Dr Simon Reads... BBC 500 Words (2020) Part 2: Finalists 10-13 (Children's Writing Competition)
Dr Simon Reads… 500
Words 2020
The final 50 stories are now up for the 2020 run of the BBC 500 Words Competition.
For more information on the 500 Words competition see my post on the 2017 awards; but in brief it’s a creative writing competition run by the BBC for children aged 5-13, who can any kind of story they like, as long as it is within 500 words. Three winners from each of the two age categories (5-9 and 10-13) get their stories read out by a famous actor in a live final, plus win a big stack of books. The prizes have grown in recent years; now each winner gets a hard-bound copy of their story illustrated by a famous children’s illustrator (e.g. Quentin Blake, Helen Oxenbury etc.), and first prize not only wins books for their school but now gets a personal tour of a famous landmark.
I’m going to do what I did in 2019 – give a brief description and discussion of each of the finalists and at the end make my predictions for winning stories. After, I’ll do something similar to the previous years and discuss the winners and their celebrity readers in a little more depth, plus I’ll be able to see how good (or more likely not) my predictions were.
There are a couple of differences this year: firstly the children’s surnames aren’t given, just an initial, which I think is a pretty sensible safe-guarding measure; secondly because of lockdown, I’m guessing that the finals will be a virtual experience rather than being held at some historic site. Which will be a shame, but then what can you do?
Ages 10-13
All Creatures Need To Get Out Of Here y Fyzah K
And so we being with a piece of comedy, where a confederation of spiders, snakes, maggots, ant and so on make their plans to survive the annual onslaught on their territory that is I’m a Celebrity. An entertaining change of viewpoint.
The Bus Driver Who Turned To Crime by Rufus D
Bob the bus driver kidnaps the mayor and council of Newport and shows them the error of their ways when they plan to convert a local beauty spot into housing. A charming little fable.
Cats – By A Dog’s (Maybe) Perspective by Arya S
First off – Arya? Daughter of George RR Martin fans perhaps? Anyway, this is a comic essay about the inherent dangers of cats, with an amusing narrative voice.
Cloak And Haddock by Sophie C
An atmospheric gothic tale about a man burying a body in the dead of night, but there’s a fun twist and all is not quite as sinister as it seems. Good fun.
The Colourful Comedian by Isabel C
In a gloomy world where people are weighed down by bad news, everything is in shades of grey and blue until Ava discovers that she can bring colour into people’s live with her jokes. A sweet metaphor.
The Countdown by Sophie LeG
A tense tale, punctuated by ten minute countdowns for each paragraph, as the narrator and team get read for some stressful event. Another with a fun twist to the tale which I won’t spoil here, but I liked it.
The Curse Of Pageton Manor by Sophie Louise F
More gothic horror, but in this case we’re in pure spine-chiller territory as two girls explore a spooky mansion and find terrible things in the library….
The Dings And The Dongs by Megan G
A poem, and fine fable about the planet Bell where two races of people, the Dings (yellow with red spots) and the Dongs (blue with white stripes) hate each other due to an old disagreement. Delia Ding and Deigo Dong discover that the two races are not only so bad as their parents told, but that together they can make music.
The Fisherman’s Tale by Alfie M
A tall tale about Alfie the Yorkshire fisherman who rows his boat to the moon and picks up a flag from the moon landings. A fun, Munchausen-esque story.
For The Last Time by Ellie A
A powerful story, bookended by the phrase “For the last time” which takes on very different meanings. It tells of a Jewish family preparing for the Sabbath meal, but darkness lurks in the outside world…
The Gnomes Of Sherbet Springs by Isla N
A day in the life of Monty Mc Jingles, deputy head gnomeof Sherbert Springs, and a near disaster when a honeycomb mountain experiences a landslide. Loved the names of the gnomes in this, and how all the features of Sherbert springs were alliterative sweet treats.
The Mars Theory by Erin T
Astronauts Jones, Kowlaski and Tanaka lead a mission to Mars in order to start colonisation, thanks to the sorry state of Earth. They make some un-nerving discoveries in a fine piece of visionary science fiction.
Mischief And Mayhem At The Menacing Zoo by Alex H
A fun and inventive story about what goes on at the zoo when the humans go home; all sorts of hijinks from high tea with the elephants, disco-light chameleons, surfing penguins and snakes engaging in “l-o-v-e”!
