Ranger Rick Jr. Magazine Announces Draw Ricky Contest Winners

The October issue of Ranger Rick Jr. has hit mailboxes, and this month’s magazine is extra special because it includes the five winning drawings from our Draw Ricky contest. The contest ran from April 15 to June 30, and we received over 1,750 drawings of our mascot, Ricky Raccoon, from kids of all ages. In addition to being published in the magazine, the five winners won hats, just like the one Ricky wears.

We were blown away by the response to the contest and all the unique and creative drawings we received. Opening the mail every day was a treat, as we never knew what kind of Ricky’s we would find: silly, impressionistic, cartoonish, or even abstract. We saw Ricky’s painted with watercolors and drawn with pastels, and even an uncanny foam representation of our favorite raccoon. Our readers are true budding artists!

draw ricky contest winners
The winning drawings, from left: Aspen, age 6; Cooper, age 5; Faith, age 4; Griffin, age 7; Samantha, age 5
Lori Collins, editor-in-chief of Ranger Rick Jr., said that the response to the contest was “overwhelming. We received thousands of entries, and it became very clear that our readers really like and care about Ricky. As the editor of the magazine, that’s incredibly satisfying.”

wall of ricky drawings
The Ranger Rick Jr. staff hung many of the Ricky drawings on the wall so all NWF employees could enjoy them.
Choosing just five winners out of all the entries was tough, to say the least. In the end, the drawings that won were those we felt best captured Ricky’s adventurous and curious personality.

Hear from the Winners

All of our winners have two things in common: a love of drawing and a passion for animals! Cooper, age 5, said that he likes Ricky “because he’s an animal and I like animals.” Faith, age 4, loves to draw any kind of animal, especially “wild cats that have spots!”

The winning artists put a lot of effort into their creations, and it showed. Bonnie, mom to Griffin, age 7, said that Griffin “was so detailed and wanted to make it just perfect.” Cooper’s mom said that her son enjoyed “taking his time” with his drawing and “trying to make it look as good as he could.”

Winner Samantha, age 5, said she entered the Draw Ricky contest “to feel proud of herself.” She, along with all the other kids who entered, can feel very proud of her entry. Thanks to all the kids who helped make the contest a success!

See More Drawings

We could only pick five drawings to publish, but we had many other favorite entries. You can see more drawings on our website, as well as on social media: check out our Facebook album, our Pinterest board, and our Dear Ranger Rick Tumblr blog.

Related: Meet the Artist Behind Ricky Raccoon