WIN A POET VISIT TO YOUR SCHOOL AND £250 WORTH OF BOOKS WITH LOVEREADING4KIDS’ 2021 POETRY PRIZE

LoveReading is thrilled to announce the third year of The LoveReading4Kids Poetry Prize in association with National Poetry Day and National Book Tokens. National Poetry Day is the annual mass celebration in October that encourages all to enjoy, discover and share poetry. This year, National Poetry Day will take place on Thursday 7th October.

With the continued backing of National Poetry Day, LoveReading4Kids launches the 2021 outing of its annual competition for children ages 7- 11 from across the UK inspired by the National Poetry Day theme of ‘Choice’. The competition is looking for original poems focussed on your young poet’s interpretation of 'Choice'.

The winning poet will win a visit to their school from National Poetry Day ambassador and award-winning poet Matt Goodfellow - plus £250 of book tokens from National Book Tokens to be spent on books for their school. Both Winner and Runner Up will also receive a trophy and certificate, a batch of beautiful poetry books thanks to publisher Bloomsbury and an annual subscription to the gorgeous children’s magazine Scoop.

The winning and commended poems will also be published on the LoveReading4Kids and LoveReading4Schools websites. 

Executive Director, Forward Arts Foundation, Monica Parle commented: “National Poetry Day is delighted to work with LoveReading4Kids again this year on this incredible effort to celebrate poetry with primary-age children across the UK. Every year, National Poetry Day aims to encourage more children and families to discover, share and enjoy poetry, and LoveReading4Kids is such a stellar champion of books, writing, and words for parents, teachers and children. Their competition is invaluable in highlighting the best new voices of the future. We can’t wait to see the vibrant work that’s produced.”

LoveReading Managing Director Deborah Maclaren commented: "We are delighted to be working with National Poetry Day again to get children and schools across the UK engaged with words, creating their own poems and inspiring a new generation of poets. As Edgar Allen Poe said, “Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words” and we LOVE it. It’s having a resurgence, and we want to celebrate that and get even more people reading and writing poetry."

Spread the word and let’s get creating. 

For all your teachers out there, there are some free teaching resources here to help you inspire your classes. Let’s support the children in creating some special poetry.

Teachers can enter batches of poems from their class via one uploadable document or children within the age range can enter individually. 

Don’t delay, although you have until the end of the Summer term to support your aspiring poets in creating their masterpieces, get crafting! The LoveReading4Kids team of judges cannot wait to read your young poets’ creations!”

Find out more at  www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/submit-poem-entry 

If you want to be reminded just how fabulous an art form poetry is, take a look at our recent small collection of poetry books we adore which we collated for World Poetry Day.

And we'd like to share with you our fabulous winners from the 2020 competition: The Jusges' Winner was Celyn Gadd, age 8, of Oswald Road Primary School in Chorlton with his poem Plip Plop. The People’s Choice winner, voted by you, was Thomas Corley, aged 10 of Our Lady of the Visitation Primary School in Greenford. Overwhelmingly the people made their voice heard and hundreds chose Thomas’ amazing poem I Know Why The Lockdown Child Hopes. Highly commended was Lily Horner aged 9.

Plip Plop

Plip plop

Plip plop

The rain

Starts to drop

It doesn't

Stop

The pale grey skies

Trap trap us inside

Pushing the cold

Makes the deck

Look like gold

Everything muted

Except for

The plip

Plop

Plip

Plop

By Celyn Gadd, Age 8

I know why the Lockdown child hopes.

A free child plays

in the school playground

and runs in the park

till the grass is no more

and dips his toes

in the crystal blue stream

and dares to claim the world.

But a child that is stuck

in his lockdown home

can seldom see past

his desire to roam

his freedom is lost and

his friends are gone

so he opens his mind to hope.

The lockdown child thinks

of things to say

worries and anxieties

fill their day

he lies on his bed

wiping his tears away

for the lockdown child

dreams of normality.

The free child thinks of his closest friend

And the games they play that never end

And the sugary sweets waiting in a colourful jar at home

And he knows his part in the world.

But a lockdown child’s friends are silhouettes in his mind,

Behind locked doors he can never find.

his freedom is lost and

his friends are gone

so he opens his mind to hope.

The lockdown child thinks

of things to say

worries and anxieties

fill their day

he lies on his bed

wiping his tears away

for the lockdown child

dreams of normality.

By Thomas Corley, Age 10

I'm only 9

Hey I'm only 9, so what do I know!

Cracks in society are starting to grow

On bbc news grownups acting so bad,

Skin is just skin why you all getting so mad?

I turn on the tv hatred, violence and crime

Do you think I don't see because I'm just 9?

Statues pulled down, us kids wont get to see, but history teaches us how much better we need to be

Educate us don't shout, scream and throw, but hey I'm 9 so what do I know!

Grownups change does need to happen but peacefully though, I might just be 9 but this much I know

Maybe you adults would get along fine if you'd only remember what you didn't know at 9

So yeah I'm just a kid aged just 9, but I leave you with these wise words, love each other, be true and be kind

And one thing I know for certain aged just 9, is that ALL lives matter, in this big wide world not just yours and mine.

By Lily Horner, Age 9

LoveReading, LoveReading4Kids and LoveReading4Schools are the UK’s leading book review and recommendation websites, whose mission is to share book love and promote a love of reading by offering the tools, advice and information needed to help you find your next favourite book.  

Forward Arts Foundation is responsible for National Poetry Day on the 7th of October. This annual mass celebration, founded by William Sieghart CBE in 1994, brings the nation together around the performance, sharing and making of poems: it is the highpoint of our year-round campaign to raise awareness of poetry’s value. 

National Poetry Day 2021 will take place on Thursday 7th October: the theme is ‘Choice’. 

To find out more, email kids@lovereading.co.uk or contact Managing Director Deborah Maclaren at deborah@lovereading.co.uk.