Bookmark and Writing Contest Winners

We want to thank all parents and their kids for participating in the 2010 Summer Reading Program! Over 12,000 kids read and/or listened to their parents read. We know kids who read, succeed. See all of you next year's summer reading program.  

1st Place
A Fish Story
By Emily Stoaks (Age 3)
From: West Richland Branch

Once upon a time there was a little starfish, and once upon a time there was a bare naked fish. And a horsie came and ate the bare naked fish. Once there was a little garden in the water, then the goose came in the water and flied away and splashed all in! Then there was a giant flamingo! And there was a giant horse! And there was a giant fish! And him was growing, growing, growing! Then the fish was running across the water. Then there was a little sheep came, and splashed all of the apples off the trees. And they hold on the bar and bounce high up to the air. The fish was jumping. Once there was a little tiny fish, then the little tiny fish just jumped higher. Then him sit down and say “good-bye.”  The fish said, “Good-bye.”  The fish said, “Night-night,” and goed to sleep, and closed his eyes.

2nd Place
Water
By Ezdras Chavez (age 5)
From: Pasco Branch

Water is everywhere
Water in the tub
Water in the cup
Water in the sprinklers on my yard

Water in the lake
Water for my pet
Water for the flowers
Water for us everywhere

3rd Place
Untitled
By Levy Lamprey (age 5)
From: Keewaydin Park Branch

Water vibrates everything! I like playing in water with rings and my little ducky that floats. I throw my frisbee across the water to get 150 points during my game. The beach is fun. I love driving there. I love swimming in the water and playing with my sand castles. I like playing with my toys in the trailer when I’m camping at the beach. I swam in the water and then we came back to my house after four days at the beach!

My hot tub is fun too! I think it is fun with my friends Stephanie and Courtney. I like going in the sprinklers too.  The water slides are fun for five year olds. I love surfing at the water park so much. I love the slipand slides on hills. The water makes me splash! I love five feet water!

This is why water on the trip was so fun!

1st Place
Dive In
By Megan Stoaks (Age 7)
From: West Richland Branch

Dive In
Dive into the ocean with me,
Me and the fishes love to swim happily.
There are many kinds of fishes in the sea,
Animals like sea anenones and the manatee
Are in the ocean with me.

Sea horses who play hide-and-seek,
We can find them in the coral, anenomes, and brain coral too!
Dolphins in the sea, they breathe air, like you and me.
There are sharks in the sea, too, and they can dive in with you.

Tide pools in the oceans sometimes have sea urchins and sea cucumbers.
The spikes of the sea cumber feel very rubbery, while the sea urchin feels pokey.
There are sea stars, and some small anenomes, too.
I like to touch sea anemone tentacles, and the top of sea stars,
They feel so sticky, and slimy too.

Humpback whales breathe in air, just like you and me and dolphins do.
The creatures in the ocean blue, how I just love to play with you!

2nd Place
Zion the Fish
By Megan Gomez (age 8)
From: Kennewick  Branch

Once upon a time there was a fish named Zion. He was green and smaller than the other fish.  He got teased often. But, he was a good reader and he loved school!

One day, he entered a race and the fish knew he was slow. He practiced a lot. He went to the library and he checked out “How to Swim Fast” books.  The bigger fish thought reading was boring.

On the day of the race. The big fish told Zion he was not going to win. He was sad.

Then the big fish yelled, “on your mark, get set, go!” all of the fish swam. Zion was in the lead. He was the first one across the finish line.  He won the race. Then everyone was saying, “Good job!”
The End.

3rd  Place
Little Mermaid
By Ashton Simmons (age 6)
From: Kennewick Branch

Once upon a time there was a little mermaid and she loved to dream about animals under the sea and she knew all the animals under the sea.
One day she discovered that there was a big problem. She wanted to know what it was. Then she knew. The baby seal was very, very sick! Maybe she could help. She told her parents. Her parents said she could give the seal some medicine. The seal thought it was soup! She said, “It isn’t soup!” And the seal didn’t like it and it threw up!
“Oh no!!”, said Little Mermaid. “Maybe I should get some different medicine.” And the seal loved it!  The she began to come over every morning to feed him some of it. 

