TWO WINNERS FROM NHPTV CONTEST PLACE IN NATIONAL PBS KIDS WRITERS CONTEST

(DURHAM, AUGUST 4, 2015) — The literary legacy of New England continues as two first place winners from the NHPTV-PBS KIDS WRITERS CONTEST win prizes at the national level. Sebastian Shields of Saco, ME won the first-place prize for third grade, and Mia Lantaigne of Hampton, NH won third-place for first grade in the national PBS KIDS WRITERS CONTEST. Sebastian’s winning book “Escape from School” is a humorous guidebook for escaping from his elementary school. Mia’s winning book “The Planet Police” follows a group of eco-friendly officers as they meet and educate people on the importance of preserving the planet. Read their stories here: nhptv.org/kidswriteSebastian and Mia’s works were two of 450 stories received from children in K – 3rd grade for the NHPTV-PBS KIDS WRITERS CONTEST. NHPTV’s first-place winners competed nationally with entries from 65 other public television stations. This year’s national judges included creators, illustrators and writers from the PBS KIDS shows Arthur, Wild Kratts, Odd Squad, Peg + Cat, Daniel Tiger, and Super Why!.“Mia was inspired by the Wild Kratts and their message of conservation. She worked very hard on her story, from Christmas to the deadline in March,” said her mother Amy Lantaigne. “It’s great to see all that hard work pay off.” Sebastian’s mother Tina Shields said, “It’s a wonderful contest. Four years ago Sebastian saw the ads on NHPTV and has been submitting stories every year since. His confidence has grown in writing at school and he has really blossomed. He has inspired his younger sister, Mackenzie, to participate and she is already thinking of story ideas for next year.”The NHPTV-PBS KIDS WRITERS CONTEST encourages children in K – 3rd grade to explore the power of creativity by writing and illustrating their own stories. It promotes reading skills through hands-on, active learning. This is the 21st year NHPTV has hosted a writing and illustrating contest for children, and more than 10,000 children have participated over the years. “We are so proud of Sebastian and Mia. It’s a great honor to have their stories and illustrations recognized on a national level,” commented NHPTV President and CEO Peter Frid. “The PBS KIDS WRITERS CONTEST promotes creativity and helps children build valuable literacy skills for success in school and life. This is the third year in a row that NHPTV has had a national winner and Mia and Sebastian represent our ninth and tenth national winners since 2000.”The NHPTV-PBS KIDS WRITERS CONTEST is part of NHPTV's commitment to promote a love of reading, writing, and creative expression in children. The contest aligns with New Hampshire state writing, reading, and art standards, and is made possible with support from Heinemann and Lincoln Financial Foundation. The contest is made possible through national promotional support from Highlights for Children. The PBS KIDS WRITERS CONTEST is produced by PBS and based on the Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest, a concept developed by WNED-TV, Buffalo.

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