WE CAN! Make a Difference

COMPETITION 2024

In collaboration with the National Literacy Trust

And the winner is...

Lilli Varju (aged 7)

Lilli told us:

Last weekend my little sister and I went to our favourite playground. The colourful trees were beautiful around us. We both enjoy swinging there, but my little sister is sometimes frightened if the swing goes too high. She is just 4 years old. But she is not afraid if we swing together, next to each other. So:

'WE CAN hold each other hands tightly so none of us will be afraid if the swing goes too high.'

We loved this message about helping and supporting others. Lilli also sent us a fabulous painting of the two sisters at the playground.

SECOND PRIZE goes to...

The Clare School, Norwich.

They sent us a range of wonderful entries from their students covering themes including kindness, sport, caring for animals and the environment and we would like to congratulate them all. Visit our Instagram to see a selection of their entries.

Congratulations again to our winners and thank you to everyone who entered the competition.

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The WE CAN Competition, launched 23 Oct 2024 (details below) is now closed.

To celebrate the launch of WE CAN!, we have a bundle of books and a unique piece of original artwork by Steve to give away.

WE CAN! is about the little things we can all do to create the world we want. The messages in the book are from children – they remind us to be kind, offer a helping hand, accept other people as they are, recycle, look after animals, treasure our local libraries.

How to enter:

To win this parcel of books and artwork, just tell us what’s important to you. So what else do you think we can all do to help make a difference in the world? Just finish the sentence “We can….” We’d ideally love you to share your message on social media, tagging @Mrsteveantony and @strickalexandra. We would love you to record it as a video clip or a photo with a caption or illustrate it with a drawing…. Or if you prefer, just email it to us at theyoucanbook@gmail.com. The choice is yours.

For extra impact on social media, why not post your message on Make a Difference Day, 26 October 2024, and use the hashtag #Makeadifference? Closing date 17 November 2024.

Please note that by entering you agree to the competition terms and conditions listed below.

GOOD LUCK!

Alex, Steve, Otter-Barry Books and the young contributors

COMPETITION TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. This competition is open to all ages but where the entrant is under 18, the message needs to be submitted on their behalf by an adult. A school, class, organisation, group or individual may enter.

2. 'Entering' the competition is understood to mean sending an Instagram message, posting an Instagram post tagging Alex and Steve or Instagram or sending an email to theyoucanbook@gmail.com. The message can be a video, photo, illustrated text or just a written message, but needs to start with the words ‘WE CAN…’

3. The aim is to communicate something YOU think everyone can do to help create a world we all want to live in.

4. Each competition entrant can only enter once.

5. By entering you confirm that you are aged 18 or over.

6. The winner will be selected by one of the young contributors. They will be asked to assess entries based on whether they think the sentence would be worthy of inclusion in a book like WE CAN! which aims to inspire children to do small things to make a big difference in the world – and please note if decision-making is difficult, they may well take into consideration the creativity and presentation of the entry!

7. The winner will be contacted during the week commencing 18 Nov 2024.

8. The winner will be announced on Instagram and their winning message shared.

9. Entrants have the right to remain anonymous, should they wish to do so. However in this case, it is advised to email the entry, and to specify the wish to take part anonymously within that email.

10. The bundle of books and original artwork will be posted to the address requested at the end of November 2024.

You Can competition (below) now closed.

2021 COMPETITION

COnGRATULATIONS TO NEDELIN (AGED 8) FROM WILTsHIRE, UK whose name was drawn from the hat to win our competition. A CHARACTER BASED ON Nedelin WILL JOIN THE CAST OF THE NEW BOOK! Thank you to everyone who entered.

Competition details

Following the success of You Can! and by popular demand, the team is thrilled to announce that a second book will follow.

Children themselves will once again be at the heart of the project and many young contributors are already working hard to create the text and plan the pictures for this exciting new book in the 'YOU CAN' family.

We Can! will share real children’s views on the kind of world they want to live in and how we can all play a part in creating that world. The book will be published in 2024.

And an exciting new competition will give one lucky child the chance to join the cast of characters pictured in the book.

Award-winning illustrator Steve Antony will make one real child (aged 6 to 10) the inspiration for a character who will appear on several pages of the new book – and even on the front cover - alongside the 14 much-loved characters who appeared in the first book. Above you can see the newly-revealed front cover of the book and exactly where an illustration of your child (or a child of your choosing) will appear.

The competition winner will receive a printed certificate featuring the name of the child on whose photo/s the new character will based, so this could make a great gift for any family or child.

To enter, simply find a copy of You Can! on a bookshelf anywhere - it might be in your home, someone else's home, a library, a school or a book shop. Take a photo of the book (or you or someone holding it!) and send it to us here at theyoucanbook@gmail.com or tweet it to @theyouncanbook. Closing date 14 December 2022.

A winner will be chosen at random and contacted on 14 December to check the name for the certificate. They will be contacted again in due course to supply a photo to form a basis of the new character in the second book.