Author places fourth in contest

By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
   WEST AMWELL — A West Amwell author’s manuscript has placed fourth out of 150 entries in a national children’s book competition.
   Lois Castellano, of Frontage Road, was the only New Jersey author among 10 finalists in the fourth annual ABC’s Children’s Picture Book Competition.
   Her 1,000-word entry, “Zebra Berries for Mommy,” is about a colorblind youngster who has to overcome the disability as he picks out a present for his mother.
   The competition paired Ms. Castellano’s story with illustrations by Isaac Marzioli, who has illustrated more than 10 “SpongeBob SquarePants” picture books.
   Visitors to the publisher’s Web site were asked to vote for their favorite story from among the finalists. More than 10,000 ballots were cast.
   Ms. Castellano is a chemical engineer for Schering-Plough in the quality-risk assessment area. Her husband, Chris, who also is an engineer, is a member of the West Amwell Elementary School Board of Education. The couple have two boys, Sean, 5, and Ryan, almost 2.
   Ms. Castellano credits her children with sparking her imagination.
   ”Neither of my children are colorblind; that came from elsewhere,” she said. “My husband and I were becoming more creative with the bedtime stories, and they both seemed to enjoy the one about two zebras named Frank and Buddy, coined by my oldest, Sean. That’s the origin of this story.”
   The Castellanos enjoy making up bedtime stories for their boys.
   Sean, especially, “has such a vivid imagination, that he has challenged and inspired my husband and me to become more creative with our storytelling,” Ms. Castellano said. “I just started to jot a few things down on paper, and my story just developed.”
   The author sees no disparity between her scientific side and her creative side.
   ”I like to think that people are a combination — both scientific and artistic — it just depends on the degree,” she said. “I’ve been friends with some very creative artistic people who like to read mathematics books in their spare time. Writing is just an outlet for me after dealing with the technical demands of the day.”
   The competition’s first-place winner, teacher Magnolia Walker, of Georgia, received a book contract for “Can I Still Be President?”
   No prizes were given to the runners-up, but Ms. Castellano didn’t seem to mind.
   ”I was very happy with fourth place,” she said. “You always go for first, but my story received exposure so that makes me feel good.”
   The winning stories may be read at www.abcbookcompetition.org. At the Web site, click on fourth annual competition.