Announcing the 2026 “Frogs of the World” Creative Contest Winners

Little Explorer, Big World is delighted to announce the winners and honorable mentions of the 2026 Creative Contest: Frogs of the World: Stories and Drawings by Young Explorers.

This special project began with a simple question:

If a frog could tell a story, what would it tell us about its life, its home, and our planet?

The answers we received were full of imagination, color, curiosity, and care for nature. Children and young people created drawings, poems, stories, habitats, characters, and conservation messages inspired by frogs from around the world. Some frogs became guardians of rivers and forests. Others became investigators, dancers, musicians, explorers, friends, and protectors of the Earth.

More than a contest, Frogs of the World became a celebration of creativity, biodiversity, and the voices of young explorers.

Above: We loved this creative frog habitat diorama by Valery Méndez so much that we decided to create a new recognition category, Three-Dimensional Habitat / Diorama Category.

Note from Kike:
The visuals shared here are representative samples. We reviewed hundreds of submissions for this project, and while we cannot show every drawing, story, poem, or creative piece, we wanted to share a few examples that reflect the imagination, passion, and care these young explorers brought to Frogs of the World.

About the Project

Frogs of the World invited students to create original stories, poems, drawings, and artistic works connected to frogs, water, forests, wetlands, rivers, and the natural world.

The project was inspired by the passion of one of our supporters for frogs, reminding us that even the smallest creatures can open a big door to learning, creativity, and conservation.

Our goal was not simply to identify the most technically perfect work. We wanted to recognize each child’s individual way of seeing the world. The submissions were evaluated for originality, imagination, storytelling, connection to nature, conservation awareness, artistic or literary expression, and achievement in relation to age.

For the class and institution awards, we also considered how successfully the activity became a shared learning experience.

Every submission has value. The awards below represent difficult choices within an extraordinarily diverse and meaningful collection of work.

Judging Criteria

The contest was reviewed using the following criteria:

Creativity and originality
A personal idea, recognizable voice, and individual interpretation of the theme.

Storytelling and communication
The ability to convey a story, emotion, idea, or message.

Nature and conservation
Awareness of frogs, water, forests, ecosystems, biodiversity, and care for living things.

Artistic or literary expression
The use of drawing, color, composition, words, rhythm, or structure to strengthen the idea.

Age and process
Each entry was considered in the context of the participant’s age and developmental stage.

Collective participation
For the Class and Institution awards, we considered reach, engagement, diversity of activities, and the extent to which the contest became a meaningful educational experience.

Participating Submissions

We are deeply grateful to all participating students, teachers, schools, families, and allies who made this edition possible.

Fundación Hilo Sagrado

This was a warm submission with a particularly strong interest in storytelling. Children used drawings, short stories, and poems to give frogs personalities and explore friendship, courage, family, water, and nature.

We especially appreciated the entries that went beyond depicting an animal and instead created small narrative worlds. Works such as The Singing and Dancing Frog and The Frog and the Wishing Well demonstrated how naturally children can turn wildlife into memorable characters.

Gran Colombiano — Tunja

Gran Colombiano presented one of the broadest educational experiences in the contest. The documentation records 144 students from Grades 1 through 5 and shows that the project extended well beyond drawing.

Activities included frog puzzles, frog-jumping games, learning about metamorphosis, art, and environmental education. The school transformed a creative invitation into a shared learning experience. Its conservation message reminded us that wetlands, forests, streams, and lagoons form a network of life, and that protecting water ultimately means protecting our own home.

IED Las Villas — Grade 201

This was an especially touching submission because of the age of its creators. Guided by teacher María Paula Villamil Rincón, 24 young artists, primarily seven and eight years old, created frogs filled with color, humor, freedom, and imagination.

The project culminated in La Ranita Susagua, a collective text written by the children of Grade 201. The story connects the frog to the municipality of Cogua and concludes with an essential idea: this local frog is unique and deserves to be protected.

We loved the combination of local identity, collective creativity, and conservation.

Institución Educativa Juan XXIII

This broad submission included stories, poetry, and painting, primarily from Grades 6 and 7. Students explored themes such as forest fires, pollution, freedom, identity, cooperation, habitat protection, self-worth, and conservation.

Works such as The Frog Who Wanted to Fly, Mora and Her Squad, and Singing in the Rain showed how imagination can open the door to messages about responsibility, difference, and care for the natural world.

Institución Educativa San Antonio — San Francisco Campus, Villa del Rosario

This primary-school submission combined drawing, storytelling, poetry, environmental messages, and three-dimensional work.

We appreciated the variety of media and especially the projects in which children did not merely represent a frog but created its habitat. Memorable elements included a small diorama constructed with natural materials and direct messages about protecting trees, water, and animals.

