Old Possum’s Children’s Poetry Competition 2010
This competition for children aged 7 – 11 took the ‘Home’ theme of National Poetry Day as its inspiration. Children were invited to submit their poems on the theme of ‘home’ by the closing date of 15th October 2010. A panel of 5 judges, chaired by Roger McGough, then selected the winners in two age groups: 7-8 and 9-11. There were also two categories – one for UK or English speaking children and an ‘International Learners’ category for children learning English as a second or foreign language.
The Children’s Poetry Bookshelf held a gala celebration and prize-giving event in London on 10th December, hosted by poets Roger McGough and James Carter who were also both judges of the competition. The winning young poets were presented with their cash and book prizes and read their poems to an audience of friends, family, teachers and children from local schools.
Read the prize-winning poems below. Click here to read the winning poems from the UK/Native Speakers category.
7-8 Year Old Age Group Winning Poems: International Learners
1st Prize Poem Home by Ishu Gupta
2nd Prize Poem There is no place like house, home by Melanie Duarte Sanchez
3rd Prize Poem Different Home by Tong Ho Kan Kenny
Highly Commended My Darling Home by Ada Ciontu
Highly Commended Home for Everyone by Bohdan Meleshko
Home
My sweet home! My sweet home!
I love my home! I love my home!
If wind comes who will protect me?
If winter comes who will protect me?
My home, my home nice for me.
My home, my home a temple for me.
If summer comes who will protect me?
If rain comes who will protect me?
My home, my home best for me.
My home, my home a mosque for me.
If night comes who will shelter me?
If storm comes who will shelter me?
My home, my home is good for me.
A majestic creation of Thee.
By Ishu Gupta, aged 8, from Solar International School, Sanchore, India
James Carter is mobbed by his fans during the interval.
Photo © Adrian Pope 2010
There is no place like house, home
There are many things we call a house,
Like small dark holes in the walls for the noisy mouse.
Tall windy nests in the trees are what flying birds like the most,
But dirty deep holes in the ground are cosy for rabbits and moles.
Dogs and kittens sleep in soft pillows,
And little spiders make webs in the corners of some windows.
Crocodiles and snakes enjoy muddy swamps,
But beavers prefer to build their own dams.
Fish and whales live in the wet blue sea,
And wood or brick buildings are houses for you and me.
But what really matters is:
To have a home where you can feel safe and free.
By Melanie Duarte Sanchez, aged 8, from the Instituto Ausubel Bilingüe, Morelia, Mexico
Different Home
One man,
he has a home.
It is a bus,
because he is a bus driver.
One old man,
he has no home,
because he is a ghost.
One super man,
he has a home.
It is the space!
By Tong Ho Kan Kenny, aged 8, from the British Council, Hong Kong
My Darling Home
When I go home,
I eat, I sleep,
I colour, I bother
And no-one minds.
I watch TV
And get a treat,
Even I trick.
I take a shower,
Put on a flower,
Pull out my baby teeth
And smile a bit.
When I feel blue,
Mom and Dad “moo”,
And you can see my smile,
Out from a mile.
Oh, I love my darling home,
Where everybody loves me
Just the way I am.
By Ada Ciontu, aged 7, from Bucharest, Romania
Home for Everyone
My home’s a country house,
my teacher’s home’s a flat
a hole’s a home for a mouse,
a snail’s home’s on its back.
All beings have their own homes.
Homes can be big or small.
I am so sorry for all those
who have no home at all.
The world will be more fun
if there’s a home for everyone!
By Bohdan Meleshko, aged 7, from Myrtiuky Educational Complex, Lviv, Ukraine
9-11 Year Old Age Group Winning Poems: International Learners
1st Prize Poem A house we built together by Cristina Vrincianu
2nd Prize Poem Home – my friend by Mikolaj Marsy
3rd Prize Poem Home? by Anastasi Panagiotopoulou
Highly Commended Moon in the Sky by Pablo Vincent
Highly Commended I dream a house by Lorenzo Di Biagio and Luca Oleari
A house we built together
Our house is a house.
We built it together.
We have laid every brick one by one.
We have nailed every board, one blow at a time.
Our house is a house.
We built it together.
Not every board is perfect, some are not even straight.
Some walls are built in the wrong place.
We must carefully remove those boards
We must carefully remove those walls.
We must rebuild them in the right place.
We must replace each board one by one
Until the holes are all filled
Until all the walls are in the right place.
When we have finished
We can stand back and say
“This is our house,
A house we built together!”
By Cristina Vrincianu, aged 11, from Bacau, Romania
“Home – my friend”
My walls are yellow like sunrays in the morning
My roof is red like maple leaves in Autumn
My door is brown like sweet chocolate boiling
My windows – limping like lakes in the mountains.
I’m as old as your grandpa who’s collecting stamps
I’m as safe as the money in Swiss banks
I’m as happy as your best friends
I’m as warm as flames in the fireplace.
I don’t want to leave you
I like when you are in
I hate when you go out
I love when we are near.
By Mikolaj Marsy, aged 11, from Optimum Primary School, Wroclaw, Poland
Home?
For a fox, it’s its den,
For a snail, it’s its shell,
For a bird, it’s the sky,
For me, it’s my school.
You’re probably wondering why.
Am I a fool?
I come from a broken family.
My school makes me feel like a baby kangaroo
in its pouch.
Safe, warm and wanted.
School, sweet school...
By Anastasi Panagiotopoulou, aged 9, from Donna’s English School, Filiatra, Greece
Moon in the Sky
Flowers in the sitting room,
Rain in the garden
lights off
I’m in bed
By Pablo Vincent, aged 11, from Collège Emile Zola, Toulouse, France
I dream a house
I go to the supermarket and I write a list.
I buy a golden wall,
an ice door
and seven floors.
A diamond chair,
a collection of Montblanc pens.
A fire disc,
a metal chimney
a silver roof.
An orange fridge
an LED 4D TV.
A rock window.
A chocolate table,
a water armchair, a pair of pears
A crystal bed and a good dad.
By Lorenzo Di Biagio and Luca Oleari, aged 10, from Istituto Marcelline Tommaseo, Milan, Italy
UK/Native Speakers Winning Poems
Prizes
Judges
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