Dr Simon Reads... BBC 500 Words (2020) Part 1: Finalists Age 5-9 (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.

Since its inception in 2011 it’s grown massively with tens of thousands of entries each year.

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 5-9

A Night With The Stars by Holly A
A magical realism story set in Africa, as the young girl Mbali sets out on a spirit quest to connect with her ancestors. Original and touching.

An Astro Adventure by Joshua W
A poem, of which there are usually a couple each year but so far none have won. Perhaps this year? It’s the story of Lars and his flatulent hamster Jack, on an imaginary trip into space. Some good old toilet humour and some delightfully groan-worthy puns.

Anything Is Possible by Marcy Ellis S
First Africa, now this story is set in Canada, where young girl Grace dreams of being a firefighter. When she learns of the decorated female firefighter Constance, a heart-warming story of possibilities and determination unfolds.

The Bird Feeder by Nia W
Dave is a squirrel with a big day ahead of him – attempting the obstacle course to get to the bird feeder. A charming comic tale with a little sting in the (bushy) tail.

The Boy Who Came By Boat by Nima P
A near-future tale in a world driven to selfishness and insularity by scarcity. Tom encounters a strange boy, and outsider who has arrived by boat, but Tom’s act of charity has wider repercussions. A timely fable.

The Boy With The Wobbly Tooth by Oliver H
Matthew has a wobbly tooth that refuses to come out. That night he has a dream that little people live inside his teeth (which, to me, is rather more creepy than presented here), and the tooth won’t fall out because the little man inside it doesn’t want to move. I like the idea, but it gives me the creeps!

Charlie The Hero Dog by Charlie G
A First World War story, this time from the point of view of a Labrador trained to sniff out unexploded bombs, who saves the life of his handler and a wounded soldier. Good evocation of the setting.

The Chosen One by Maya A
Another dog story, this time about the puppy Patch that nobody wants. You’ll be pleased to know that this sweet little story has a happy ending that warms the heart.

Chippy Tom And The Gulls Of Gloucester by Nicholas M
An entertaining comedy about gulls menacing the city of Gloucester, and how young Tom saves the city with a tipper truck full of chips. Manages to be funny and tense.

The Crab And The Lantern Fish by Eleanor W
A nice tale of friendship and acceptance, where a clumsy crab and a lonely lantern fish strike up an unlikely alliance and find that what sets them apart also brings them together.

The First Ever Chocolate Milk by Zachary S
The story of a poor dairy farmer with bad eyesight, his oldest cow Milky and the mischevious grandson called Cornfoot who gives Milky a kinder egg and turns her milk chocolatey. I liked the cheeky characterisation in this one.

The Game of Life by Gia M
A gripping tale of all-out battle for supremacy, told from the point of view of a chess piece. One of those great alternative viewpoint stories that 500 Words tends to produce.

Grandma’s Worst Hobby by Agnes Elisabeth C
A fun inventive comedy about Grandma Jo and her long-suffering husband Grumpa, who is grumpy because Grandma  JO loves knitting so much that everything in the house is knitted, including the TV, the teapot and all of Grumpa’s clothing. Conjures some very amusing images.

The Grocery Shop Breakout by Henry C
Otis the Orange and his other fruit and vegetable friends plan a daring escape that uses their individual skills to best effect (Olly the Onion making a security guard cry, for example). Aother great inventive story (I’m hoping Henry is too young to have watched Sausage Party!)

Harry Snotter by Joseph W
Not, as you might expect, a Harry Potter parody, this is a comic poem about young Harry and his terrible allergies to all animals, but his kindness to a stray cat brings rewards.

Night Knight by Lila Z
Betsy the Princess longs to be a knight like her brothers, but can’t because she’s a girl. Doing her best Eowyn impression, she disguises herself and enter Knight School, proving in the end that she’s as god as the boys. Funny but also heartfelt. Isn’t it kind of sad that in this day and age the children still see the world as girl things and boy things?

