Trading Card Design Creative Challenge Winners
The winners of this winter’s Creative Challenge showcase the power of imagination, close reading, and artistic expression. Inspired by impactful texts of their choice, participants were invited to spotlight key characters as literary MVPs: highlighting defining traits, pivotal actions, and unforgettable moments through creative design and thoughtful written reflections.
These winning entries demonstrate how deeply students can engage with literature when given the freedom to blend analysis with artistry. These standout submissions celebrate not only the stories that inspired them but also our student members’ ability to interpret character, theme, and emotion in inventive and compelling ways.
Grace Brenes, Christa McAuliffe School PS 28, NJ
Trading cards inspired by Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
After years of constantly moving to pursue her mother’s art career, Pearl arrives at the Richardson’s rental house in Shaker Heights. Over time, Pearl and Mia become close with the Richardsons, causing the two families to become very dependent on one another. However, as Pearl becomes closer with the oldest Richardson children, Izzy—the youngest—becomes intrigued by Mia, Pearl’s mother. As Izzy begins to spend more time at the Warren’s house in Mia’s company, she imagines a life in which she is Mia’s daughter rather than Pearl. Pearl herself has become increasingly comfortable with the elegant lifestyle of the Richardson’s, and she also begins to picture living with their ideal conditions. After an unfortunate misunderstanding, however, the Warrens are forced to vacate their house in Shaker Heights, causing Mia to reveal her complicated past to Pearl. Izzy, feeling that the situation is incredibly unfair, sets her house on fire before disappearing from her home. Although the Warrens can only live briefly alongside the residents of Shaker Heights, Pearl’s and Izzy’s glimpse into a life they never had causes them to contemplate their experiences in the home they both left, and will continue to long into the future.
Olivia Scanna, Morgan Road Middle School, NY
Trading card inspired by Ward D by Freida McFadden
Over the past couple of months, I have become a huge fan of Freida McFadden. She has authored some incredible stories but by far this is my favorite. Ward D has so many twists and turns and has so much suspense along with unexpected events. While reading I can’t even count how many times my face dropped and I gasped. I knew I had to highlight Amy Brenner. She does so many things that no one would expect to happen. My card shows how she can be unexpected but also very predictable. Amy has many different traits to her. She starts out very innocent and makes the reader believe that she could never have done anything but as you keep reading, your perspective on her will change.
Through this card I used dark colors and sharp fonts to represent that suspenseful and unknown future feeling. I chose her stats by really adding things that the reader should really understand about Amy. It helps to represent the choices she made and what she does. Amy is an awesome character, and this is an awesome book. For anyone who likes suspense, this is a trading card they need in their hands!
Geethika Chilaka, Jersey City Global Charter School, NJ
Trading card inspired by The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Katniss Everdeen deserves a trading card because her choices create major problems for the Capitol and show the story’s message about sacrifice and resistance. She volunteers for Prim, proving that real courage means risking yourself to protect others, and this decision pushes the plot from the reaping toward the rebellion.
She also changes from a “Girl from the Seam” into the Mockingjay, showing how an ordinary, poor teenager can become a symbol of hope when injustice becomes too strong. Her stunt with the poisonous berries challenges the Capitol’s power, while her inner conflict about survival, Gale, Peeta, and her trauma shows how war harms even heroes and makes heroism complicated and costly.
T-Shirt Design Competition Winner
Hannah Jaquin of Morgan Road Middle School in New York is the winner of this year’s T-Shirt Design Award for her striking design inspired by Samira Ahmed’s Internment. Her work translates the novel’s themes of resistance, freedom, and justice into a bold visual statement, using symbolic imagery and memorable lines from the text to capture the spirit of Layla’s fight. Designed to be both eye-catching and meaningful, Hannah’s winning entry reflects a thoughtful engagement with literature and a strong artistic vision that resonated with the judges.
Hannah Jaquin, Morgan Road Middle School, NY
T-Shirt inspired by Internment by Samira Ahmed
When reading this groundbreaking book by Samira Ahmed, I wanted the T-shirt design to focus on what restricts the Muslims’ freedom: the barbed wire. It is the most prominent image in the design because it represents what the Muslims are being robbed of. The barbed wire plays a key role in the story, whether it is brutally killing Layla’s friend or serving as a constant threat to those in the camp. I also wanted to capture some of the lines Layla says or thinks throughout the book, and the two I found most captivating were the statements, “Rebellions are built on hope” and “The people united will never be defeated.” These two phrases are incredibly powerful and help explain their resistance to detainment. Additionally, their rebellion and immensely strong beliefs are the main reasons the story ended the way it did. Overall, this T-shirt design best captures the central focus of Layla’s story and perfectly encapsulates what she is fighting for: her freedom and justice.
More from ELA Bookworm: February 18, 2026
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New ELA Gateway: What You Need to Know
Apply for the National Book Foundation Teacher Fellowship
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