World Book Day 2006 creative writing competition
As part of World Book Day 2006 celebrations Scottish Book Trust teamed up with Scotland on Sunday to run a creative writing competition for children aged 14 and under. The first part of the story was written by Carnegie Medal-winning author Theresa Breslin, and the ending was left open for young writers to finish in no more than 500 words.
There was an amazing 752 entries for the competition, with inbcredibly high standard! The winning entry was by Laura Rennie, aged 13, from The Royal High School, Edinburgh. Her ending to Theresa Breslin's story was published in Scotland on Sunday on Sunday 9th April, and is printed below..
Special mention went to Caitlin McColl from Dunblane High School, whose story was highly commended by the judges. The judges also commended stories by Katie H. Fulton from Hutchesons' Grammar School and Scott Robertson from The Edinburgh Academy.
The competition was judged by Theresa Breslin and Andrew Crumey, Literary Editor of Scotland on Sunday.
The first part of the story ...
HAPPY WORLD BOOK DAY by Theresa Breslin
'UURRRGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!'
'What was that?' asked Callum, looking up from the book he was reading.
'Er.... Nothing,' said the Children's Librarian.
'Barf! Retch! Spew!'
'There it is again,' said Callum. 'It seems to be coming from over there.' Callum pointed to a door that led down below the street level of Edinburgh Central Library.
'It's nothing I tell you. Tell me if this banner is straight.'
Callum looked at the banner that the Children's Librarian was putting up on the wall above her desk.
Happy World Book Day.
'Move it over a little to the left,' he said.
There was a growling noise, and the floor beneath Callum's feet shuddered.
'You must have felt that,' Callum said.
'Passing underground train,' the Children's Librarian said quickly. 'Hand me that piece of blue tack, would you?'
Callum obligingly handed up the blue tack. 'You know the atmosphere in here has changed over the last weeks.' He looked around the Junior Library. 'I come in most days after school, and I've noticed recently that there's a kind of empty, chilly feeling about the place.' He shivered. 'And... a terrible sense of dread. '
'Let's concentrate on getting this banner up,' said the Children's Librarian. 'It's World Book Day tomorrow and the children of Castle Hill School have been invited for a special Storytelling Session.'
'I know,' said Callum. 'That's my school, and it's my class that's coming along.'
Later, as the Children's Librarian watched Callum leave the library, she glanced at the banner above her head.
Happy World Book Day
The Children's Librarian gave a bitter laugh. Yes, it was World Book Day tomorrow, but would it be happy?
That night, when Callum was tucked up in bed with his favourite Mollie Hunter book, it suddenly occurred to him the reason why the Central Library seemed so empty.
There were books missing.
Lots of them.
Last week he'd seen a shelf full of Cathy MacPhails. Yet when he'd gone to choose one this afternoon, there had been none there. Just a few torn book covers lying about. And between yesterday and today a whole bay of Bertagnas had disappeared.
Then Callum thought about the strange noise he'd heard behind the basement door, and the rumblings beneath the floor of the Central Library.
An underground train, the Children's Librarian had told him.
Callum sat straight up in bed.
Edinburgh didn't have underground trains.
'We won't be having a "Happy World Book Day" if we don't get that Thing fixed.'
The Children's Librarian spoke to the caretaker at closing time.
'It's on a binge.' The caretaker nodded in agreement. 'You should have seen the state of the shelves this morning. It had pulverised the Princes and burped up three Breslins. I only got just got the place sorted before the doors opened.'
'That boy, Callum Walker, who comes in every day? He's beginning to notice,' said the Children's Librarian. 'Only yesterday he asked for Treasure Island, and I had to tell him we didn't have that book.
'The shame of it.' The Children's Librarian put her head in her hands. 'Imagine having to tell a Scottish school child that Edinburgh Central Library doesn't have a single copy of a Robert Louis Stevenson title.'
'Why don't you have a word with the Chief Librarian?' The caretaker suggested. 'I'll come with you.'
'I didn't realise things were so desperate,' said the Chief Librarian.
'Haven't you looked at any of the reports I sent you?' The Children's Librarian read out the list from memory.
'It has attacked the Arbuthnotts, devastated the Dunlops, fed on the Fordes, gobbled all the Grays, hi-jacked the Hendrys, looted the Lingards, munched up the Millers, the Morgans, and the McCall-Smiths, pigged out on the Potts, and rampaged through the Rodgers and the Ryans.'
'Tons of other authors have gone too,' said the caretaker.
A frown appeared on the face of the Chief Librarian. 'What about Jakey's books?'
'It's just polished off the last Potter,' said the Children's Librarian. 'That's what been keeping it quiet until now.'
'If it is a Bookworm, shouldn't we be encouraging it?' said the Chief Librarian. 'We are a library after all.'
