring.

A hodge podge of art, adventure, vampires, and pleas for love...(just a day in the life)

We are pleased to bring you the incredible masterpieces that took the cake in our art and writing contests! Pop on over to our very own contest blog and peruse the stories, poems, essays, paintings and drawings as you like.

While you're surfing around on the interwebs, be sure to vote for us as Best Boston Bookstore for Nickelodeon's Parents' Picks! Pretty please!

In other exciting news, we have all the latest installments of your favorite series in, so stock up on your summer reading! Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series wraps up with book number 5, The Last Olympian (or does it?). Michael Scott continues the Secrets of Nicholas Flamel in Sorceress, and D.J. MacHale's Pendragon ends with the tenth volume, Soldiers of Halla. At least there are the prequel books, Travelers: Before the War, to aid in the weaning process there. Now that these series are coming to a close, what new books do you think will take their place as the most sought after adventure tales?

When it comes to sought after books, we couldn't leave out the immortal teen vampire and zombie fantasies. Fellow bloggette Katie has written some great posts with suggestions for what next to sink your teeth into, but every week seems to bring in even more! Catherine Jinks puts a spin on the vamp camp with The Reformed Vampire Support Group, about vampires trying to control their urges and assimilate into society even while a suspiciously vampy murder hits the town. Our third bloggette Rachel, has this to say of another new title, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan: "Mary has always lived in the village, where the Sisterhood makes the rules and the Guardians watch the borders. When the Unconsecrated invade, infecting anyone they can catch, Mary must defy what she’s been taught to escape and find the truth. You won’t be able to put this gripping read down!"

Of course, we do have plenty more choices than action adventure or vampire romance in our chapter books, so if those genres aren't your cup of tea for summer reading, come see what else we have!

The results are in! 2009 art and writing contest winners...

As you can see over on our contest blog, the results of our annual art and writing contests are in! We will have the texts and artwork posted on the contest blog and hung in the store shortly.

Here are our very talented winners...

Art Contest

Ages 5 -7

1st place: Natalie Holton
2nd place: Tess Walsh
3rd place: Grace Broughton
Honorable mention: Benjamin Wong

Ages 8-10

1st place: Bennett Graff
2nd place: Abigail Dickson
3rd place: Valerie Dubinsky
Honorable mention: Gwyneth Bechunas

Ages 11-13

1st place: Claire Dickson
2nd place: Eleanor Holton

Writing Contest

Ages 5-7

1st place: Yasmine Aoua
2nd place: Tess Walsh
3rd place: Grace Broughton

Ages 8-10

1st place: Sophie Culpepper
2nd place: Tim Lee
3rd place: Coby Gray
Honorable mention: Magnus Aske

Ages 11-13

1st place: Margaret Shea
2nd place: Francis Corvino
3rd place: Chhoyang Cheshatsang
Honorable mention: Claire Dickson

Winners will receive a congratulatory postcard in the mail. Gift certificates can be picked up in the store. Congratulations, and thanks to everyone who valiantly submitted their work!

Minimalist Madness

In a time of fantasy tomes that reach the 700-800 page mark and the collected works/omnibus sensation, it's refreshing to see exercises in brevity. (Not that I don't love me some epic wizard adventures). Since Poetry Month is almost upon us, here are some contests that might inspire you to write...and don't forget to have anyone you know from 5 to 13 years of age submit their masterpieces to our art and writing contest!

Powell's Books, an incredible source for reviews and new and used books (they were selling books online in the pre-Amazon days!), is teaming up with SMITH magazine to garner mini-autobiographies for the next book in their Six Word Memoir series. You can enter a slice-of-your-life in their Six Word Memoir contest, and potentially get published!

Online book sharing and reviewing group Goodreads hosted a Status Update Writing Contest, in which entrants were challenged to tell a story by posting each sentence, one by one, as their status, within a 24 hour period. The contest has ended, but you can still read and vote on the nominees. Or you and yours can write your own story, poem, or essay in your Facebook, Twitter (and so on) status, or on your Underwood typewriter, if that's your speed...and did I mention you can send it to us for our art and writing contest??

I will leave off trying to play your muse (and practically begging for submissions), and wish you a happy first day of Spring! Here's hoping it feels more spring-ish soon...

Whoa. Lots of love in the CG blog!

It's been a crazy week here at the blog, in the best kind of way!

First, Peter H. Reynolds, author/illustrator of the inspiring books The Dot and Ish (among lots of other great titles!) left us a truly lovely comment. Peter's website and many blogs are just as inspirational for artists and artists-to-be of all kinds as his books. Head over and spend some time looking at the beautiful artwork and learning about Peter's campaign to help people of all ages "make their mark."