My First Crush by Ava D
There haven’t been many stories about love and relationships in 500 Word’s history, so it’s nice to see one. The narrator has a crush on a boy in school, and the story deals very nicely with details being amplified and emotions running high in young love. The story is even more mature than this makes it sound.
Never Bring A Lion To School by Eithne H
A teacher tells the cautionary tale of the time they decided to liven up Mondays by bringing a live lion into the school. The warning, though, is perhaps not what you might expect. Entertaingly written.
Over The Gate by Farah R
A tale of terror told from the point of view of a tennis ball as it sails out of bounds and is grabbed by a dog. I think we had a tennis-ball story once before; this one I think has the edge, though, with the atmospheric writing.
The Pain From The Rain by Isabel Jessica H
Another poem – seems like a lot this year, this one a series of rhyming couplets about the devastation caused by a flood, but also about how people come together to help each other. I liked the inventive use of repetition in this one to build up refrains.
The Picture by Amelia Y
Some stormy and atmospheric writing here, as Amelia conjures up the desperation of a sailor caught in a storm, which it transpires are in the mind of the narrator from looking at the Vermet painting “A Shipwreck in Stormy Seas”. A good evocation of the power of imagination.
Pirate Pilates by Freya L
From a grim storm to a more comical tale of the high seas, as the captain of the Podgy Roger whips his overweight crew into shape. Some fine pirate-based humour and punnery (“You’re going to the gym, lad”).
The Rise Of The Phoenix by Reuben K
A fantasy mini-epic as the phoenix, his wizard friend and a hairy fire-breathing monster that they meet on the way embark on a quest to get a magical fruit to brew a potion so that the phoenix can fly. Certainly crams a lot into such a short space.
Screen Time by Ela-Gwennon J
Marley is a lonely teenage girl who lives in a tower block and enjoys sitting on her balcony with her smelly cactuses. One day a chance accident allows her to make friends with Maud next door (unseen due to the screened-off balconies), and they bond over their shared love of rap music and plants. A sweet little tale of city life.
Shoo! By Lola B
Ozzie the bluebottle tells his story, of following the Fly Academy principles of Speed, Harass, Obstinate and Opportunities (SHOO) to try to earn as many attempted swats from humans as possible. A gloriously inventive and kinetic story.
Spies In Dairy by Alexander M
A funny story about two rival spy rings in the Yorkshire town of Dairy, one for the over seventies and one for the under-fourteens, and of the various underhand machinations that the two groups get up to in order to win the annual spelling bee. Great twist at the end too.
The Talk by Elliott G
The children of Ash Wood Primary School are going to get a “growing-up” talk about the changes that their bodies are about to undergo. But it’s not *that* talk, because all these children are developing super-powers. A finely written take on the topic.
Will I Get Out? by David O
Another classic 500 Words theme – the unusual viewpoint. This time it’s a lonely prisoner trapped in the dark, who turns out to be a football shut in a school cupboard. These are always well-written and inventive, and this one is no expection.
The Beautiful Game by Lowen P
Street dogs in India and huskies in Iceland practice for the Woof Cup, a great little footballing fable where the players are dog-based puns and the action is excitingly described. There’s a good moral at the end too.
The Diary Of A £5 Note by Vishal S
I’m sure there’s a specific term for stories written in the form of a diary. Anyway, this is one of them and a good one it is too, with a five pound note narrating the alternating hectic and humdrum and always baffling days of its life. A delightful and heart-warming twist at the end.
Mr Nosey Parker’s Zoo For Nosey Animals by Izzy B
“Nosey” animals in this case being animals with long noses, from aardvarks to elephants. In an eerily prescient situation, the animals all get colds and precipitate the Great Tissue Shortage, threatening the zoo with closure until a sponsor steps in. Lovely fun, and the nearest to a Covid-19 story.
And
prediction time again. I think For The Last Time is likely, and of the more
serious stories perhaps The Picture and My First Crush because both are very
sophisticated in their use of language.
Of the comic tales, I loved Diary of a £5 Note and Shoo!, both tremendously inventive. I liked Pirate Pilates and The Beautiful Game as well, both good full of good punning. I kind of liked The Dings and the Dongs, and Spies in Dairy, and I hope one of them gets a look in as well. The Countdown was good too. It's so difficult to pick!
