Children’s Book

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Event Director: Allison Wendt

Purpose: Christian Children’s Book is a team event that inspires participants to spread God’s Word through children’s stories and illustrations.

Process: Participants will work together as a team to write an original story  for children that reflects in some way the LTCSW theme. The finished book should include text and illustrations. A panel of judges will evaluate the finished work according to the proper guidelines. The event director will assess the judges’ evaluations and assign an award.

Forms & Links: (right click to open form in a new window) Judge’s Form – Children’s Book | Special Needs or Concerns Form

Children’s Book Rules

image_printPrint Rules

Guidelines for Participating in Children’s Book:

Participants will work in teams to create a Christian themed book for children, complete with text and illustrations. The project should follow these guidelines.

  • Each team must consist of one to three participants, preferably within the same grade level. The team must be registered according to the grade level of the oldest teammate.
  • Format: Books should be hardback, paperback, board, pop-up, or cloth.
  • Reading Level: Each book should be written for a specific audience. The audience options are baby/toddler, beginning reader, early elementary reader, and elementary reader.
  • Length: The story portion of each book must have at least 10 pages and no more than 30 pages. The page count includes each page of the story that has either an illustration, text, or both. The book’s covers and title page are not included in the count. A table of contents is not required.
  • Book Cover: The book cover should be visually appealing and may include illustrations or artistic design. Digital illustration is permitted as long it was created by the participants. The title of the book and author’s name(s) must appear on the front cover.
  • Title Page: Each book must include a visually appealing title page with the following information: book title, intended reading level, and each participant’s name(s). This page may also include a dedication or quote but is not required.
  • LTC Theme: The plot or moral of the story must reflect the LTCSW theme for the year. If the book contains a scriptural reference, the reference must be accurate.
  • Story: The story must be original, well-written, cleanly presented, free of spelling and grammatical errors, and suitable for the indicated reading level. The story can reference fictional or historical events, characters, or plots but cannot be an extract from or summary of another published work. An adult or older participant may offer assistance with spelling and grammar if necessary.
  • Illustrations: Each book must include illustrations that are suitable for the reading level, neat, appropriately sized, aligned with the story’s words and tone, and visually pleasing. Participants may create original digital illustrations.
  • Neatness/Readability: The text must be neat, legible, and large enough to be easily read by the intended reader. Computer-generated text and hand-written text are both acceptable, however, all writing must be neat, legible, and large enough to be easily read by the intended reader. Crayon and broad-tipped markers do not work well for text in these books. Unless they are part of the story, crossed-out words, visible erasures, or other corrections will result in deductions.
  • Translation: The story may be in another language if an English translation is included for judging purposes.

Judging Criteria:

Children’s Book entries will be evaluated by three judges.

  • The judging criteria for Children’s Book includes:
    1. Technical Requirements (verified by the event director)
    2. Cover and Title Page (judged Excellent/Good/Fair)
    3. Neatness and Readability of Text (judged Excellent/Good/Fair)
    4. LTCSW Theme (judged Clearly/Reasonably/No)
    5. The Story (rated from 1 to 10)
    6. Illustrations (rated from 1 to 10)
  • Each participant must supply one completed judging form with their entry, with their work being evaluated by an adult from their congregation.
  • At the convention, each entry will be evaluated by two judges.
  • The Event Director reserves the discretion to assign the final award.

Submission Protocol:

Completed Children’s Book projects will be displayed and evaluated at the LTCSW Convention. Submission must follow this protocol.

  • All Children’s Book entries must be delivered to the Event Director in the Art room at the convention area between 12:00 p.m. Noon and 4:00 p.m. on Friday of convention.
  • Each Christian Book entry must have proper identification, which includes:
    1. One 3×5 index card attached to the back of the entry.
    2. The card must have this information printed on it: title of the book, name of the congregation, participants’ names and LTCSW IDs, LTCSW team number, and grade level of the team.
  • Each submission must be accompanied by one completed judge’s form.
  • All artwork must be picked up between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Saturday of convention.