Hillbilly Hotdogs is more than a typical West Virginia hotdog stand. It’s a bona fide roadside attraction. The lot is an eccentric collection of rustic-looking buildings covered in graffiti, repurposed school buses and reclaimed junk poking fun at hillbilly stereotypes.
West Virginia Public Broadcasting is proud to announce the winners of the 2025 Reader’s Choice Awards for this year’s PBS KIDS Writers Contest. Congratulations! Every year, WVPB picks a select number of stories out of all the submissions to win the Reader’s Choice Awards. Those stories are either animated or adapted into live action shorts.
WVPB 2025 Reader’s Choice: “Pickle Pete 2: A Curious Quest” by Lilly Stubbs
WVPB 2025 Reader’s Choice: “Total Solar Eclipse” by Francesca Briar Shangler
WVPB 2025 Reader’s Choice: “Cabby’s Great Adventure” by Hazel Hagler
Fifth Grade
1st Place: Pickle Pete 2: A Curious Quest by Lilly Stubbs of Monongalia County
2nd Place: Marble Run by Theresa ‘Reese’ McGowan of Ohio County
3rd Place: Nora and Ultima vs. The Ice Witch by Emma Gladwell of Cabell County
Fourth Grade
1st Place: The Adventure at The Eastern Blue River by Ryman Dennison of Hardy County
2nd Place: Duckbilled by Jonah Neil of Wayne County
3rd Place: We Have a Problem: How NASA (Accidentally) Launched the First Cat into Space by Elise Silber of Kanawha County
Third Grade
1st Place: Ella and the Typewriter by Avonlea Cooper of Wood County
2nd Place: The Absence of Life by Isaiah David Umbel of Taylor County
**CONTENT GUIDANCE: This story explores themes of mortality/existence that may be distressing for young readers.
3rd Place: Total Solar Eclipse by Francesca Briar Shangler of Cabell County
Second Grade
1st Place: A Hungry Little Donkey Travels the World by Helina Goodwin of Marion County
2nd Place: Ms. Pickle Toes by Rowan Bailey of Greenbrier County
3rd Place: Toto and His Friends by Zean-Ying Eugene Thong of Kanawha County
First Grade
1st Place: Cabby’s Great Adventure by Hazel Hagler of Kanawha County
2nd Place: The Best Boy by Bowen Groves of Harrison County
3rd Place: The Family Vacation by Maggie Stackhouse of Monongalia County
Kindergarten
1st Place: Haymes the Knight by Caelum Groves of Harrison County
2nd Place: Lazy Fruits by Cole McAvoy of Brooke County
3rd Place: Beau Finds a Family” by Luca Cassiadoro of Hancock County