Wee Are Readers Photo Contest

I love reading. I love photography. I love kids. So I'm excited to offer my Wee Are Readers Photo Contest, which combines all three.

To enter, dust off those old photo albums or grab your camera to get a snapshot of your wee one (your child, grandchild, or great-grandchild) reading a book. Have no such photo? A picture of a younger sibling, niece, or nephew reading a book will do. If the picture includes you reading to this child, that's all the better. If you're blessed enough to have one, a childhood picture of yourself reading would make a charming entry!

Then, click here to email a digital copy to me. Type "Wee Are Readers" in the email subject line. Have more than one picture? Submit more than one entry. Unless you ARE the photographer, no professional portraits are allowed, since they are protected by copyright laws. Deadline for photo submissions is midnight (CST) on Thursday, February 23, 2012.

What's in it for you? A chance to win a $15 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card (winner's choice), a chance for you and/or your sweet wee one(s) to appear on my blog, and a chance to inspire others to read.

Photos will appear in random order in a Wee Are Readers photo parade on my blog on February 24, 2012. I will identify photos using only your first name and last initial and the child's relationship to you. (For example, "Diana P. reading to her daughter," "Diana P.'s son," or "Diana P. as a child"). For safety and privacy, no other identification will appear on my blog.

Each blog subscriber may cast one vote for his or her favorite snapshot beginning Friday, February 24, 2012, and ending at midnight (CST) on Thursday, March 1, 2012. Know folks who want to vote for your photo? Encourage them to subscribe to my blog! Yes, you may vote for your own photo, but remember votes are limited to one per blog subscriber.

The photo with the most qualifying votes wins.

As a certified teacher, I'm proud to synchronize this contest with the National Education Association's Read Across America Day, March 2, which happens to be Dr. Seuss's birthday. I will announce the winner on that day, the day the NEA "calls for every child to be reading in the company of a caring adult."

Share the gift of literacy. Read to a child!