Yesterday, I picked up the kid-written, kid-illustrated copy of Gorillas in the Kitchen from the printer, and we think they look beautiful! I would show you a picture, but of course that would spoil the big surprise. We spent the entire day folding letters and stuffing envelopes and putting on postage, and tomorrow we will take the books to the post office.

For now, I want to give you a glimpse at some of our favorite pages from the books kids sent us. Even though we had to pick just one kid’s book to publish, we fell in love with so many of them. It was exciting (and humbling) to see such an impressive show of imagination, creativity, and artistic skill on display.

The following are presented in reverse alphabetical order. I will tell you that one of these kids is the winner, but for now, I can’t tell you which.

William

(See how two kids interpreted the same visual prompt so differently.)

Valerie

(The very picture of domestic bliss.)

Zuzu

(I love Zuzu’s gorilla. So friendly!)

Tyler

(Tyler does a better starry night than Van Gogh.)

Sydney

(I love how differently each kid interprets “gorilla.” Sydney’s might be my favorite.)

Spencer

(A simple question mark can say so much.)

Skylar

(This is a GREAT illustration of a leaky water tower.)

Quentin

(I love how expressive Quentin’s stick man is.)

Paxon

(Paxon named his book Ninjas in the Kitchen)

Melody

(Apparently more than one kid thinks that gorillas have spiky hair.)

Holly

(Holly had a very different take on “gorillas.” )

Hailey

(I love that Hailey’s gorillas are made of stacked squares and rectangles.)

Eddie

(What a beautiful illustration.)

Dora

(Dora is not technically a kid, but she does have a wonderful imagination!)

Darcy

(I love the simplicity, and cheerfulness, of Darcy’s gorillas.

Cannon

(This is one of my favorite self-portraits of all time.)

Calli

(A few simple lines can say so much.)

Aven

(I just love that hairdo.)

Alyson

(If there were a prize for artful use of mixed media, Alyson would be the hands-down winner.)

I hope you can see what an incredible range of styles and sensibilities these kids brought to the project. And I hope you can see why it was so difficult to pick just one winner.

Let’s all take a moment to give a collective applause to all the kids who wrote books. As far as we’re concerned, anyone who has written their own book (and has drawn the pictures!) is already a winner.

Present company excluded, of course.