Yowza! The response to last week’s contest was incredible! Dozens and dozens of you (including a couple of honest-to-God illustrators) sent me Words of Wisdom for a chance to win one of my doodles.
I don’t understand all this Doodle Mania, but I am flattered by it.
But now it is time to get down to the business of drawing the winning name!
Unfortunately, my son thought differently. He insisted that I “practice my doodling” first.
I sighed. Then I asked him what he wanted me to doodle.
He wanted a LEGO man wearing a 1980s astronaut shirt. This LEGO man, he explained, should also sport a medieval helmet and a battle axe.
“Anything else?” I asked?
There was. He also wanted the LEGO guy to be Benny, the youngest child in The Boxcar Children.
So I “practiced my doodling.”
Now that my son was duly bribed, he got to work.
***
In the months since the last contest, The Drawing Hat was given away to charity. So this drawing will mark the auspicious debut the Drawing Penguin Ice Bucket.
So! Let’s get started.
My son mixed the ballots…
And mixed them…
He mixed them very well.
You really have to admire his professionalism.
OK. Knock it off, boy.
And the winner is…
KID LIT REVIEWS!
Congratulations, Kid Lit! You win a personalized doodle on the subject of your choice!
All you have to do is go up to the menu item that says “Write Me a Note” and, well, write me a note.
***
Thanks to everyone who entered! You folks are awesome!
Hey, Look! A Writer Fellow! 
Your son is very entertaining. Please let him know how much I appreciate this. That shot of him with the mustachio is one of my favourites. His expression is priceless. OK, that is all the buttering up I am doing for the next draw. Maybe he will pick me 😉
Congrats, Kid Lit Reviews.
He will appreciate the buttering up, I’m sure, but his ballot picking integrity is beyond reproach.
Love the expressions. That Lego doodle is awesome! Here’s to much more doodling
I shall keep doodling away.
You keep doodling, too!
I’m thinking your kid will grow up to be a professional chef. Such dedication and talent in mixing!
His real talent is goofing around!
I think your son should apply for a job with the lottery. He’d be so good at picking out those bouncing balls. 🙂
Oh, that would be a perfect career!
THAT”S ME! Oh, my gosh. Thank you. Now, I need to figure out what I would like. Thank you, Mike. Wow!
Congrats, my friend! Expect the grand debut of your doodle sometime next week.
1. Congratulations to the Winner!
2. I second the difficulty of enjoying Boxcar Children
3. Both my mom and my grandmother have a similar penguin ice buckeet. It is a Thanksgiving Day staple in my family.
Those Boxcar Children are just so relentlessly cheerful. For goodness sake, you’re homeless! Let’s start appreciating the gravity of your situation, OK?
They also hardly ever “say” anything. They either “laugh” it or “cry” it.
“I have my pink cup!” Benny cried.
“You sure do!” Violet laughed.
Such drama! Your son has your comedic sensibility. I was on the edge of my seat! And now I’ve got to show my son your Lego drawing (very George Jetson!) so he’ll be inspired to create some new Lego people. 😀
Oh, and I love the retro look of the “drawing” room.
Congrats to Kid Lit Reviews!
My boy is a ham steak, that’s for sure. 🙂
As usual, allow me to encourage you to post more of your boy’s drawings. He, too, has quite the comic sensibility.
And I’m glad you like the decor. That’s my kitchen. It is filled with old adverts and retro soda bottles and period furniture. I dig it.
I want the Lego Man for me! Wait, I didn’t enter. And somehow, I also didn’t win. YAY FOR KIDLIT!! Awesome!
Better luck next time, Silly! (and if you enter, you will have better luck.)
Congratulations to KidLit. Drum rolls and sparklers go off.
Your doodles are excellent and your son a comedian. 😀 😀
Thank you kindly, Tess!
~(*_~)~~
I have never seen ballots mixed so thoroughly before. Seeing that almost makes up for the loss of my fedora-wearing duck doodle.
Almost (sniff).
Congratulations to Kid Lit, you lucky reviewer. you!
Oh, Sarah, you’ll get your duck one day. I’m sure of it.
Congrats, Kid Lit Reviews! Your illo rocks, Mike!
T’anks, Julie!
Wow! You know, I actually got all nervous and anxious and all those stomach-involved emotions when I saw this post! I was just glad Sue won ’cause it immediately enabled me to have a happy, generous reaction in the face of squalid defeat! 😉 Congrats, Sue!!!
You know, in now fully reading the post (yes, I rarely skip to the END of ANYthing—especially a book!—NEVA!—but was THAT anxious about this one!), I first need to comment on the fact that every time I see pics of your son, I LOVE his t-shirts 😀 The second VERY important comment I need to make is:
Mike, you NEED to do this WAY more than months apart. EASILY once a month (more often, says greedy me!) 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
My little guy is a character, that’s for sure.
But, you know, smartypants, YOU can do a doodle contest, too!
LOL…not me! I’ll have giveaways, but they won’t be doodles! I don’t want to embarrass myself! lol There are doodlers and then there are Doodlers. YOU, my friend, are a Doodler Extraordinaire!
Truth is—I actually never doodle! lol
Well, it’s high time you started. I wanna chance to win a doodle, too, you know!
hehehe…well, considering who’s requesting it, I may…MAY mind you, make an exception at some point lol
Aw, shucks. The suspense was too mean! I scrolled down with baited breath. You got me, hook, line and sinker. But I didn’t catch a doodle. Sigh. So sad. But please tell me there will be another chance sometime!
Your chance will come soon, my friend!
That was dramatic! Congratulations, Sue! Cool prize!
