With 207 entries, this really was a monster competition - and so terribly hard to judge! Big thank you to all who entered, and to Whalan and Leonay Public Schools and St Martin's Davidson for getting behind this competition so enthusiastically. 

There were so many weird and wonderful, colourful, scary, funny, bizarre monsters to choose from. One winner didn't seem enough - so I have two, PLUS runners-up, PLUS finalists!

All of the entries were amazingly creative, so I needed to consider other things in choosing the finalists and winners. So above and beyond creative, they needed to display one or more of the following:
Lots of detail and thought
​Extra effort
Colourful and original drawing/model
Inventive name
Original interest
Quirky combination of drawing, name and interest
Made me laugh
And that very personal thing - it just appealed to me!

To be a winner or runner-up they had to fulfil the total brief - ie not only have created a monster but also gave it a name and an interest.

SO - without further ado, my two WINNERS are:

Nadav who is in kindergarten, with his monster, Doug:

From the minute I saw Doug, I loved him! He's colourful, there's even  a bit of collage going on with the pasted fish, his interests are also drawn, colour-coordinated and so original! He ticks so many boxes - original, colourful, effort, unusual interests, cute name and made me laugh.

My other WINNER is...

Alyssa who is in year 1. Her monster, Seretja likes to be with pets, has 54 friends, she is good and lives in a house made from grass.

Seretja is such a colourful and interesting monster with a unique name who can stand up on her own. Alyssa has gone to so much effort with her. Seretja is also gentle which made such a refreshing change from many of the violent monsters I saw! So this monster ticked a lot of boxes - original appearance, colourful, interesting, effort, detailed, unique personality and interests.

Now for my Runners-up:​

First runner-up is Rylie in year 5 with Moo

​I love the details of high heels and Moo's quirky love of umbrellas. Rylie has also included Moo's dream of being a barber in Sydney! This is one monster I'd like to meet! Plus, he's my favourite colour - purple!

My second runner-up is Noah in year 3 with Mixed Animal

I love the details of all the animals mixed up in this monster, and how he gets to grow and develop - by eating animals to get their body parts - a bit gruesome, but clever. Also, as I love animals, I liked the way Noah has made an animal mash-up.

My third runner-up is Claire in year 2 with Bad Bob

Bob is cute and colourful, but what I liked most about him was that his interest was unique (he likes water slides) and also included a complication - his teeth always pop the water slides! He was the only monster in the competition that I felt sorry for! I think Claire has what it takes to make up great stories!

All my winners and runners-up will receive a copy of The Scared Book, as will Alex, who was the enthusiastic first entry (see post here). I'll organise a time with my winners to come and speak to their class. 

In addition, certificates will be sent out to a number of finalists whose monsters I felt had a certain something extra-special - think hamster monster, pineapple minions, invisible ninjas, 50 toothpicks through wrapping foam, a speed stinger that has both land and aquatic form, a little robotic monster that looks scary but actually likes to have fun with little kids, and a Donald Trump monster making a political statement!

​THANK YOU  to all of those brave and creative students who had a go and entered. I loved that you would share your creativity with me.

Before I announce the winners of the blog comment competitions, I wanted to fill you in on the process. In keeping with The Scared Book theme...

Congratulations winners, and thanks to everyone who followed along and commented over the week.

And what of the make/draw your own monster competition? I have been inundated with over 100 entries, and due to technical glitches at the last minute, the announcement will be postponed as I await some entries that are flying in by 'snail mail' - I'm at the mercy of Australia Post here!

But in the mean time, enjoy some of the fabulous creations - it will be soooo hard to judge!
Watch this space!

​Follow the links to all the places I've been over last week's Book Blog Blitz to catch up on all the blog posts - it was pretty frantic! Don't forget to comment (by 9/9/17) on as many as you like to go in the draw to WIN a signed copy of The Scared Book and the chance to PITCH and SUBMIT a picture book manuscript to Suzanne O'Sullivan, publisher at Lothian Children's Books (part of the Hachette)  - include #thescaredpitch for the latter. Winners announced on this blog by the 12th September.

​Monday
Greenleaf Press Newsletter - not a blog, but you can comment on the facebook post
Just Write for Kids - Book review
Just Write for Kids - Book trailer and sneak peek

​Tuesday
Kid's Book Review. This was not officially part of the blog tour, so feel free to comment but it doesn't count for the competition.
Just Write for Kids - Character Q and A

Wednesday
Creative Kids Tales  - comments not enabled on this but it's an interesting interview :-)
​Just Write For Kids- Three books that helped shape The Scared Book

​Thursday
Buzz Words - interview about the publication of The Scared Book
​Just Write For Kids - Activities for kids
​Just Write for Kids - Craft activity - monster shaker
​Just Write for Kids - Craft activity - fan

Friday
Just Write For Kids - recap
​Books on Tour  - another competition for Books on Tour 'likers' on facebook

​Saturday
We had the launch at The Children's Bookshop, Beecroft NSW which was heaps of fun! A huge thank you to them! And for those who couldn't make it to watch me read the book live, here is a youtube video with the amazing Renee Price and Digby Fixit where we read and discuss The Scared Book.

​​Are you exhausted yet? I sure am! Another huge thank you to all the places that hosted me over the week.

​I must give a special shout out to Romi Sharp from Just Write For Kids for her amazing creativity and effort in taking The Scared Book on tour with Books On Tour. Any book creators reading this, please note - I could not recommend her services more highly for generating creative ideas and content, and being fabulous to work with. 

​And entries are flying in for the draw/make your own monster competition  - I hear that students at Leonay and Whalan Public Schools have been very busy! 

Thank you also to a number of reviewers who have posted reviews over the week:
Buzz Words
Educate. Empower.
​Toddler book reviews - on Instagram

It's been a huge week, and I'm loving hearing stories of The Scared Book getting out and about and being loved! So good!

What a whirlwind this week leading up to the launch of The Scared Book has been! I must say I'm a tad exhausted, but I wanted to share a few things with you before I go to bed for a week!

The first is to make sure you catch up on my blog blitz posts throughout the week - there's still time to enter the competitions. Check out 'blog central' at Books on Tour at www.justkidslit.com/the-scared-book-competitions-and-launch-details. I'll also post links to all the blogs when I'm out of hibernation!

The second thing is to share with you the stupendous video I made with author, musician, performer and puppeteer extraordinaire, Renee Price and her puppet friend, Digby. Check it out here.

Last but not least is to share a tiny snippet of the launch today - featuring the cake and goosebump pop-tarts made by my darling daughter - aren't they fabulous?! More photos to come when I emerge from under my covers...