Archive for category: Contests

It’s time to get writing again – and here’s a wonderful incentive for kids in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB).

Write 150 to 250 words about what you’re most looking forward to this school year.

And you could win a Dell Inspiron Duo Laptop (value $550) or a backpack full of back-to-school stuff including a Kobo reader and a digital camera (value: $400).

Here’s the link to the contest where you’ll find all the details.

The contest is open to TDSB students, kindergarten to Grade 12. Four winners will be chosen (two elementary and two secondary). Winners will be judged on originality, style and overall impression.

Email your entry to communications@tdsb.on.ca before Friday, Sept. 16, 2011.
Include your full name, student ID number, grade and school.

So… get writing, and good luck!

What is the best literacy activity you’ve done with your kids to help get them reading?
The three top answers will be shared here and will win a Ji Ga Zo puzzle, courtesy of Hasbro and Getting Kids Reading.

The contest ends on Saturday, April 2 so get your answer(s) in by then.
We’ll be looking for simple, fun literacy-boosting activities (crafts, games, Internet sites, tips etc.) that kids will really enjoy and that will get them reading.
Winners will be notified here, and the puzzles will be shipped directly from Hasbro.

If you don’t know about Ji Ga Zo, it’s my latest obsession. (And no, Hasbro is not paying me to say any of this – although they did give me one free to try out. But I did subsequently buy one myself.)

Anyway, click here for my Ji Ga Zo post that will tell you more about it.
There’s a commercial that explains it pretty well, here.

AND THE WINNERS ARE… EVERYONE!
I just couldn’t pick three winners. I couldn’t, I couldn’t!
Fortunately, Hasbro has generously offered (OK, after a bit of askin’ on my part – well, I couldn’t pick three! I couldn’t!) to give all of the people who entered our contest a free Ji Ga Zo reusable puzzle. The name may be challenging but the puzzle is awesome. This is a $24.99 value – and Hasbro is shipping them free to all our winners.

So congratulations to – and please email your snail-mail address to joycegrant@sympatico.ca – our winners:
Jen Robinson
Valerie Strain
Ingvild
Lisa Dalrymple
Goletha Smith and
Greg Heptinstall

Congratulations! Woo-hoo! Picture the confetti I’m throwing.
Ah heck, here – you don’t have to picture it:

Image: Sherrie Thai

Thank you to everyone who entered our contest for free PictureIt books.

We have a winner! We put all of the names in a (virtual) hat and randomly chose a winner. Congratulations to Maria Butcher, who should be receiving the books right… about… now.

Maria mentioned in her comment that her son has Asperger’s – these books, in which the child draws his own illustrations, may be an excellent resource for him. I hope Maria will let us know if he enjoys the books (or not – either way, we wanna know!).

Now, for all of you who entered but didn’t win
I can’t bear to see anyone walk away empty-handed! So I went back to PictureIt and asked if they could offer some small discount to anyone who entered but didn’t win.

They’re not set up to offer discounts, but here’s what they generously offered to do: If you entered the contest, they will give you free shipping if you purchase the books through their website directly.

So if you entered the contest and want to buy the books and take advantage of this offer, you’ll need to e-mail Alicia and Leanne (the creators) directly and mention Getting Kids Reading. They can be reached at creators at pictureitpicturebooks dot com.

Thank you to PictureIt for supplying the six free books. And congratulations on having recently been picked up by Chapters/Indigo!

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, here are the links to our contest (which, as I say, is now over). Thanks everyone!
PictureIt book giveaway
Win free PictureIt books

We’ve only had two contest entries so far.

And while it’s great that two people have entered (thank you, M and K!)… I ask myself, “why haven’t more people entered?”

I figure it could be for two reasons (both of which have to do with the fact that I’m a neophyte at offering contests):

1) You don’t want to have to worry about picking the books up or paying for postage. Fair enough – I get that. Can’t change it, though.

2) You don’t want to have to put your e-mail address (as asked in my original post) on the Internet. This one I can fix.

So now if you want to enter the contest, just e-mail me your information at joycegrant at sympatico dot ca and I’ll enter you!

3) Don’t know what contest I’m talking about? Read this. And then enter, please.

“Picture It” picture book giveaway.

Toronto hosted Word on the Street on Sunday.

I’m always blown away by the sheer number of people who come out to the one-day festival. There are kids’ literature lovers, fantasy and sci-fi afficiandoes, magazines, alt literature – even Harlequin had a booth.

I picked up some fantastic ideas for kids’ literacy. One of the best was a brand-new series of books called “Picture It picture books.” They’re the brainchild of Leanne Milech and Alicia Belvedere.

They’re picture books with text on each page, with a big blank space for kids to illustrate them themselves. So for instance, a page will say “I have many toys, but this one is very special to me.” And then room above for the child to draw their special toy.

It’s a brilliant idea, because some kids are more into art than words. This draws them into the language as they explore their artistic side.

There are six books so far. “Goodnight Dreams” is about a girl who doesn’t dream and sets out to discover why. “Captain Zane” takes kids on a sea adventure. There’s also an alphabet book and a number book as well as a book about the child and their family.

The women have sold their idea to Chapters Indigo so it’s certain to take off. It’s also been featured on TV on CityLine.

Here’s the Picture It website with more information.

We’re giving six books away
Getting Kids Reading is proud to be giving a series of these wonderful books away to one lucky GKR reader. I’ll be doing a random draw, selecting one name to win.

If you live in the Toronto area and can pick up the books, that’s great. If you’re outside the city that’s fine but you’ll have to be willing to pay for postage. (I don’t think it’ll cost that much, but I’m no postal expert, so I can’t say for sure yet. Update: Under 10 bucks, the Picture It people tell me.)

The books are for kids 6 and up, although I’m sure that younger kids would enjoy them too. They’re listed at $7.99 each.

To enter the draw, write a Comment with your name and e-mail address. I’ll put all the names in a hat and pick a winner! The winner will be notified on Tuesday, October 12. (If I haven’t had enough entrants by then I might extend the deadline a bit, but let’s see what happens.) Good luck!

Here’s a little gift for our friends to the south.

Additional info: I received a very thoughtful response from a contest judge and from one of the Mrs. P. website creators explaining why the contest is limited to Americans only.

It’s a legal thing apparently. With gift certificates involved, it would be too difficult to administer internationally (according to their lawyers. Yeah, that’s what I said too. A-heh.).

Anyway, they said that if they get a lot of response from non-Americans, they’ll consider holding another contest that’s not US-exclusive. So there’s your homework, everyone!