In honor of National Poetry Month in April, independent bookseller Baker Books (Dartmouth, MA) hosted their tenth annual children's poetry-writing contest for children in kindergarten through eighth grade. This year, the bookstore had over six hundred poets from eighteen schools in the South Coast area competing for prizes and the opportunity to have their work published on Baker Books' website. In collaboration with the Zeiterion Theatre's America Project, the theme for this year's contest was "This Land Is Your Land," inspired from an edition of Woody Guthrie's classic ballad, This Land Is Your Land, published by Little Brown and richly illustrated by Kathy Jakobsen.

On Sunday, April 29, 2007, Baker Books announced the winning poems at a special awards ceremony and poetry reading. Five winners were picked from each of three different age categories (totaling fifteen winners in all): Younger poets (Kindergarten through 2nd grade), Middle-Grade poets (3rd through 5th grade), and Young Teen poets (6th through 8th grade). The Bartleby Scrivener Poets, a local writers group that meets at Baker Books, once again did the final judging for the contest. The children read their poems to a standing-room only crowd of parents, teachers, friends and poetry fans. (SEE BELOW FOR WINNERS)

Woody Guthrie's powerful lyrics convey the diversity of people in this country. With this in mind, this year's contest encouraged young writers to describe personal events, observations or thoughts celebrating our country's collective differences and similarities. The older winning poets received a copy of The Rhyming Dictionary, donated by Scholastic Inc., and the younger winning poets received a copy of This Land Is Your Land, donated by Little, Brown & Co. Each child was awarded a certificate of achievement and first place winners in each category were also awarded gift certificates by Baker Books.

Many thanks to all the children and young adults who shared their wonderful poems with us and to all the teachers, parents, and librarians who helped encourage these young bards. See you next year!

Signed,
- Baker Books Staff

BAKER BOOKS CONTEST WINNERS

Older Poets -- Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Grades

FIRST: "Why" by Olivia

Gr. 6 - Freetown-Lakeville Middle School (MA)

SECOND: "We Are American" by Abigail Tatarian

Gr. 8 - Freetown-Lakeville Middle School (MA)

THIRD: "If This Country Could Talk" by Perry L. Angelo

Gr. 7 - Seton Academy for Girls (Fall River, MA)

HM: "A Dreamland" by Madison McClarren

Gr. 6 - Seton Academy for Girls (Fall River, MA)

HM: "A Sea of Opportunities" by Peter

Gr. 6 - Wareham Middle School (Wareham, MA)

Hadleigh Weber was not available for the group photo. Click on image for larger picture.

Middle Grades -- Third, Fourth and Fifth Grades

FIRST: "Maple Tree" by Kayla Garcia

Gr. 4 - Quinn Elementary School (Dartmouth, MA)

SECOND: "Free and Expensive" by Gladis

Gr. 5 - John Hannigan (New Bedford, MA)

THIRD: "Connection" by Emma York

Gr. 4 - Hathaway Elementary School (New Bedford, MA)

HM: "This Land" by Sadie

Gr. 5 - Quinn Elementary School (Dartmouth, MA)

HM: "This Land" by Jake Mitchell

Gr. 3 - Quinn Elementary School (Dartmouth, MA)

Younger Poets -- Kindergarten, First and Second Grades

FIRST: "This Land" by Julia Lamarre

Kindergarten - Dartmouth Early Learning (Dartmouth, MA)

SECOND: "Recycling" by Ari

Gr. 1

THIRD: "Being America" by Matthew Perry

Gr. 2 - Dartmouth Early Learning (Dartmouth, MA)

HM: "Beauty" by Hadleigh Weber

Kindergarten - Dartmouth Early Learning (Dartmouth, MA)

HM: "Take Good Care" by Andrew Pereira

Gr. 2