First Place Winner: Kate Coombs

Before I announce the winning entry to the Unnecessary Children's Book Sequels That Never Were contest, I would like to thank everyone who submitted entries. In case you were wondering, "Why are Minh and Farida running this contest?" the answer is that we wanted to have fun and be entertained by your wit and creativity. We've dreamt up quite a few Children's Books That Never Were, but we wanted fresh ideas. And you, you wonderful people of the blogsphere, you had them! In the following days, I'll be posting more of the contest entries as promised.

I also want to thank once more our judges Melangell and Phil. If it weren't for you, we would be handing out 10th, 11th... 17th place prizes.

But now, without further ado, I would like to present the winning entry: the sequel to Crockett Johnson's Harold and the Purple Crayon as envisioned by author and blogger Kate Coombs, Harry and the Purple Can of Spray Paint.

Whatever you do, don't call him Harold. He's a big boy now, and he wields a mean can of spray paint! Follow Harry up and down dirty alleys and streets, also beneath overpasses, in this touching sequel. Remember: when you see that magical purple tag, an H with a skull-handled dagger slashing through it, you know Harry's been there and left his mark. --Kate Coombs

The unnecessary sequel to Bill Martin Jr. et al's Chicka Chicka Boom Boom was one of Coombs' other entries the short-list and is a personal favorite:

Shrieka Shrieka Boom Boom
You've seen the action movie, now read the picture book. Deciding palm tree climbing is child's play, a gang of thieves disguised as letters of the alphabet pulls off the biggest heist of the new millennium, stealing a cool kazillion dollars from an impossible-to-get-into bank vault. Along the way, they blow up twenty-six cars, from an Acura to a Z-28.


Kate Coombs wins the butterfly herder doll plus the first blue donkey I made that was just too big for a Nativity set made by Beneath the Rowan Tree and purchased by a teacher for Lucia's Atrium class:


The larger blue donkey is just perfect for the butterfly herder to ride during his daily round up all of those wayward Celastrina ladon.

In case you were distracted by all of this extra information, Minh's illustration for Harry and the Purple Can of Spray Paint plus his blog post is here.