1st Place
A Mermaid Life
By Sarah Tucker (Age 9)
From: Kennewick Branch

One humid morning, I (Jill the duck) asked my mom if I could swim at the lake. Mom said, “Fine, but come back in the evening.”
“Okay, Mom,” I said. I was looking at the water, but suddenly the water was getting farther away. “Ahhh!”
I looked up and saw a monkey holding onto me. I was out of the monkey’s hand in to another monkey’s hand and dunked into the water. I couldn’t breathe until I felt a splash on me and saw a broken water balloon. I could breathe underwater.
“Wow!” I said. I swam to the surface and looked at my reflection. I looked like a mermaid. I looked down. I had a tail! I swam deep, deep, deep into the water. I saw a city. In mermaids’ houses I saw TV’s. They have underwater TV’s. Cool! There was a mermaid standing beside me.
“Hi,” I said.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Jill,” I said, “What’s your name?”
“Molly,” she said “We have a stack of water balloons that we throw at ducks and other animals. The balloons have powder that turns animals into mermaids.
“That happened to me,” I replied. “I’m supposed to be a duck right now.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said.
We went to a big water park and became good friends. One day, a person in a car kidnapped us. He took us on to the highway and to the museum to put us on display since we were mermaids. Before we got to the museum, Molly’s dad broke the window with his huge tail and got us to the water. That was scary.
“Well I kind of want to turn back into a duck,” I said.
“Okay. Dad, get the turn-back water balloons. Here.” Splash. “Dad, that’s a bird.”
“Okay,” he said. Splash.
“Dad, that’s a monkey.” Sigh. Splash.
“There, a duck,” he said.
“Thanks.”
“Now will you get me back to my nest?” I asked.
“Sure,” said Molly, “Where is it at?”
“By the water park,” I said.
“Okay.”
Molly’s dad swam really fast. Almost like lightning. When I told Mom about it, she said, “Cool.” I played with Molly a lot and we became best friends forever.

2nd Place
The Friends that Meet
By Charlee Beason (age 10)
From: Kennewick Branch

There was a seal named Fredrick. He was a seal that was always bored because, he never had friends. He sees fish that are mean to him and push him around everywhere. Fredrick was swimming slow and sad and was thinking man I wish I had friends. I want to have a friend that will be nice to me all the time. So Fredrick looked down and someone bumped him. Fredrick said sorry I wasn’t looking.  It was a killer whale so Fredrick screamed.  The whale said don’t scream I’m a nice killer whale. I won’t hurt you. I’m orca and I wanted to know if you would be my friend. Fredrick said I’m Fredrick and yes I would want to be your friend. So Fredrick said come to my house and meet my family Orca said ok. They got to Fredricks home and introduced his family. After that, they said lets go meet my family orca said. So Fredrick met his family and got the parents together. They ate fish for dinner and became best friends, even the parents did.

3rd  Place
Pool Memories
By Diana Keen (age 10)
From: Kennewick Branch

Every summer since I can remember, I’ve gone to my neighbor’s swimming pool, I have some good memories of swimming in the pool.

I love to go to the pool with my brother and we usually go around the pool and make swirls with our bodies. The rushing of the water feels like I am going to get sucked down the drain at the bottom.

I also like to hold on to the edge of the wall and my brother grabs my feet dunking me under the water. I struggle for breath but he lets me back to the surface and I giggle.

When my brother and his friend get in the pool with me we play hit-the-ball.  We have so much fun! When the ball gets hit out I always have to get it. 
 
I can not wait for summer to come so that my brother can get in the pool and swim with me.

1st Place
The Telt
By Ben Tucker  (Age 11)
From: Kennewick Branch

You may think I’m a regular guy, but in an hour I will have slippery wet gills. I’m what people call “telts.” Telts is a word that means “turn to animal.” I will become a petite goldfish in an hour. Every hour, I turn from human to fish or fish to human. I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s the truth.
I’m swimming right here in this lake waiting to turn to a goldfish. I suddenly feel a jolt and the usual surprise of turning to a fish.  The water feels nice and cool. Then, suddenly, there is a scream for help! I look around and see a poor little fish stuck under a rock. I go to help him. I push the rock over. The fish looks at me with a thank you look in his eyes. Then the mother fish comes.
“Thank you for saving my child. I saw you are a telt. If you’re sick of being a telt, there is a stone that will turn you to a regular human again.”
“Wow!” I said. “I think turning into a regular human would be nice.”
“Well, the stone is in that cave. Good luck,” said the mother fish.
So, I swam into that black cave. When I entered, blackness swallowed. I went in deeper and deeper. I was starting to worry about becoming a human again when a sparkling bright light appeared. I was blinded by it.
“The stone!” I tried to touch it, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. A telt isn’t so bad. I was staring in awe at the stone so long. I forgot I was going to turn back to human.  I couldn’t breathe. I realized I was turning to a human. I put on top speed and swam as fast as my body would take me. I was almost there. My eyes were turning colors.
Almost there……Almost there……Almost there. Then I fainted.
When I woke up, I was on land. “I’m alive!” Then I turned to a fish. Has it been an hour already? I flopped into the water. After thirty minutes the mom fish told me everything. I got near the stone and then I was allowed to turn into a fish or a human whenever I want and how long I want. On top of that, I was drowning right at the entrance of the cave and the mama fish and the other fish helped drag me to the surface. I have new friends. Maybe being a telt isn’t all that bad.

