10th Annual Raab Associates Prize for Illustration (2008)

Press Release
Image Gallery of 2008 Submissions

Press Release

"2008 Raab Associates Prize"

Susan Salzman Raab is a University of Connecticut Alumna who graduated in 1980 with a degree in English. She has experience in the retail book business and has worked at Bantam, Dell, and Scholastic. With her husband, David, she began her own children's book marketing agency, Raab Associates in 1986, now based in Chappaqua, New York. During the summer of 1999, Ms. Raab approached Terri J. Goldich, Curator of the Northeast Children's Literature Collection at the Dodd Center with the idea of creating a contest open to UConn students of art, for the best illustration of a children's story to bring attention to the field of children's book illustration as well e ncouraging students who have an interest in the arts and the world of publishing. A cooperative agreement was developed with School of Fine Arts Professor Cora Lynn Deibler, who assigns an entry for the contest as part of her fall curriculum.

This is now the tenth year of the Raab Associates Prize, and the assignment was to create an illustration to accompany the poem "Dino Thought" by Jane Yolen. The judges were Ms. Raab, Ms. Yolen, and Ms. Goldich.

As with former years, the students produced an unusually diverse and fine group of artwork. The First Place Winner is Claire Belton, and the Second Place Winner is Carrie Palazzo. The cash prizes were awarded by Susan Raab at the Connecticut Children’s Book Fair and the winners also received a year's membership in the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators courtesy of SCBWI President Stephen Mooser.

The contest judges congratulate all of the contestants and are sincerely grateful for their participation, and also wish to thank Jane Yolen for generously supplying the poem for this year’s contest.

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Dino Thought


               Oh dinosaur, oh dinosaur,
               There are no dinos any more.

               The skies are clear of pterodact,
               (A very sorry dino fact.)

No more velociraptor gnashes,
               No more allosaurus crashes.

               No more pounding thunder feet
               Of Rex on his revolting beat.

               Oh dinosaur, oh dinosaur,
               There are no dinos any more.

-- by Jane Yolen

1st Place Winner: Claire Belton

2nd Place Winner: Carrie Palazzo

Visit the Image gallery to view all of the submissions for 2008.

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