A new stationery store is sponsoring a card contest as part of the celebration of Coeur d’Alene’s own “Mudgy & Millie.”

Children ages 2-11 are invited to come to the Papillion Paper Emporium in the Coeur d’Alene Plaza Shops, 210 Sherman Ave., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 15 and 16, to do their best drawings of the title characters of “Mudgy & Millie.”

Color drawing materials and special paper will be provided and each participant will receive a goodie bag for their entry. (One entry per person, please.)

Three of the drawings – one each from age groups 2-4, 5-7, and 8-11 – will be selected and the young artists will win $50 gift certificates from Figpickel’s Toy Emporium. The winning entries will also be developed into a greeting card line to be sold at Papillion Paper Emporium to benefit the Coeur d’Alene Public Library Foundation.

All entries will be on display Sept. 1-12 at the library, 702 E. Front Ave., during “Love Your Library Month.”

The Mudgy & Millie Project is the brainchild of Coeur d’Alene children’s author Susan Nipp, who along with illustrator Charles Reasoner created the “Mudgy & Millie” book. It tells the story of a moose and mouse playing hide-and-seek on Tubbs Hill and in downtown Coeur d’Alene.

The project also includes public art in the form of five lifesize bronze statues crated by local sculptor Terry Lee and placed along the Mudgy Moose Trail following the route described in the book. The project had support the Coeur d’Alene Parks Department and the Arts Commission.

Royalties from the sale of the book and Mudgy & Millie merchandise benefit the Library Foundation. The book, statues, and trail had their official kickoff on Sept. 13, 2008, shortly after the first anniversary of the new library building.

For more information about the card contest visit Figpickel’s. More information about the Mudgy & Millie Project can be found online at www.mudgyandmillie.com.

More news and information about the Coeur d’Alene Public Library is available online at www.cdalibrary.org. News about the library and other city departments is also available on the City of Coeur d’Alene news blog: http://cdacity.blogspot.com/.