Contest
#14 - Be My Valentine
So we're late posting the contest winners
(again)... But really, who couldn't use a little love at any time of the
year? Keep your valentine wishes fresh all year round with these contest
entries. The winner of our contest is Lillian Pluta who
receives a free year of membership with the SCBWI. Our two Runners-up,
Donna Gephart and J. Patrick Lewis,
will both receive SCBWI t-shirts. Honorable mentions go to Ty
Simmons and Rita Vallery. Congratulations to
all our winners and thank you to all who participated in our valentine
contest!
For those of you who missed it, here was the contest:
Write the text or verse that might appear in a valentine card from
one animal (dog, cat, bird, hippo, turtle, yetti, etc.) to another animal
of the same or of a different species.
San Antonio, TX
member since 1997
WINNER
Dear Little Mousie,
This Valentine's Day,
I love you the most.
But I'd like you more
as chopped meat on toast,
or maybe in stew,
or broth or chow mein,
or with a sweet sauce,
or maybe just plain.
I hope you stay thin;
don't get very fat.
I'm watching my weight.
Sincerely,
The Cat
Lillian Pluta lives in Texas with her husband, two sons, three cats, and the remnants of her sanity. Her first book, There's a Yak in My Bed, will be published by Blooming Tree Press in 2006.
Jupiter, FL
member since 1998
RUNNER UP
Card Exterior
A Poem for My Valentine
I took the leap. I jumped right in.
In hopes a romance would begin.
I love your eyes, so big and bold.
Your shiny locks, so soft to hold.
Our moonlit walks, I squeeze you tight
'Cause close to you, I feel just right.
Together we will always be . . .
Interior
'Cause you're my pooch and I'm your flea.
Donna Gephart lives in South Florida where her hobbies include fleeing screaming from hurricanes, alligators, and botched elections. She aspires to write the Great American Greeting Card, but is happily scribbling essays for Family Circle as well as funny middle-grade novels.
Chagrin Falls, OH
member since 1994
RUNNER UP
From one hippo to another hippo:
"Remember the Nile and our first date...?
I love the way you've put on weight."
J. Patrick Lewis is a children's poet who has just published his 43rd book, Please Bury Me in the Library (Harcourt, 2005).
non-member
HONORABLE MENTION
You float like a butterfly,
I sting like a bee.
Such cross-pollinated lovers
Nature never did see.
The nectar we sipped
When we met on that flower
Was a potion of love
With unquenchable power.
You stole my heart
And my abdomen, too,
For I missed when we kissed
And stung you right through.
Though our time is now short,
Our love cannot die
So Bee my Valentine,
Won't you, Butterfly?
Ty Simmons lives near Dallas, TX, with his wife and four children, who have stolen his heart (but not his abdomen). He is currently working on his first novel for Young Adults.
Ames, IA
member since 2001
HONORABLE MENTION
From one pig to another:
Rub snouts with me
And share my slop,
My love for you
Will never stop.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Rita Vallery writes stories for young children, mostly in rhyme but some in prose. She is unpublished (as yet), but hopes that some day an editor will find something they can't resist. Along with their own four children, Rita and her husband raised 14 foster children over a number of years.
