Before we begin the contest, I just want to thank everyone who expressed their concern and sent their thoughts and prayers my way during the storm, and say that I hope all of my friends out there were able to stay safe. We were lucky here, but I know a lot of people who read this blog were in harm’s way and I hope you and your loved ones are all safe and well.
And now…
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| courtesy google images |
The Contest: write a 100 word Halloween story appropriate for children (title not included in the 100 words), using the words witch, bat, and “trick-or-treat“. Your story can be scary, funny or anything in between, poetry or prose, but it will only count for the contest if it includes those 3 words and is 100 words (you can go under, but not over!) Get it? Halloweensie – because it’s not very long and it’s for little people 🙂
Post your story on your blog today! – Wednesday October 31 – by 11:59 PM EDT and add your post-specific link to the list below. If you don’t have a blog and would like to enter, you can simply copy and paste your entry in the comments section. Then have fun hopping around and reading all the fabulous entries! Anyone who has trouble commenting, please email me! (susanna[at]susannhill[dot]com) P.S. Special Note: due to the chaos and power outages caused by Sandy, if you would like to enter but need a little more time to post, please let me know! I will extend the deadline out to Friday if that helps anyone!
The Judge: my lovely assistant and I will narrow down the entrants to three (hee hee hee – you know how much trouble I have with only 3, so we’ll see) top choices which will be posted here and voted on for a winner. The vote will be added to Amy Dixon’s guest post on Monday (because Amy needs Monday since her book is Marathon Mouse and Monday is the day after the NYC marathon (which will hopefully still be able to take place) but we also need to vote for a winner!) Unless you all let me know by popular vote in the comments that you’d prefer a separate post on a day I usually don’t post – Saturday or Sunday? or next Tuesday?
The Prize: The winner will receive the INCREDIBLE prize of 5 (that’s FIVE!) brand new picture books personalized and signed by the authors! These 5 awesome books are: PUZZLED BY PINK by Sarah Frances Hardy, THE MONSTER WHO LOST HIS MEAN by Tiffany Strelitz Haber, THE THREE NINJA PIGS by Corey Rosen Schwartz, MARATHON MOUSE by Amy Dixon, and FLAP! by Alison Hertz. Great to keep for your own collection or to give to little ones in your life as holiday gifts 🙂 The winner will also be incredibly famous and able to boast that he or she won The Halloweensie Contest… and that is not something most people can say! 🙂
Here is my official sample, cobbled together in the midst of Sandy. If only she had been as benevolent as the story…
Bad weather brewed.
“Windy!” said Wanda.
“Stormy!” said Spellda.
“Halloweenie!” said baby Cauldra.
Just then the lights went out.
“Perfect!” squealed the little witches. They grabbed their broomsticks and candy cauldrons. “Let’s trick-or-treat!”
“Sorry,” said Mama Witch. “Spook Radio just issued a Wild Weather Warning. All broomsticks grounded. I’m afraid we’ll have to stay home.”
“No candy?” Cauldra began to cry.
“We can still have fun,” said Wanda.
They played Pin-The-Bat-In-The Attic. They sang Monster Mash and danced. They told ghost stories by jack-o-lantern light.
The front door rattled.
Dad blew in, covered with…
“Candy!” shouted the girls. “Happy Halloween!”
(99 words)
Here is the first sample I wrote which I’m including just for fun. It originally had 2 other verses and totaled 176 words… too long! This version is close though, with 116 words 🙂 What was I thinking? 100 words! Ouch! 🙂
In a spooky old house perched perilously
On the creaky branch of a skeleton tree
Lived Emmeline Witch and her sisters three
But they weren’t as happy as they should be.
Emmeline Witch wiped away a tear.
“I just don’t get why year after year
no trick-or-treaters ever come here.
It totally spoils my Halloween cheer.
Emmeline tried to figure out why.
She puzzled and pondered, then gave a sigh.
“By Jingo, girls! We’re way too high!
The kids don’t see us when they pass by!
Now Emmeline Witch and her sisters three
are the favorite stop on the Halloween spree,
the only house you’ll ever see
that hangs like a bat from a skeleton tree!
So now, having comforted yourselves with how much better your stories are than these!, everyone please add your post-specific contest entry link to the list below, or paste your story into the comments! I CAN’T WAIT to read them!!!
Also, please let me know if you have thoughts about what day to post the vote!
Happy Halloween!!!
(Please be sure to check the comments for entries – already 6 there from Sidney, Linda, Patricia, Larissa, Adele, and Pam!)
Susanna Leonard Hill 
What a gorgeous story! So sweet. Nobody knocked on our door last night – our neighbourhood mustn't have many children or our house must look scary! 🙂
Well, you're about to up the child count in your neighborhood 🙂 Next year you can trick-or-treat with your little 🙂 Glad you enjoyed the story, and hope you get a chance to check out some of the others – so many great ones! 🙂
You can save the date for the Holiday Contest, Theresa (it's going to be sometime the week before Christmas… Dec. 19 or thereabouts I'm thinking :)) I hope you have a few minutes to check out some of these wonderful entries – way more than I expected and all so good! 🙂
Glad you like the little witches three, Heather! I loved your entry! And yes – who knew? – this contest really did go wild! 🙂 So many wonderful stories… I've got my work cut out! 🙂 Happy Halloween 🙂
Link works perfectly and love your story, Katie! What dedication – trekking out for free Wifi to be sure you get your entry in! So glad you did 🙂 And hope you'll get a chance when your power is back to read some of the other fabulous entries! 🙂
I can't believe between class papers I was able to get this done this evening. This was so much fun. As are all of your ideas, Susanna. Here goes…something!