'Whatever it is, it's insatiable,' said the Children's Librarian. 'There are so many great books around now it's eating them six at a time.'
'And gorging itself on the good titles, ' said the caretaker. 'I'm scunnered wiping gobbed-up Glioris off the floor every morning.'
'Neither the Gruffalo nor Katie Morag have been seen this side of the New Year,' the Children's Librarian added. 'The shelves are almost empty. Some "Happy World Book Day" this is going to be.'
'What have we done about it so far?' asked the Chief Librarian.
'There was a specialist cleaning firm brought in who said they would take a look and give us an estimate.' The Children's Librarian paused. 'But we never heard back from them, did we?'
'That's true,' said the Chief Librarian. 'And what happened to that particularly brave work experience student from the local secondary who offered to go down and investigate?'
'Not nice.' The caretaker shook his head sadly. 'I had to send bits of her back to the school in a small plastic bag.'
'And the young man from our reading club who was trying to find the toilet?'
'In a private clinic. He'll be there for a very long time.'
'There are practically no books left for it to devour,' said the Children's Librarian.' A look of terror came over her face. 'And tomorrow there will be a whole class of children in the library.'
On the morning of World Book Day the children of Castle Hill School filed into Edinburgh Central Library.
Callum sat down with the rest of his friends. They all pushed and shoved to get a good place near the front but Callum sat right at the back of the group. As the session began he experienced a peculiar sensation... as if he was being watched.
He looked round. There was no one there. Only the door leading to the basement. And now it was secured with a huge padlock and chain.
The Children's Librarian made sure that the children were settled. She smiled as she saw the chain and padlock that the caretaker had put on the basement door. That ought to keep everyone safe.
She opened the storybook.
It was a terrific story from one of Viv French's books. Despite his unease, Callum became engrossed.
So he didn't feel the floor begin to tremble.
He didn't hear the creak of heavy footsteps on the basement stairs.
Neither he nor anyone else was aware of the padlock breaking apart.
And nobody saw the long yellow claws sliding around the edge of the door frame.
By the time the roar bellowed out, it was far too late.
The Children's Librarian glanced up from her book.
From the open door of the basement it came. Advancing towards the children. She knew at once that there was no way she could stop it.
She stood up.
She threw down the book.
And she screamed.
EEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!
The Winning Entry
So what did happen next? Laura Rennie takes up the story ...
The giant bookworm advanced towards the children. Running blindly around they knocked shelves and tables flying. The remaining Maisie books were sent flying straight into the monster's awaiting mouth. Everyone was relieved though as it made its way past them and headed straight for the big Viv French book that the children had all been so engrossed in just minutes before. It slowly pulled out the first couple of pages. It excitedly put them in its giant mouth and munched away with a smile on its face.
All of the pupils from Castle Hill School and their teacher and the librarian watched in amazement as the creature daintily pulled out a few pages each at a time and ate them. After it had finished the book, all 351 pages of it, it went up to the children's librarian. She was cowering behind a small bookshelf. "Don't hurt me!" she shrieked just as the creature reached out its long yellow claws towards her.
To everyone's surprise all it did was pick up the librarian, dust her down with one pair of its many hands and open its mouth to speak! "There are some pretty good books you've got there. Aye, I remember the time when it was all just Rabbie Burns and people of his time. Och, they weren't very digestible. Fine in small doses I suppose though. Now, those J.K Rowling books are smashing! I really could do with another one of them for my dinner tonight along with some of The Broons comics for my pinic tomorrow. Where do I find them?"
Everyone was just sitting there transfixed by the creature, but they weren't as stunned as the librarian! The creature was standing in front of her with an inquisitive look in its eyes. The librarian was absolutely speechless. "But we need the books to read," she managed to stumble, "you can't eat them!"
"What else am I tae eat? I'm a bookworm, that's what I eat," he exclaimed.
Up until then Callum had just been sitting quietly watching the bookworm, but now he spoke up. "What if we give the bookworm extra copies of books that we have and old ones that no-one reads anymore?" he asked the librarian, "and you, bookworm, can help by being the resident storyteller for Edinburgh Central Library."
"Sounds OK to me," said the children's librarian.
"Aye, that sounds guid," agreed the bookworm.
The very next day the library was closed but that was for a good reason. All of Callum's class, the bookworm and the caretaker were all helping the librarian to re-stack the library's shelves with brand new books, the few that hadn't been gobbled and some dusty ones found in the attic. The bookworm's mouth was watering the whole time, but he was very good and didn't eat any books until his supper of a brand new Cathy Cassidy book that night.
So on 4th March Edinburgh Central Library opened again with new books, old books and a slightly strange new member of staff for its Belated World Book Day.
Laura Rennie, Class 1A1 , The Royal High School, Edinburgh
