Adorableness defined: Annual Halloween coloring contest reveals some real winners

The piles this year were large.

For the the annual Spokesman-Review Halloween coloring contest, we had 368 kids enter their pleasing pumpkins for our perusal. Staff judges, as usual, had a difficult time picking the winners. But we persevered, and now can highlight the nine best in three age categories.

Among our youngest artists, ages 0 to 4, there was a wide range of skills displayed. EllaLee White, 4, of Chattaroy, utterly charmed the judges with her buck-toothed pumpkin with apple-green cheeks. Ward Wells, 4, of Spokane Valley, evoked the colors of fall, and that adorable pumpkin face is the crowning touch. Aviela M. (who neglected to give us her last name) turned in a classic pumpkin with a judicious use of glitter glue (a rare skill in a preschooler).

The next age category, 5-8, generated nearly twice as many entries as the other two categories combined, making the choice tough. Kaden Woolard, 8, of Spokane, won judges over with his classic pumpkin with leaf decorations. Leslie Watt, 7, of Chattaroy created a sweet owl that caught judges’ attention from the beginning, as did the colorful construction-paper cat created by Madison Hernandez, 7, of Spokane.

Among the older kids, 9-12, the quality of the entries was quite strong. Bella Lambert, 9, of Spokane, did no actual coloring on her pumpkin, opting for a puffy tissue-paper look that clearly took a lot of time and patience. Amelia Reeves, 9, of Spokane, created a beautiful floral design for her entry, and Teagan Smyth, 9, of Liberty Lake, made even the candy corn haters in the group appreciate the cleverness of her striped pumpkin.

Many of the remaining entries are on display at Mobius Children’s Museum, in the lower level of River Park Square.