Egg-cellent entries: Winners from The Spokesman-Review’s spring coloring contest

The only hard part about this Easter egg hunt was choosing just nine.

Nearly 300 area children decorated eggs for The Spokesman-Review’s spring coloring contest. The egg seemed to be the perfect canvas for the young artists, who used crayons, paints, markers, glitter, feathers and even jelly beans to create their masterpieces. Many stuck with spring and bunny themes, but a few thought more outside the lines, drawing inspiration from movies (think Minions), comic books (think Spider-Man) and myths (think mermaids).

In the 0 to 4 age group, Fiona Berg, 4, of Spokane, charmed judges with her floral design and multi-colored grass. The panel saw a splash of Monet in 4-year-old Oscar Ward’s watercolor egg. Oscar lives in Spirit Lake.

And at 3, Parker Sandin, of Coeur d’Alene, probably isn’t too concerned about which came first, but judges sure loved how he turned the egg into a googly-eyed chick.

In the 5 to 8 age group, Abby Holder, 6, sent a bunny rocketing to adventure, while Claire Semler, 7, set her bunny in a quirky and colorful pastoral scene. And Jamarion Johnson, 6, paid tribute to everyone’s favorite comic strip character, Charlie Brown. All three winners live in Spokane.

In the 9 to 12 age group, Spokane’s Lucy Jackson, 12, swatted away the competition with her “King Kong”-inspired image. Judges were particularly impressed with her detailed buildings.

The judges loved how Olivia Napora, 12, of Spokane, gave each bunny in her drawing its own personality. They were also taken with all the colorful details in the scene.

And a good pun will always win. John Michael Maple cracked judges up with his Honest Egg drawing. The 11-year-old lives in Chattaroy.

Kimberly Lusk, The Spokesman-Review