The final 50 stories are now up for the 2020 run of the BBC 500 Words Competition.
For more information on the 500 Words competition see my post on the 2017 awards; but in brief it’s a creative writing competition run by the BBC for children aged 5-13, who can any kind of story they like, as long as it is within 500 words. Three winners from each of the two age categories (5-9 and 10-13) get their stories read out by a famous actor in a live final, plus win a big stack of books. The prizes have grown in recent years; now each winner gets a hard-bound copy of their story illustrated by a famous children’s illustrator (e.g. Quentin Blake, Helen Oxenbury etc.), and first prize not only wins books for their school but now gets a personal tour of a famous landmark.
I’m going to do what I did in 2019 – give a brief description and discussion of each of the finalists and at the end make my predictions for winning stories. After, I’ll do something similar to the previous years and discuss the winners and their celebrity readers in a little more depth, plus I’ll be able to see how good (or more likely not) my predictions were.
There are a couple of differences this year: firstly the children’s surnames aren’t given, just an initial, which I think is a pretty sensible safe-guarding measure; secondly because of lockdown, I’m guessing that the finals will be a virtual experience rather than being held at some historic site. Which will be a shame, but then what can you do?
Ages 10-13
All Creatures Need To Get Out Of Here y Fyzah K
And so we being with a piece of comedy, where a confederation of spiders, snakes, maggots, ant and so on make their plans to survive the annual onslaught on their territory that is I’m a Celebrity. An entertaining change of viewpoint.
The Bus Driver Who Turned To Crime by Rufus D
Bob the bus driver kidnaps the mayor and council of Newport and shows them the error of their ways when they plan to convert a local beauty spot into housing. A charming little fable.
Cats – By A Dog’s (Maybe) Perspective by Arya S
First off – Arya? Daughter of George RR Martin fans perhaps? Anyway, this is a comic essay about the inherent dangers of cats, with an amusing narrative voice.
Cloak And Haddock by Sophie C
An atmospheric gothic tale about a man burying a body in the dead of night, but there’s a fun twist and all is not quite as sinister as it seems. Good fun.
The Colourful Comedian by Isabel C
In a gloomy world where people are weighed down by bad news, everything is in shades of grey and blue until Ava discovers that she can bring colour into people’s live with her jokes. A sweet metaphor.
The Countdown by Sophie LeG
A tense tale, punctuated by ten minute countdowns for each paragraph, as the narrator and team get read for some stressful event. Another with a fun twist to the tale which I won’t spoil here, but I liked it.
The Curse Of Pageton Manor by Sophie Louise F
More gothic horror, but in this case we’re in pure spine-chiller territory as two girls explore a spooky mansion and find terrible things in the library….
The Dings And The Dongs by Megan G
A poem, and fine fable about the planet Bell where two races of people, the Dings (yellow with red spots) and the Dongs (blue with white stripes) hate each other due to an old disagreement. Delia Ding and Deigo Dong discover that the two races are not only so bad as their parents told, but that together they can make music.
The Fisherman’s Tale by Alfie M
A tall tale about Alfie the Yorkshire fisherman who rows his boat to the moon and picks up a flag from the moon landings. A fun, Munchausen-esque story.
For The Last Time by Ellie A
A powerful story, bookended by the phrase “For the last time” which takes on very different meanings. It tells of a Jewish family preparing for the Sabbath meal, but darkness lurks in the outside world…
The Gnomes Of Sherbet Springs by Isla N
A day in the life of Monty Mc Jingles, deputy head gnomeof Sherbert Springs, and a near disaster when a honeycomb mountain experiences a landslide. Loved the names of the gnomes in this, and how all the features of Sherbert springs were alliterative sweet treats.
The Mars Theory by Erin T
Astronauts Jones, Kowlaski and Tanaka lead a mission to Mars in order to start colonisation, thanks to the sorry state of Earth. They make some un-nerving discoveries in a fine piece of visionary science fiction.
Mischief And Mayhem At The Menacing Zoo by Alex H
A fun and inventive story about what goes on at the zoo when the humans go home; all sorts of hijinks from high tea with the elephants, disco-light chameleons, surfing penguins and snakes engaging in “l-o-v-e”!
