Little Thoughts Press and the Revision Raccoon are excited to announce the
1st Annual “From Trash to Treasure” Kidlit Poetry Contest!
Rather than throw out our darlings, what if we remade them? Take a discarded darling and make something new! Send us a lyrical haiku, funny limerick, inspiring quintains, creative free verse, or whatever your imagination dreams up.
What: Take a discarded-but-loved line from one of your kidlit pieces and use it as a starting point for a poem. Be it fiction or nonfiction, funny or a little dark, quirky or inspirational – whatever direction you go, the work should be appropriate for kids 12 and younger. LGTBQT+ and diverse themes are welcome. The first line of your new poem must be a line that you previously cut from a different piece. We're working on the honor system here! Please do not submit a poem that doesn't include a previously discarded line.
Who: Agented, pre-agented, published, pre-published, kids of all ages— any and all kidlit creatives are welcome to enter!
When: The contest submission period is from August 1st - 4th. A winner and two honorable mentions will be announced here, on the Little Thoughts Press blog, and on Twitter @ltpmag on Friday, August 11th! Selected poems will be featured on the blog and winners will receive a free copy of their choice of one of our past issues. Winning entries will be selected by Little Thoughts Press editors, Claire and Carrie.
How to enter: Post your entry as a comment on this post anytime between midnight (EDT) on August 1st and 11:59 pm (EDT) on August 4th. Entries posted outside of this window will not be considered.
Details: There is no word limit, BUT there is a maximum length of five lines per piece. 1 entry per kidlit creator. Feel free to include a sentence or two about the reason this is a “darling” and the inspiration behind the reimagining of it.
Grab your copy of our Revision Raccoon participant badge and help spread the word by sharing #trashtotreasure on your socials! We can't wait to see how you turn your trash into shiny new treasures!
Ice Storm
by Eric Herrington
Bundle! Burr! An icey blanket warns
Sleeting, prickly, pelting, rhythmic darts
Run! Escape! a frozen fate Encapsulates!
Shuffle crunch along piercing quiet streets
Inspired by the lack of snowfall in the Southern states and instead we get blanketed and encapsulated by ice storms.
Double Too
by Daniella Kaufman (@bydannikaufman)
When one becomes a part of two,
and learns to share — as doubles do,
unworried what belongs to who,
and sees another point of view,
the fun of one will double too.
This first line was originally written for poem inspired by my kids. When I pivoted away from numbers as characters, the line no longer fit. Thank you for the inspiration and opportunity to revisit this darling!
Field Trip
by @SharonKorzelius
Bunnies take the backseat, flamingoes fill the front.
Rhinos rest upon the roof, turtles climb into the trunk.
Weasel’s ready at the wheel for adventure to ensue–
Today they’re all visiting wild humans at the zoo!
This first line is something my son and I came up with on a road trip and has sat on a virtual page waiting for friends to join them on their adventure.
Thank you for this contest. So fun reading the other entries. :-)
Caterpillar Tea
When Caterpillars came for tea,
Tiger needed tulip tree.
Monarch only munched milkweed.
Skipper called for clover seed.
What picky eaters… just like me!
I played with the first line was for an article about caterpillars and host plants, but I ended up removing the child from that version. But that line about caterpillar tea keeps poking me in the brain, so thank you for the opportunity to give it a new home!
Lauri Meyers
@laurimeyers
Soeaks directly to my childhood expsrieve.. five years old standing with my eldest brother in Liverpool seeing the sea for the first time and feeling that overwhelming desire to travel and explore the world beyond.
Greetings from Australia