PRESS RELEASE:

On Saturday, May 10, KUED celebrates the achievements of this year's winners of the Reading Rainbow, Writers and Illustrators' Contest at Country Inn & Suites in Bountiful, a national underwriter of the Reading Rainbow program.

In February, to kick off the competition, KUED along with community partners, hosted an event with children ages kindergarten through third grade. Children participated in hands-on story time with Causeway the Buffalo from the Davis Reads program, as well as a presentation with local author and illustrator team Caralyn and Mark Buehner. The children learned about the elements of a good story and were given an opportunity to map out their own stories for submission into the local contest.

As a result of the contest, Country Inn & Suites and KUED will host an awards ceremony for those who had a winning entry in the competition. At the celebration, winners will be recognized and awarded prizes. Of the 16 winners, each grade level, first-place winner from the KUED contest will go to the National Reading Rainbow Competition, where they can win prizes such as a laptop computer, flat-panel TV with DVD player, MP3 player, Reading Rainbow library sets of 5 DVDs, and books for their home, school and library.

At the May 10 celebration, children will be invited to share their stories with other winning recipients. KUED will be on hand to record the festivities and post celebration highlights on the KUED Web site, www.kued.org, along with the full color stories and illustrations of the winning entries. Following the awards presentation, the children and their families will have time to celebrate together. "We are pleased with the increase in participation this year" says Jacqui Voland, Community Outreach Coordinator "and our new collaboration with Country Inn & Suites has been a very positive experience locally."

Below is a list of winners and awards given by KUED and local sponsors Utah Education Savings Plan, Country Inn & Suites and Reading Rainbow for placement in the local competition: (for local press coverage, contact Jacqui Voland at 801.726.9670)

2008 Reading Rainbow Writers and Illustrators Contest Winners:

Kindergarten

1. Jace Bertelsen-Rex-A-Lot

2. Allie Young-The Mean Shapes

3. Jessika Yoon-My New Toy Balls

4. Lindsey Bouwhuis-Lucy the Brave Butterfly

First Grade

1. Hannah Loveless-Paradise and the Witch

2. Morgan Ann Platt-The Super Windy Day

3. Ella Harris-If the Hat Fits, Wear It

4. A.J. Giles--Skyney

Second Grade

1. Benjamin Keller-My Favorite Place is the Hogle Zoo

2. Lokesh Kumaraguru-Tastes of India

3. Jess Baker-Red

4. Emily Marie Schumacher-The Tree House

Third Grade

1. Christopher Cameron-My Experience with the Underwater Kingdom

2. Alison Hurst-The Music Box

3. Hayden Slaugh-Friends

4. Elizabeth Ann Hess-Frog and Turtle

Prize Details:

There are four local winners per grade category, kindergarten through third grade, making a total of 16 local winners. Prizes provided by KUED, Utah Education Savings Plan and Reading Rainbow include:

1st Prize Winners (k-3rd):

$75.00 plus a book bag, Reading Rainbow DVD and T-Shirt

2nd Prize Winners (k-3rd):

$50.00 plus a book bag, Reading Rainbow DVD and T-Shirt

3rd Prize Winners (k-3rd):

$25.00 plus a book bag, Reading Rainbow DVD and T-Shirt

4th Prize Winners (k-3rd):

Book bag, Reading Rainbow DVD and T-Shirt

KUED's Reading Rainbow, Writers and Illustrators' Contest is made possible by Utah Educational Savings Plan and corporate sponsor Country Inn and Suites. This program is part of KUED's Ready to Learn initiative, funded by the Emma Eccles Jones Foundation, the George S. and Dolores DoréEccles Foundation, Qwest, U.S. Bank, The University of Utah, The Castle Foundation and the Utah Education Association.

Major funding for Reading Rainbow is provided by The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations and Country Inns & Suites by Carlson, Inc. Reading Rainbow and the Contest are produced by WNED/Buffalo-Toronto and Smarterville Productions LLC.