The Odd Sock by Amelia W
Daniel the sock (and one thing I love about these stories is how matter-of-fact it is that inanimate objects have everyday names) is the only one of his kind, and sets out into the wide world (the rest of the house) on a quest to find his long-lost twin. It’s an entertaining twist on a fairy-tale trope.

The Old Rabbit by Lenny T
Something-in-my-eye time, as Lenny invokes childhood memories of Watership Down. Pat the elderly rabbit is tired, grey and misses his wife Pearl. When one day he wakes up and feels younger, fitter and the world is a brighter place where Pearl is still alive, I think you can guess what might have happened. Very sweet.

Roary And The Giant Bloomers by Taylor F
The narrator gets a pet T Rex called Roary, who is friendly and can talk, but frightens everyone away by his mere existence. Until, that is, he helps save Old Mrs Bird from a burning building using a giant pair of her pants. Some laugh out loud moments in this fun tale.

Sam And Alf by Alex R
Sam is a footballer and his friend Alf is a whiz at inventing things. Sam has Alf build a pair of remote-controlled football boots so that his team can begin to win matches, but when it comes to the crunch, Sam has the ability after all. A fun comic tale.

Sharing The Sky by Amelia Fay P
The sun and the moon get into an argument over who’s better (which I think they quite often do), and after a fight end up as one kind of squashed-together light in the sky, causing all kinds of problems for the people down on Earth. An imaginative tale of cooperation.

The Silent Library by Martha M
Silent Susie is a strict librarian who doesn’t let anyone speak or make a noise in her library eve when, in the case of the young girl Laughing Lily, there’s a good reason. Lily’s attempts at kindness, however, lead to a happy ending for all. I liked the writing in this one which is sophisticated in its simplicity.

Timmy The Spider And The Golden Scroll by Ted S
Timmy is a spider inspired by Indiana Jones, who sets out from his home under the sofa (equipped with a string bullwhip and a bottle-top hat) on a quest for treasure. A funny and inventive adventure story.

The Winning Goal by Sachar Applebaum K
Fajar dreams of being a famous footballer, but there’s a problem; she’s currently in a refugee camp in Syria, helping feed her mother and avoiding bombardments. However, her footballing skills come in handy at getting food. This is a powerful evocation of hope in a time of fear.

Wizard Bob’s Brilliant Idea by Grayson L
A comedy fantasy tale from Grayson, with two rival groups of wizards called the Bone Crushers and the Death Eaters (hey…) in perpetual war. Wizard Bob decides to end the war by turning all their weaponry into broccoli and sprouts, thus rendering the warfare ridiculous and bringing about peace. Includes a bonus fart joke.

The Day Football Saved The World by Reme Parle A
Seems to be a bit of a football theme this year. Here, a world energy crisis is solved by the narrator and his friend Kobe coming up with a way to harness the kinetic energy of football (which is amplified by the international passion for the sport, it seems).

The Family Prime Minister by Ellie Rose H
Saskia writes a letter to her mother threatening impeachment procedures against her as the head of the household for failing in her duties. A cute bit of satire.

The Super Kangaroos by Meenaksha N
A bit of sheer lunacy to end with, In the year 3099, two kangaroos Lucy and Ruby discover a plant growing on Uluru that gives them the ability to jump to the moon, where they rescue two lost astronauts. I do love the way the childrens’ imaginations sometimes bang such disparate ideas together into a fun and original concept.

Predictions
As always, it’s tough. How many do I make myself narrow it down to? I think in terms of serious and thoughtful, either The Winning Goal or The Boy Who Came By Boat ought to be in with a chance. This year though there are a good crop of comic stories, and I’d be surprised if at least one out of Chippy Tom and the Gulls of Gloucester, The First Ever Chocolate Miilk or Roary And The Giant Bloomers didn’t win something. Finally I think maybe The Silent Library or The Old Rabbit could be in with a chance. Maybe The Family Prime Minister as well. Have I basically listed all the stories again?