Instituto Cultura y Deporte Subachoque — Cundinamarca

This was one of the visually strongest submissions. Under the guidance of Ruth Martínez, children and young people of different ages participated through free drawing and painting classes.

One of the submission’s greatest strengths was the diversity of styles: realistic, expressive, colorful, and narrative. Students did not appear to be searching for one “correct” way to draw a frog. Each found an individual voice.

Institución Educativa Nuestra Señora de la Macarena — Meta

This submission was especially rich in storytelling. Students transformed frogs into investigators, explorers, friends, dancers, and defenders of their environment.

Many stories did more than state that nature should be protected. They introduced a problem and allowed their protagonists to observe, understand, and act. That progression — curiosity, discovery, and action — is deeply connected to the spirit of Little Explorer, Big World.

Official 2026 Winners

Winner — Drawing Category

Luciana Rocha
Institución Educativa Juan XXIII
Artwork: Rana verde de ojos rojos

Luciana Rocha’s drawing stood out for its vibrant color, joyful composition, and strong connection between frogs and the natural world. Her red-eyed tree frog appears within a lively landscape filled with flowers, water, mountains, butterflies, and vegetation.

The work is visually engaging, carefully composed, and full of life. It captures the spirit of the contest by showing the frog not as an isolated animal, but as part of a larger ecosystem. The image communicates beauty, biodiversity, and the importance of protecting natural habitats.

Recognition: Honorary diploma as a Project Ambassador, publication of her work, and a small cash prize.

Winner — Story or Poem Category

Mayfer Sarmiento Arias Vanila, age 8
Institución Educativa Nuestra Señora de la Macarena, Meta
Work: Camila and Her Beautiful Silver Frog Friend

We selected this story for the clarity with which such a young writer turns conservation into a story of action.

In the story, the frog explains to Camila that her territory is being damaged by pollution and the loss of vegetation. Camila listens, understands, and decides to help by planting trees and cleaning the environment.

We were moved that the message did not end with concern. The protagonist discovers that she can also do something. It is a simple, genuine story deeply aligned with the idea of nurturing young explorers who observe the world and learn to care for it.

Recognition: Honorary diploma as a Project Ambassador, publication of her work, and a small cash prize.

Winner — Three-Dimensional Habitat / Diorama Category

Valery Méndez
Institución Educativa San Antonio — San Francisco Campus
Work: Frog Habitat Diorama

Valery Méndez is recognized for creating a three-dimensional frog habitat that brings the theme Frogs of the World to life in a creative and tangible way. Her diorama presents the frog’s world as a complete ecosystem, with water, vegetation, flowers, mushrooms, and a handmade conservation message.

Although this category was not part of the original contest, we created it to celebrate the creativity of this submission and to encourage future students to explore frogs, habitats, and conservation through models, dioramas, and other hands-on artistic projects.

Recognition: Honorary diploma as a Project Ambassador, publication of her work, and small cash prize.

Note on the Creation of This New Category

This recognition was created impromptu after reviewing Valery Méndez’s diorama. Although the original contest did not include a category for three-dimensional habitats or models, this submission stood out for its creativity, effort, and hands-on interpretation of the theme. We felt it deserved special recognition, not only to celebrate Valery’s work, but also to encourage future students to explore frogs, ecosystems, and conservation through dioramas, models, and other creative formats.

Winning Class

Grade 201
IED Las Villas
Teacher: María Paula Villamil Rincón

Grade 201 reminded us that the impact of an educational project is not always measured by technical sophistication.

Twenty-four children, primarily seven and eight years old, imagined frogs in many colors, environments, and personalities. Their work culminated in La Ranita Susagua, a collective creation that places the story in Cogua and presents a local frog as something unique that deserves protection.

We especially appreciated how learning became connected to identity and affection for the place where the children live. The class truly made the project its own.

Recognition: Recognition diploma and a small cash prize. for an activity or materials benefiting the entire class, in accordance with the contest rules.

Winning Institution

Gran Colombiano — Tunja
Teacher: Stella Galindo Velasco

Gran Colombiano stood out for the scale and depth with which it embraced the project.

The documentation records 144 students from Grades 1 through 5 and activities that included art, puzzles, frog-jumping activities, and learning about metamorphosis. The school’s conservation message expanded the conversation to wetlands, forests, streams, lagoons, pollution, and ecological balance.

Rather than simply entering a contest, the institution transformed Frogs of the World into a cross-curricular experience in curiosity and environmental education. That collective reach is precisely what this recognition is intended to celebrate.

Recognition: An additional donation of books from Little Explorer, Big World’s new 2026 publication.

