When Zoe de Boer and Alexis Marcon finished their books for the Mary Jo Nettesheim Memorial Literary Competition, they each were worried that they might win. They’re such good friends, they thought losing would be better than winning something without the other winning, too.

Luckily, the two third-graders at Irving Pertzsch Elementary in Onalaska both won recognition for their entries in the competition, sponsored by Delta Kappa Gamma, an international women’s professional educators organization.

Marcon won third place among third-graders for her illustrated book, “Two Friends Adventure Home,” and de Boer won honorable mention in the open competition for best illustration for her book, “Who Am I?”

Almost 2,000 books were created by students in grades 3-8 for this year’s statewide competition, with 90 of those moving on to consideration for state awards.

Marcon and de Boer are classmates in Pam Ballard’s multi-age class, which mixes second- and third-graders. Ballard said she has had students enter the contest for the past 15 years, but this was the first time any have won.

Marcon’s book follows the exploits of Chester the dog and Rascal the cat, strays who befriend each other. One day, Chester is searching for Rascal and finds the cat struggling in the river. Chester jumps in to the raging waters and pulls Rascal to safety. A girl sees Chester’s act of heroism and adopts both of them.

In de Boer’s book, which is dedicated “to all the boys that dance,” a boy who loves to dance struggles with whether he should endure taunts from his schoolmates and keep dancing or pursue more traditional male activities that he’s not as good at.

“He figures out he should dance because that’s what he’s good at,” de Boer said.

Both Marcon and de Boer received award certificates and gift certificates to Barnes & Noble for their entries. Marcon also received a trophy and de Boer received a medal. For both, it was the first contest they’ve ever won.

Writing books runs in the family for de Boer. Her father, Tycho, a history professor at Winona State University in Winona, Minn., is working on a book about the history of rock ’n’ roll, she said. Her mother, Melissa, works as a paraprofessional at Onalaska Middle School.

Marcon’s parents haven’t written any books, but both do their share of writing. Father Chad is an investigator with the Onalaska Police Department and mother JoAnn is an attorney.

Marcon and de Boer both said the process of writing and illustrating their own books was rewarding, regardless of the outcome of the contest. They’re thinking of starting a book club with a twist — instead of reading books, their club would write books.

“I think that more people should actually write books,” Marcon said. “It’s real fun.”

Contact Randy Erickson at randy.erickson@lee.net or (608) 786-6812.

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