Local kid, Aarya, 7, from Collierville won every round of the storytelling contest, Create Your Story, as presented by the combined team efforts of Schleich and youth organization, 4-H, over the summer.
Aarya won every round of this contest through her imaginative storytelling skills. Two-three winners were selected to be included in the final interactive video, which was launched on YouTube. The public voted on the interactive stories on Facebook and Instagram, and each finalist received a $50 prize package from the toy company Schleich, and their stories were included into the final video. The video is an interactive compilation with 90 minutes of stop-motion animation which kids can enjoy.
Aarya loves to play the piano and has a vivid imagination. “I read a lot of books, and then build my ideas on paper, draw them, and that’s how I got through all three competitions and won them,” explains Aarya. “I felt good about the different types of animals I drew for the second one [round].”
“She is working on another story called ‘Shadow Girl’ and hoping to build on that,” says Aarya’s dad Anuj Sethi. “Aarya wants to be the chief storyteller for Schleich on their social media platforms. We just encourage her to do whatever she likes and find her own space in writing, music, or drawing.”
The team of Schleich and 4-H called on the creative imagination of kids of all ages to share their whimsical ideas in a storytelling contest. The team kicked off the story and then let the kids’ imagination finish each chapter through various mediums, including written stories, photos, drawings, and songs. The contest was kicked off on National Storytelling Day on April 27th, and the final story was launched on YouTube in a stop-animation film starring the voices of the winners alongside Bindi Irwin, zookeeper, television personality, conservationist, and actress.
To learn more about this competition, visit createyourstorywith4h.com.
Watch the winning video here: