Dear Parents:

I am delighted to share the joy of creative writing with your child! Send me your child’s drawing and poem and I will include it on my Rainbow Sheep website at www.kimchatel.com. For privacy reasons only the child’s first name and age will be posted with the stories. Every child who sends a story will be entered in the contest to win a Rainbow Sheep music box, made with the same technique I used to create the illustrations in “Rainbow Sheep,” as well as a Rainbow Sheep T-shirt.

Contest ends: January 31st 2009

Every entry will be posted on the website. One entry will be drawn at random for the prize. I hope you will encourage your child to write a poem for the sad rainbow and send it along. Here’s how to send them:

By email: Scan your child’s drawing and poem and save it as a .jpg file. You can also type the poem and send it as a Word doc to klchatel@verizon.net. Be sure to include your child’s name and age as well as your email address in case you win the music box!

My regular mail: P.O. Box 63, Orefield, PA 18069

Please print the Parental Release form and include it with the submission.

Kids:

Genevieve is a little shepherdess with a big imagination. When she finds a sad, pale rainbow, she tells him funny stories until he cries happy tears and his colors return. Genevieve’s sheep are caught in the colorful rain of tears and become the “Rainbow Sheep.” If you found a sad rainbow what funny story would you tell him?

Why not write a poem for the Rainbow? Poems can come in many shapes and sizes, just like people. The picture above is a type of poem, made from words taken from Rainbow Sheep. You can see that it doesn’t look like a traditional poem. Try writing your own poem. Let it take on any shape you want. It doesn’t need to rhyme. It could even be a collection of words that are important to you. Or take 10 words from the poem above and use them in your own poem. The possibilities are endless!

Write a poem and draw a picture to go along with it. Then ask your parents to send it to author, Kim Chatel. Have your poem posted on the Rainbow Sheep Website and enter into a chance to win your own Rainbow Sheep music box! Don’t forget to fill out the Parental Release form below, and have fun!

Rainbow Sheep

Contest: Win a Rainbow Sheep T-shirt!