Chronicle Books Blog

From October 2007 through May of 2008, we hosted an exciting creativity contest inspired by our Scribbles, Doodles, Squiggles, and Doodle All Year books by Taro Gomi. Bookstores, specialty retailers, schools, and libraries were mailed postcards with Taro Gomi’s art, which entrants were asked to doodle, paint, and draw on to their heart’s content, in the process creating original works of art of their own. Amazon.com and Costco even got in on the action, directing their customers to enter through our online contest page with downloadable Taro Gomi prints. Hundreds of entries were received, and selecting the best five was difficult to say the least!

Here’s an idea of what everyone had to start with:

With the help of our children’s design department, we were able to narrow the entries down and decided on 12 finalists. Next, Taro Gomi was contacted in Japan, and after much thought, he got back to us last week with his selection of the five grand-prize winners!

Kaitryn Hinchey

Gillian Ramirez

Kelsey Bryan Zwick

Alexander Zakel

Julie Hahs

As you can see, they really took this challenge to the next level! We’d like to extend a hearty congratulations to these budding artists, who will each receive a deluxe art set, a limited edition autographed Taro Gomi print, and a full collection of Chronicle’s Taro Gomi books.

Check out the other seven finalists:

Page Redford

Jordan Kovacs

Mackenzie McCarty

Emily Stackhouse

Danielle Nekimken

Caroline Lambert

Elizabeth Irvine

Thanks to the hundreds of fans who entered! This was a really fun project to work on and we were all amazed at how creative each and every one of you were–no matter what age. Stay tuned for more Chronicle Kids’ contests and more great Taro Gomi products!

Thanks again for your support!

Pete Bohan
Children’s Marketing Manager