Mrs. P reveals young winners of children’s writing contest!

Our good friends at Mrs. P’s Magic Library have a very exciting announcement today … the young winners of their second annual Be a Famous Writer Contest!

8-year-old Briana Beebe from Centennial, Colorado is the grand prize winner in the 4-to-8 year old category for her story “Mountain Dog,” about a beloved pet that disappears during a family’s move to a new home.

12-year-old Bill Wang from West Linn, Oregon is the grand prize winner in the 9-to-13 year old category for his story “Lucky the Bamboo chopper,” about a young panda bear who ahs to learn an important life lesson.

Here’s more:

“I was thrilled with the entries this year, which came in from 26 states – more than half the country,” said TV star Kathy Kinney, who portrays Mrs. P and is one of the creators of the website. “I was also very happy about the number of teachers who used the writing contest as a class project. Encouraging one child to write an original story is wonderful. Encouraging 30 is absolutely amazing.”

The Grand Prize winners will have their stories produced as videos featuring Mrs. P, which will be presented on her popular free, interactive digital website. Original artwork by award-winning Portland, Oregon-based illustrator Robin E. Kaplan will help bring the stories to life. The videos will be posted on the website beginning in March. Each winner will also receive an actual bound copy of the story and illustrations.

Powell’s Books, the country’s largest independent bookseller and the sponsor of the contest, will provide the Grand Prize winners and eight other finalists with gift certificates to its store. The stories will also be available as a free download bundle from iTunes on March 2nd in celebration of Read Across America Day.

MrsP.com announced that it will produce two other stories from the contest as videos: “The Peanut Butter and Jelly Hotdog,” written by a 5-year-old and chosen because of its clever and compassionate look at grade-school bullies; and “Ramona and the Fire,” honored for its amusing twist on “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” fable.

The judges for this year’s contest included some of the world’s most famous writers: #1 best-selling author Meg Cabot (“The Princess Diaries”); Jim Davis, creator of Garfield, the most popular cartoon strip in the world; and Danny Kallis, creator of the Disney Channel’s “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” and “The Suite Life on Deck,” television’s top-rated shows for kids.