Then, Susan Marie Swanson, whose poetic Caldecott-winning picture book The House in the Night just came back in stock after a too-long absence, sent us a hug via Twitter... which THEN prompted her Twitter friends to leave us nice comments as well! (A recent Twitter by my all-time favorite author was rather less-well received by many, in case you missed the uproar.) Hugs to you, too, Susan (and friends!) -- we adore the book and are so excited it's back at Curious George.

Finally, we're ready to unveil a project we've been scheming about for a while: a series of guest posts by our favorite children's book authors, illustrators, and critics!

Our first guest blogger is Anita Silvey, who has in her distinguished career worn the many (fabulous) hats of children's literature publisher, The Horn Book Magazine editor-in-chief, Simmons College publishing professor, critic, author, and all-around kids' book expert. Curious George general manager Bindy was lucky enough to speak to Ms. Silvey about her fascinating new book, I’ll Pass for Your Comrade, in which she reveals the involvement of women soldiers during the Civil War, their motivations, and efforts to maintain their right to fight.

What drew you to this subject matter?
I’m an armchair Civil War historian, and when I read about these women for the first time, about six years ago, I wanted to tell their stories to young readers. Forgotten fragments of history fascinate me. Close to 1000 women, dressed as men, actually fought in the Civil War, and the record of their accomplishments has vanished from most of our accounts of the Civil War until recently.

What did you come across in your research that most surprised or disappointed you? Any preconceived notions that were proven false?
I kept wishing I could find out more about each of these women; sometimes all we have is one newspaper article. I began my research asking myself, “Why did they go,” but felt I got a handle on that. Then I had to ask, “Why did they stay?” They could have left at any time, and yet, with great determination, many of them fought throughout the war.

Your book came out in December 2008, on the heels of a most historic and symbolic election, leading into Lincoln’s 200^th Anniversary, and now taking us into Women’s History month. Can you talk a bit more about the timing of its publication, and the scope of relevance you may have aimed to achieve?
Although the book does fit current landmarks, I didn’t plan it that way. It took much longer to write and create than I anticipated. When I start a project, I always think I can finish writing it in five months. This took five years. But I am glad it can be used with the Lincoln 200^th. Lincoln, himself, as did many of the Presidents, knew of these women. He secured army pay for one of them.

Can we look forward to more nonfiction from you in the near future?
Absolutely. I am a nonfiction reader and writer. I’m currently writing Botanomania, a book about some of the 18^th-20^th Century botanists; their adventures rival those of Indiana Jones as they scoured the earth for plant species.

Thanks so much to Ms. Silvey for her post, and to Mr. Reynolds and Ms. Swanson for their friendly comments! Stay tuned for more great guest posts and more we-hope-they're-great posts from your regularly scheduled bloggers Michelle, Rachel, and me, Katie.

Art and Writing Contest Guidelines!

It's that time of year again: the start of our annual Just for Kids Art and Writing Contests! Here are the guidelines for both contests (you can enter one or both!), and an entry form you can print out and send in with your submission. All entries are due by April 30th. Winners will be announced on May 15th.

Art Contest:
Illustrate a scene from your favorite poem, fairy tale, short story, or book. Please be sure to label your artwork with the title and author of the work you have chosen to illustrate.

Writing Contest:
Write an original short story, poem, or essay. Three pages maximum.

Prize-winning artwork will be on display in Curious George from June through August. Prize-winning writing will be posted on our contest blog.

Submissions will be judged by age group: ages 5 to 7, 8 to 10, and 11 to 13. Gift certificates will be awarded to first, second and third place winners.

No purchase necessary. All kids between the ages of 5 and 13 are eligible, except relatives of Curious George employees. Please enter each contest only once. Children submitting multiple entries in either category will be disqualified. Children should enter only their own work.

Contest Winners!

See all of the award-winning artwork and writing submissions from this year's Curious George Just For Kids art and writing contest HERE.

Oh, the cleverness of you!

Although the final tally of the Art and Writing Contest entries won't be ready for a few more days, we'd just like to congratulate all contestants on their brilliance. It's making for difficult judging! Good luck to everyone who entered.

Congratulations are also due to our own Julia Denos, whose latest illustration effort, Sleepover Squad 5: Pony Party!, is beautifying our shelves now.

Be sure to check out the first four Sleepover Squad books and Sojourner Truth: Path to Glory in our chapter book room for more Julia genius!

We love moms. And Roger Sutton. But we love Kadir Nelson most of all.

