Old Possum’s Children’s Poetry Competition 2008

Top Tips for Children

The theme for this year’s competition is ‘Work’. Here our some ideas to get you started.

• Find work ideas hiding in dictionaries! A is for acrobat, C for cloud, cart-horse, S for smile... Can you find one? What tools/skills does he/she/it need for its work? Picture movement, colours, sounds; the why and how.

• Have a go at pulling, pushing, watering, sewing. Chosen bees? Study flowers with a magnifying glass. Chosen a baker? Feel flour; smell dough. What’s this work really, really like?

• The poem can describe what we see, or allow your central character to talk to us directly (in a voice that suits them!) The action can be in the past or happening right now.

• Shaping/redrafting is as important as your ideas. Read other poems to find forms and rhythms echoing the ‘work’ you picked (it doesn’t have to rhyme). Check spelling; swap lines until the start and end are strong. Consider replacing small words (can, and, it) with commas. Put the poem away – then look at it with fresh eyes a few days later. Read it aloud. Happy writing!

Tips supplied by Mandy Coe, a Children’s Poetry Bookshelf selector, and were first published in The Times on 11th September 2008.

Competition details
Judges
Prizes
Downloadable entry form
Email entry form
Teachers’ guide
Special Children’s Poetry Bookshelf membership offer
International Learners