Honorable Mentions

The original contest rules established the four awards above. However, the quality, diversity, and sensitivity of the submissions inspired us to create additional non-cash Honorable Mentions to celebrate work that deserves to be shared and remembered.

Honorable Mention — Environmental Storytelling

Alán Gerónimo Escamilla Quiroga, age 9
Institución Educativa Nuestra Señora de la Macarena
Work: The Frog Investigator

We loved the idea of turning the frog into a young investigator who notices a change in her surroundings, sets out to discover what is happening, and finds the cause in the cutting of trees.

It is a story of active curiosity: observe, question, explore, and understand.

Honorable Mention — Artistic Excellence

Valentina Guacaneme, age 14
Instituto Cultura y Deporte Subachoque

This painting showed great visual strength and painterly sensitivity. The close composition, handling of greens and ochres, and the way the frog seems to emerge from its environment demonstrate a mature artistic eye.

We especially recognize Valentina’s ability to interpret rather than simply reproduce.

Honorable Mention — Art & Poetry

Juan Daniel Vargas, age 9
Instituto Cultura y Deporte Subachoque

Juan Daniel combined an expressive image with verses inspired by Colombia’s forests, rivers, and rain.

We loved the spontaneity of his painting and the way words and image work together. At his age, this combination of creative languages deserves special recognition.

Honorable Mention — Poetry & Individual Voice

Isabella Sánchez
Institución Educativa Juan XXIII
Work: No Princess Kisses Him

This poem playfully turns the traditional fairy tale upside down and allows the toad simply to want to be a toad — without a castle or golden kingdom, watching the moon from the lagoon.

We loved its humor, simplicity, and personality.

Honorable Mention — Identity & Self-Worth

Dominick Mendoza Cano
Institución Educativa Juan XXIII, Grade 704
Work: The Frog Who Wanted to Fly

In this story, Brinco tries to imitate creatures that can fly until discovering that her own extraordinary talent is jumping.

The story speaks about accepting what makes us different without abandoning our dreams. It is a universal message told with lightness and imagination.

Honorable Mention — Conservation in a Single Idea

Daniel Báez, age 13
Instituto Cultura y Deporte Subachoque

Daniel’s work directly connects the presence of frogs with the health of water.

His idea that if the frogs are singing, the water is alive communicates with remarkable efficiency one of the environmental principles that inspired the contest.

Honorable Mention — Habitat & the Natural World

Valery Sofía Lima Sarmoso, age 10
Institución Educativa Nuestra Señora de la Macarena
Work: The Amazing Frog

This composition gives the frog a complete world of trees, water, and vegetation.

We appreciated that the habitat was given as much importance as the animal itself. A frog does not exist in isolation, but as part of an ecosystem.

Honorable Mention — Young Action for Nature

Mateo
Institución Educativa San Antonio, San Francisco Campus

Mateo created a three-dimensional habitat and shared a message identifying himself as a young explorer and protector of frogs.

The use of leaves, stones, and other natural elements transformed conservation into something children can touch, build, and share.

Sample Submissions

Dalila y el Pitohui
Ariadne V. Vargas
Institución Educativa San Antonio

En algún lugar de la selva vivía Dalila, una ranita dardo muy hermosa por sus vivos colores. Sin embargo, vivía muy sola porque los demás animales le tenían miedo, ya que su piel era muy venenosa.

Un día, mientras nadaba en un riachuelo, unas algas se le enredaron en las patitas y no podía salir. Al ella ser de una especie que no puede pasar demasiado tiempo bajo el agua, comenzó a ahogarse. Como nadie se le acercaba por temor a su veneno, Dalila pensó que ese era su final.

De pronto llegó volando un pitohui, un pajarito parecido a un turpial por el color de sus plumas, y sujetó a Dalila y tiró de ella con fuerza hasta lograr sacarla del agua. Él no le tenía miedo, pues sus plumas también eran venenosas.

Agradecida y feliz por haber encontrado a alguien que la comprendiera, Dalila buscó algunos escarabajos para compartir con él. Desde ese día se convirtieron en compañeros de aventura y mejores amigos, entendiendo que lo que los hace diferentes a los demás fue lo que los unió.

A Special Recognition for Every Participant

The contest produced much more than four winners.

We met children who drew entire ecosystems for the first time. We met young writers who explored fires, pollution, friendship, difference, identity, and courage. We saw classes learning how a frog changes throughout its life. We saw teachers transform a simple invitation into hours of conversation, play, writing, research, and art.

Our gratitude extends to every student, teacher, family, institution, and ally who made this edition possible.

Every drawing and every word is part of the same story: learning to look at the world with curiosity is one of the first steps toward learning to care for it.

Small frogs. Big ideas. A world worth exploring and protecting.

Never Stop Dreaming.

Onwards.

Kike Calvo