This week the Today Show and Newsweek have both featured My Beautiful Mommy, a new picture book by plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Salzhauser meant to reassure kids about Mommy's tummy tuck or nose job. It might be comforting for children whose mothers opt for cosmetic surgery, but the side effects -- advertising plastic surgery procedures to a new generation and perpetuating unrealistic beauty standards -- unsettle us. For Mom, we'd prescribe a look at Nancy Redd's Body Drama, which encourages young women to "know, own, and love" their bodies -- a message with beneficial properties for any woman. A good choice for little ones is The Mommy Book by Todd Parr. Its accessible text and illustrations show how mommies are different (some drive cars and some ride motorcycles) and how they're alike (they give hugs and kisses). On Mother's Day show your mommy you love her just the way she is. Choose from lots of "mommy books" from our Mother's Day display or make an appointment for a silhouette done by artist Marcella Comerford.

The latest issue of The Horn Book Magazine has just arrived! Catch a starred review of CG staffer Bethany's beloved We Are the Ship, along with Susan Cooper's speech "Unriddling the World: Fantasy and Children," which was originally presented last November at the Cambridge Forum. If you can't get enough of The Horn Book, check out our favorite blogger, Roger Sutton, or sign up for their free email newsletter. In case you hadn't noticed, we definitely can't get enough!

The Children's Book Council's annual Children's Book Week is coming up in just a few weeks, May 12th through 18th. This year, for the first time ever, they're hosting a Children's Choice book award! Kids can go vote for the best book, author, and illustrator of the year. We'd have a hard time choosing a favorite among the nominees, who include Curious George best-sellers Mo Willems (the Pigeon series), Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson and the Olympians series), Jennifer Holm (Babymouse series), and Jeff Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Roderick Rules).

A reminder: the deadline for our yearly Art and Writing Contest is quickly approaching -- make sure to get your entry in by May 15th by downloading and printing the entry form. The entries we've already received look incredible! Come by our art room to stock up on any supplies you may need for your masterpiece.

Art and Writing Contest update

Now you can download and print the annual Just For Kids Art and Writing Contest guidelines and entry form. Don't forget, the deadline is May 15th, so start working on your masterpiece now!

Spring has sprung (we hope)

Happy first day of spring! It may be blustery outside, but at Curious George we're in full spring swing with tons of Easter swag. If you're still searching for the perfect stuffed rabbit or a copy of The Golden Egg Book for somebunny's basket, come on by. We'll be open from noon (post egg hunt!) to 6 PM on Easter Sunday, March 23rd.

Upcoming events at Curious George:

Warmer weather is arriving just in time for Harvard Square's Bookish Ball on April 12. This event includes a walking tour of the Square's many bookstores. Participants gather stamps in their passports and can enter a raffle at the conclusion of the day. As part of the festivities we'll be hosting children's events in the store from 3 PM to 6 PM.

Curious George will be hosting Marcella Comerford, a rare and gifted silhouette artist, on Saturday May 3rd from 10 am to 5:30 pm. Slots are filling up, so make an appointment for a 10-minute slot in-store soon. Wigglers welcome!

It's that time of year again: Curious George is now accepting original works to be judged in our annual Art and Writing Contest! If you are between the ages of 5 and 13, consider entering an original illustration from your favorite poem, fairy tale, short story or book OR an original short story, poem or essay, OR enter both contests! Submissions will be judged by Curious George staff. Winners will have their artwork displayed in The Yellow Hat Gallery in the store and pieces of writing published in a special Curious George newsletter. Prizes of Curious George gift certificates will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place submissions in 3 age categories. Win up to $75! Pick up an entrance form and you could soon be celebrating with a shopping spree at Curious George!

Speaking of celebrating, we're happy to announce that we now carry Curious George party supplies! Paper plates and cups, noisemakers, mini bubbles, pinatas, and much more featuring our favorite little monkey are available in store and online at the Curious George Books and Toys website. Rent our adult Curious George costume and complete the party experience with a George appearance at your event.

Some other new and notable arrivals:

Avi's latest, A Beginning, A Muddle, and an End, has hit our shelves. This philosophical take on the art of writing stars Avi's beloved Avon the snail and Edward the ant from 2004's The End of the Beginning. Check it out in the Chapter Book Room.

Also new in Chapter Books is the latest installment of Mary Pope Osborne's "Magic Tree House" series. Dark Day in the Deep Sea takes Jack and Annie on a search for a monster from the deep with scientists from the world's first floating science laboratory.

Staff Picks for Primary Season Reading:

Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by LeUyen Pham
Vote! by Eileen Christelow
I Want to be President a Sesame Street book
Duck for President by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin
What to do About Alice by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham
First Daughter: White House Rules by Mitali Perkins
As If Being 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother is Running for President by Donna Gephart

Also check out "The People's Choice" presidential card game from U.S. Games Systems, Inc. and early reader biographies of the candidates!