Scoop  Culture

Media release
30 October 2013

Young authors’ creativity brought to life in new storybook for Starship

Keven Mealamu, Grace Michie, John Parker, Miss P


Poetry, prose and a good dose of imagination are a welcome tonic for patients at Starship as young Auckland authors have their stories published through the Barfoot and Thompson Young Authors Challenge.

Room 23 and Mysterious Miss P and Five More Fantastic Stories has been published by the real estate company to raise funds for the Starship Foundation. The book is on sale now, with additional copies provided for patients staying in hospital overnight as part of the Barfoot and Thompson Magic of Reading programme.

The six winning tales were chosen out of more than 900 entries authored by children from primary and intermediate schools across Auckland and Northland.

Renowned Kiwi children’s author, John Parker, mentored the young authors as they prepared their stories for publication and rugby hero Keven Mealamu has done the illustrations.

Supreme winner Room 23 and Mysterious Miss P, by 12-year-old Grace Michie from Pukekohe Intermediate School, tells the story of a badly behaved class, a magical teacher, and her little brown pony. The delightful narrative poem features on the cover of the book, accompanied by five other tales:
• Procrastination by Kate Fowler from Glen Eden Intermediate School
• The Penguin Who Learnt to Fly by Chris Jackman from Northcross Intermediate
• A Crab and a Turtle by Carter Tang from St Kentigern Boys’ School
• The Dare by Elena Wood from Ramarama School
• The Thirsty Sun by Sunny Promtrai from Redoubt North Primary School

Peter Thompson, Managing Director of Barfoot & Thompson – which fully funds both the Young Authors Challenge and the Magic of Reading programme – says it’s wonderful for both the company and the children to see the stories come to life in print.

“The level of effort from the students and their teachers is extraordinary and we were overwhelmed by the number of entries and the standard of stories this year. It’s fantastic to see the final product.

“Not only will all the funds from the sale of each book go directly to the Starship Foundation, the book provides entertaining and imaginative stories for all young readers, and will no doubt make an excellent gift.”

This year the young authors had an extra special treat with the team at Barfoot and Thompson bringing to life the title character from the winning story. Straight from the imagination of Grace Michie, Mysterious Miss P was out and about in Auckland over the past two weeks, and made a welcome appearance at the book launch on Thursday 24th October.

Other special guests at the launch included Keven Mealamu and John Parker.

“We’ve been so lucky to have Keven and John’s support - the inspiration and guidance they offer is very exciting for everyone involved,” says Mr Thompson.

The past five story books have helped Barfoot & Thompson raise a combined $130,000 for the Starship Foundation.

-Ends-

© Scoop Media

 

Culture Headlines | Health Headlines | Education Headlines