My First Crush by Ava D
There haven’t been many stories about love and relationships in 500 Word’s history, so it’s nice to see one. The narrator has a crush on a boy in school, and the story deals very nicely with details being amplified and emotions running high in young love. The story is even more mature than this makes it sound.
Never Bring A Lion To School by Eithne H
A teacher tells the cautionary tale of the time they decided to liven up Mondays by bringing a live lion into the school. The warning, though, is perhaps not what you might expect. Entertaingly written.
Over The Gate by Farah R
A tale of terror told from the point of view of a tennis ball as it sails out of bounds and is grabbed by a dog. I think we had a tennis-ball story once before; this one I think has the edge, though, with the atmospheric writing.
The Pain From The Rain by Isabel Jessica H
Another poem – seems like a lot this year, this one a series of rhyming couplets about the devastation caused by a flood, but also about how people come together to help each other. I liked the inventive use of repetition in this one to build up refrains.
The Picture by Amelia Y
Some stormy and atmospheric writing here, as Amelia conjures up the desperation of a sailor caught in a storm, which it transpires are in the mind of the narrator from looking at the Vermet painting “A Shipwreck in Stormy Seas”. A good evocation of the power of imagination.
Pirate Pilates by Freya L
From a grim storm to a more comical tale of the high seas, as the captain of the Podgy Roger whips his overweight crew into shape. Some fine pirate-based humour and punnery (“You’re going to the gym, lad”).
The Rise Of The Phoenix by Reuben K
A fantasy mini-epic as the phoenix, his wizard friend and a hairy fire-breathing monster that they meet on the way embark on a quest to get a magical fruit to brew a potion so that the phoenix can fly. Certainly crams a lot into such a short space.
Screen Time by Ela-Gwennon J
Marley is a lonely teenage girl who lives in a tower block and enjoys sitting on her balcony with her smelly cactuses. One day a chance accident allows her to make friends with Maud next door (unseen due to the screened-off balconies), and they bond over their shared love of rap music and plants. A sweet little tale of city life.
Shoo! By Lola B
Ozzie the bluebottle tells his story, of following the Fly Academy principles of Speed, Harass, Obstinate and Opportunities (SHOO) to try to earn as many attempted swats from humans as possible. A gloriously inventive and kinetic story.
Spies In Dairy by Alexander M
A funny story about two rival spy rings in the Yorkshire town of Dairy, one for the over seventies and one for the under-fourteens, and of the various underhand machinations that the two groups get up to in order to win the annual spelling bee. Great twist at the end too.
The Talk by Elliott G
The children of Ash Wood Primary School are going to get a “growing-up” talk about the changes that their bodies are about to undergo. But it’s not *that* talk, because all these children are developing super-powers. A finely written take on the topic.
Will I Get Out? by David O
Another classic 500 Words theme – the unusual viewpoint. This time it’s a lonely prisoner trapped in the dark, who turns out to be a football shut in a school cupboard. These are always well-written and inventive, and this one is no expection.
The Beautiful Game by Lowen P
Street dogs in India and huskies in Iceland practice for the Woof Cup, a great little footballing fable where the players are dog-based puns and the action is excitingly described. There’s a good moral at the end too.
The Diary Of A £5 Note by Vishal S
I’m sure there’s a specific term for stories written in the form of a diary. Anyway, this is one of them and a good one it is too, with a five pound note narrating the alternating hectic and humdrum and always baffling days of its life. A delightful and heart-warming twist at the end.
Mr Nosey Parker’s Zoo For Nosey Animals by Izzy B
“Nosey” animals in this case being animals with long noses, from aardvarks to elephants. In an eerily prescient situation, the animals all get colds and precipitate the Great Tissue Shortage, threatening the zoo with closure until a sponsor steps in. Lovely fun, and the nearest to a Covid-19 story.
Of the comic tales, I loved Diary of a £5 Note and Shoo!, both tremendously inventive. I liked Pirate Pilates and The Beautiful Game as well, both good full of good punning. I kind of liked The Dings and the Dongs, and Spies in Dairy, and I hope one of them gets a look in as well. The Countdown was good too. It's so difficult to pick!
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