CONTEST
May 15, 2009
And the Winners Are…
TIME For Kids announces the winners of its poetry contest
We asked for silly, rhyming poems and more than a thousand kids across the country answered. The judge of TIME For Kids' Poetry Contest, Kenn Nesbitt, read poems on topics ranging from a sax-playing piece of cheese to homework that grows legs and runs away.
 |  COURTESY LI ZHANG Kitty Guo, 10, won first place in TIME For Kids' Poetry contest for her poem "My Parents Are Going Out." |
"I was truly impressed with the number of kids who took the time to write poems for the contest," Nesbitt told TFK. "There were a lot more than six winners in my judgment."
Kitty Guo, 10, from Buena Park, California, won first place for "My Parents Are Going Out." Nesbitt says the poem, which was inspired by a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, made him "laugh out loud."
"I submitted the poem just for fun and because I love to write," Kitty said. "I really didn't think I had a chance."
Kitty will receive an online visit to her fifth-grade class from Nesbitt and a signed copy of his latest book of poetry My Hippo Has the Hiccups. The finalists will also receive copies of the book.
To all the kids who took the time to enter TIME For Kids' Poetry contest, Nesbitt says: "I read every one of your poems, and I hope you all keep writing. You are all winners in my eyes."
Here are the winning poems.
The First Place Winner"My Parents Are Going Out"
By Kitty, 10, from Buena Park, California
Tonight my parents are going out
And as soon as they're gone in the car
I'm gonna scream and shout and run
To the fridge for an ice cream bar
I'll watch TV the whole night long
Until my brains all rot
I'll swig milk right from the carton
And know I won't be caught
I'll buy two bags of marshmallows
And roast them in the yard
I'll order out for some pizza
Using my dad's credit card
I'll lie to my parents about working
So they don't know I'm really having fun
They'll think I'm locked in my room
Getting all my homework done
I cannot wait for them to leave
So I can eat junk and litter
Hey wait; someone's coming up our walk
Oh, no! IT'S MY BABY-SITTER!
"Crazy Animals"
By Aryn, 11, from Vanesville, Indiana
Once upon a time
I was high up in a tree
When I saw a pink flamingo
Flying right in front of me
It was following an octopus
That was going to the sea
The flamingo turned around
And went to Tennessee
There it saw a beaver
The beaver ran away
It was followed by a whale
From there it went astray
That Beaver went to Texas
The whale came to me
It climbed up the trunk
And sat down in the tree
It sat there for a while
But that tree stood tall
I watched that tree for years
When would that tree fall?
It lasted for a year
Until the tree gave up
Down fell the whale
That blob of falling stuff.
"My Pet Homework"
By Aliya, 9, from San Francisco, California
I couldn't do my homework
It grew legs and ran away
So I wrote a page on it instead
To tell you here today
At first it started shaking
It started turning green
It sprouted legs with hairy toes
And fungus in between
Teeth wiggled out from the pages
Red lips followed soon after
It bared its teeth and pursed its lips
And out came evil laughter
It opened up its dark green eyes
And sniffed with its pointy nose
And stood up so straight and tall
It was bouncing on its toes
It started walking slowly
Then went faster and ran away
And now I tell you, it is true
I haven't seen it since that day
"What Do I Write?"
By Jessica, 10, from Woodstock, Illinois
What do I write?
Oh, what do I write?
I've sat here and thought all day and all night.
I've thought and thought with no end in sight.
I hope something hits me splat in the face
'cause I've crumpled up papers at a furious pace.
I've ripped them and torn then all right into two.
Oh, what will I write?
Oh, what should I do?
"Why I Can't Cook"
By Daiga, 10, from Austin, Texas
I can't cook because when I
tried I set my house on fire.
I can't cook because when I
did I used my mom's spare tire.
I can't cook because it makes
everyone ill.
But I don't care what anyone
says, my food does not kill.
Except for last year's moldy salsa.
The survivors are talking about
that one still.
"My Cheese Is Sad"
By Sonny, 11, from Bloomington, Illinois
I am about to eat my sandwich,
When my cheese looks at me.
I look back at it and see
That it wants to be free.
It looks up at me with sad eyes and
Asks,"Is this truly my fate?"
He gets out his sax and starts playing the blues.
Amazed, I wonder why he's not on the news!
I ask,"What's wrong?" and I finally see:
He is a piece of Blue Cheese.