Gotta give the drawing a little zaz, after all. 😉
Zaz – mission accomplished.
Excellent.
So, The Boxcar Children are still around! My daughter loved them. She was the only kindergartner in her school who not only knew who they were but had all of them! And the penguin bucket, Mike, takes me back to my own childhood – and that was a looonnnnggggg time ago! Your kid picked the perfect father for himself, so no grousing young man! xoxoM
There are about four billion volumes in The Boxcar Children series, which one might argue, is a wee bit of overkill. I won’t be too hard on the series, however, since the publisher, Albert Whitman and Co., also published my Sarah Gives Thanks.
In fact, let’s forget this conversation ever happened.
To your other point: Not a day goes by where I am not grateful for having the boy that I have. I love him dearly, of course, but as an added bonus, he’s good, funny and interesting. I’m not quite sure what I did to deserve him.
“I’m not quite sure what I did to deserve him.” It’s a comforting feeling to have a child that wonderful! 😀 😀 😀 I feel the same way and so grateful he found the perfect girl for him, too 🙂
Twenty-seven years later, I feel exactly the same way about my daughter! xoxoM
Wadda ya mean it’s hard to enjoy The Boxcar Children. Who stole your childhood sense of adventure?
Trivia question for Alex…What was the name of the first Boxcar Mystery that was not written by Gertrude Chandler Warner? No helping dad. By the way, Bennie is my favorite character in the series! 🙂
And, to Kid Lit Reviews…congratulations you lucky dog, you!
Oh, my son wouldn’t know that question. He only has three books in the series.
As for me, I was a big fan of The Three Investigators.
Now THAT was a series! They got around in a chauffeured Rolls Royce! Jupiter Jones had an elaborate clubhouse with secret entrances on the grounds of his uncle’s junkyard! They occasionally hung out with Alfred Hitchcock! They explored haunted houses and uncovered fiendish plots!
Oh, my childhood sense of adventure is very much intact, thank you very much! 😉
And why haven’t I heard of this series…it sounds fabulous!
Okay…save the question for Alex when he’s read most of them…in a couple of years. 🙂
Fabulous indeed. Here, get started!
🙂 Thank You!!
You might want to get an early edition if they are available. I’m told that the reprints replace Hitchcock’s cameos with some fictional movie director. I find this stinky.
Otherwise, however, it’s the same awesome book.
I agree…it’s stinky!
Scenario 1: I won! Ohgollysakes! I finally get my cow doodle!! YippeeYippeee!!
Scenario 2: Why hasn’t Mike called me yet? I have plans–I can’t sit by the phone all day waiting. I know I’m the winner. Thinkwinner, thinkwinner, thinkwinner
Scenario: Drat and fudge!! No cow! *hissyfit noises* What? Don’t have a cow? Of course I don’t have a cow–I lost. *grumble*
Scenario 4: Hey–wait a go, KidLit! Have you thought about cows for your doodle? Yeah? Let’s talk…
So, let’s go for scenario 4 and once again thanks for the suspense, drama, and the sneak peek of your kitchen. I figure the next room featured will be the garage–we’ve seen about every other room, right?
I am sorry, Cricket. But fear not. I will do another doodle contest at some point in the future. So be strong.
Glad you liked my kitchen! Let’s see, my blog contains a pic of my home office, living room, and the picture of this triceratops was shot in my bedroom. https://mikeallegra.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/triceratops.jpg
So fear not, there are plenty of rooms left. 🙂
Darn! Beaten by my awesome arch-nemesis! Darnedy-darn-darn DARN! Dang. 😉 When you do her picture, can you make a photo-copy of it, give it and a black Sharpie to you son, and tell him “have fun” or something of the like? And then post the result? MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! 😉 But, really, congrats Ms. Morris! 🙂 Also, LOVE the LEGO guy, Mr. Allegra!!!! 😀
Ooh, you got a cruel streak in you, Erik!
I like that.
Better luck next time, buddy!
I never take revenge lightly. *smiles innocently while trying to hide a ‘Kick Me’ sign behind back* 😉
Wow, your son is very specific! Love it!
He likes to try and stump me.
For a while there I hung on to hope, but it was for nothing….actually, not nothing. I was well entertained and got a few laughs out of your son’s (is he growing up fast or what?!) comic prowess while you (perhaps a little cruelly!) skillfully built the suspense. Congrats Kid Lit Reviews:-) H xxx
My not-so-little guy grows like a weed. He is eight years old and four foot eight! How is that even possible?
And, yup, I do like suspense.
Yay doodle time! Love your Lego man.
But mostly I would like to know where your son got that awesome ice cream shirt. Is that a cookies-and-cream cow on the front?
He got that shirt from The Turkey Hill Experience. A delightful attraction in Lancaster County. Not only do kids learn how ice cream is made and get to film their very own ice cream commercials, but also the place gives out free scoops of Turkey Hill ice cream!
Ooh, Heaven is a place on Earth.
http://www.turkeyhillexperience.com/
OK, I’m LOVIN’ having this link! Even if I don’t go, maybe my son and d-in-law will 😀 Yay for Turkey Hill!
It is a fantastic place for young kids. Alex was a bit too old for it this time around, but the first time we went (about 5) he was enthralled.
Ah, but, as we are living proof that many times the “young” kid simply goes on hiatus (though with me, there was never a break), eventually reappearing as an “older” kid 🙂 When my son had outgrown Sesame Place—I HADN’T! lol
You’ve got a nice boy)))
That was probably quite a responsible and serious mission for him to mix the ballots. And he took it with much of a concentration! 😀
And I like your doodle from ‘The Boxcar Children’! 🙂