The Tickle Feet Affair (wc-98)
Bats have keen hearing. Not BattyAnne.
What’s worse, she eavesdrops.
BattyAnne hung upside down behind the cavern door.
“So that’s their surprise!”
BattyAnne giggled at the thought of finally outsmarting the ladies this Halloween.
Ooh! I must get a pedicure!”
BattyAnne caught up with the ladies at The Witch’s BrewHaHa Salon.
“So
we’re all polishing our bunions and corns for __” BattyAnne cleared
her throat and announced, “The Tickle Feet party! Yes, ha ha! I tricked
you this year.
I heard you talking about taking me!”
“Tickle Feet party?”
“What a fruit, BattyAnne.”
“Not Tickle Feet__Trick or Treat!”
Heeheehee! Very funny, Pam – tickle feet party 🙂 Love the eavesdropping bat – what a great idea! Thanks so much for squeezing some Halloweensie fun in between all those papers! Hope you've got a nice basket of treats 🙂
Thanks for having this contest. I'll have to make sure I take more time for it next year. I hope Vivian joins the contest too.
By the way we read Punxsutawney
Phyllis earlier this year and liked it a lot. I personally loved the painted illustrations. They were beautiful and complemented the words very well.
You're very welcome! I'm so glad you came to join in. And thanks for your kind words about PHYLLIS – I love those illustrations too – Jeff did such a great job! There are several in particular that I just love! If you enjoyed the contest, I'll give you a heads up: we will be having a Holiday Contest around the third week of December… I'm thinking the 19th or so… 🙂 with fabulous prizes!
Perfecting Motherhood wrote, in response to Susanna Leonard Hill:
Thanks for having this contest. I'll have to make sure I take more time for it next year. I hope Vivian joins the contest too.
By the way we read Punxsutawney
Phyllis earlier this year and liked it a lot. I personally loved the painted illustrations. They were beautiful and complemented the words very well.
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I'll be on the lookout!
Nice one! We've done Halloween with umbrellas before too!
Love the Brewhaha Salon – can picture them all there!
Fun one! Never had a hex or trick played on us – almost wish we did!
It has been so fun reading all the entries in your Halloweensie contest!! Such variety of themes! and they would all make for good picture books! Kudos to you for coming up with this fun idea!
My submission may have been a couple of minutes late. Busy, busy day. If I'm late, the trick's on me! Oh well. Happy Halloween!
Eric, you have to finish this story! “Pizza meat” – hysterical!
BrewHaHa – fabulous. Very cute story – and an eavesdropping bat is such a great character!
Thanks, Rhythm, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I'm only sorry you didn't try your paw at one… perhaps for the Holiday Contest in December… 🙂
Great fun, Linda! Hats off to everyone (and umbrellas up!), especially those who persevered and posted, even with Sandy howling at their doors. 🙂
Yes, Erik, finish it whether or not you can post it…I think I read that Susanna was extending the deadline…or maybe not…but no matter…it's a great idea with awesome images!
Pamela…this is so good…Brew-Ha-Ha…hilarious! And as Renee says, an eavesdropping bat is PERFECT! I can just see the illustrations. 🙂
I'm so happy that Milka entered the Halloweensie Content…she is an unbelievable mother…and staunch supporter of BOOKS AND READING…her WWW (would you read it Wednesday) posts are FILLED with books she is reading for herself and to her kids. And I'm glad a couple of people who read my posts were encouraged to stop over here…the talent in these submissions is unreal!!!
I was thrilled at how many people came over because of Nancy because of you! Thank you 🙂 Is Milka Perfecting Motherhood?
Vivian Kirkfield wrote, in response to Susanna Leonard Hill:
I'm so happy that Milka entered the Halloweensie Content…she is an unbelievable mother…and staunch supporter of BOOKS AND READING…her WWW (would you read it Wednesday) posts are FILLED with books she is reading for herself and to her kids. And I'm glad a couple of people who read my posts were encouraged to stop over here…the talent in these submissions is unreal!!!
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Hi Adele…l can just see the giggling teens who hold out their hands for more. 🙂 And I love the “hex”…great word with great images. 🙂
Patricia…how clever…and how perfect considering the flooding of Sandy…I can just see the Halloween Ark with two bats, two cats and two frogs. 🙂
Oh my…how sad! Puts a whole new slant on Halloween…and perhaps helps us realize how holidays change as we get older. We go from being children, happily enjoying candy..to being parents, happily (hopefully) enjoying our children…to being grandparents, happily enjoying the memories…until senility or ill health robs us of even those memories. Maybe a story like this would help more people remember the elderly. 🙂 Wonderful story, Sidney!
Finish this one of yours anyway! Sounds like lots of fun!
Thanks so much for stopping by to visit and read, Paula, and for encouraging Erik and for your wonderful entry!
Paula Tohline Calhoun (unregistered) wrote, in response to This Kid Reviews Bks:
Finish this one of yours anyway! Sounds like lots of fun!
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I'm still going to finish it, I'll just post it late! Thanks for the encouragement! 😀
I agree!
I just got power back and can't wait to read some teeny weeny halloween stories! Thanks for posting mine Susanna!
Have fun reading! As a group, they are AWESOME! I am tearing my hair out trying to narrow down finalists for the vote tomorrow! 🙂