2nd Place
Hunger for a Book?
By Youka Li (age 11)
From: Basin City Branch

Ahhhh a perfect day I thought as I lazily sipped my lemonade. I was at the beach in a beautiful tropical beach in Hawaii, sipping lemonade as I lounged on a inflatable float out in the ocean reading a book. I had two of my favorite books here with me: The Great Book of Sharks and Exploring the Deep.  I was reading Exploring the Deep and learning fascinating facts about fish and corals. I was on the best part when I saw something dark and triangular swimming around me it took exactly two seconds to know what it was: a dorsal fin of a great white shark. As soon as I realized what it was I immediately tried to call for help. Only to discover that my float had drifted out to far for anyone to hear me! I looked around desperate for any sign of humans around.  I almost wished my amazingly annoying little sister was here zooming on a boat to rescue me. But of course that didn’t happen.
The fin started getting closer. I put my book down and groaned as I said “What am I going to do.” But as soon as I said that I felt a little nip at my heel. The kind of nip that your cat gives you when you forget to feed him.  The shark suddenly started pulling me under.  Just as my head was going down, my hand shot up and grabbed my float. My drink spilled but I didn’t care. Anything to get out of the water. I saved my books just as they fell. I quickly climbed back on my float and gasped as a blue and white head popped out of the water. I was frozen in shock and fear. A million thoughts raced through my mind. Will it eat me? Am I going to live to see tomorrow? My heart was hammering in my chest.  Then my mind focused on how sharp his teeth was. Teeth that could easily snap me in half. The sun glistened off his wet teeth. His mouth stretched into a wide grin as he said “Could I borrow a book”?

3rd Place
Ella’s Adventure
By Courtney Witteveen (age 12)
From: Bookmobile

There once was a girl who loved to swim, her name was Ella. She lived in Canon Beach, Oregon with her parents. Her mother was a librarian and her father was a lifeguard. The day before Ella’s birthday her parents asked her what she wanted to do. Ella said the she would like to go snorkeling. So the next day Ella and her parents got up early and rented a boat which they drove to a good snorkeling site. Ella and her parents jumped into the water with a splash! Ella saw a lot of beautiful fish swimming around them. Suddenly Ella saw a whale. The whale was the most beautiful thing Ella had ever seen, but she wondered why it was swimming towards them so fast. The whale kept coming, and Ella could see why it was coming so fast. Ella saw a shark. Ella swam to the surface and got back to the boat. Then Ella panicked when she realized her parents were no where in site she started to cry, she could not help but think about what it would be like if her parents died. However when Ella looked up and saw something rising to the surface; it was parents on top of the whale. The whale had saved Ella’s parents! The next day Ella’s parents surprised Ella with a boat, so they could go visit the whale that had saved their lives.

1st Place
Bottoms Up
By Random Fairchild (Age 17)
From: Prosser Branch

Water clear and cool and wet
From a glass that once was set
In a washer full of water
That was cold but then got hotter,
Water clean from underground
From a spring that I had found
And to that spring is always brought
A bit of water that is caught
As dew on the grass each morn
Dripping to the ground forlorn
And if it failed to escape the sun
It was lifted high for fun
By the heat that its light gave
But from the torment clouds did save
Those little drops from going high
Into space, above the sky
And those clouds still shelter some
But others from the clouds did come
To find that they felt much more
Like falling to the sandy shore
Of a beach near salty seas
Where they rolled by the sea breeze
To the waters, carried out
To waters full of bass and trout
They were swept under the ground
Into a spring that I had found
And through the well that I have built
To filter water from the silt
Those drops are brought up to my cup
I drink my water, bottoms up.

T2nd Place
Waves
By Tiara Johnson (age 14)
From: Kennewick Branch

Waves
Waves
Don’t go away
Come again
Every summer day

The way that you sway
To the beat of the moon
Is a ever entrancing
As a meadow larks toon

First you come in
Then you go out
And we never know
What it’s all about

The beat of the moon
Is a silent lullaby
No one can hear it
Not you nor I

You never tire
Not Ever
Ever
You’ll keep on swaying
Forever
And Ever

3rd Place
A Dream
By Gaby Gibson  (age 13)
From: Kennewick Branch

Think of a smooth ocean
Think of a sandy beach
Think of your toes in the water
Think of a silence
So pure, so strong
Think of waking up from this dream
and you only want to return