by Claire Bennett

“Charlotte! Dinner!” her mother’s piercing voice rang through the house.

“Coming mum…” mumbled 11 year old Charlotte.

Downstairs her mum; Guadalupe, was busy with preparations for dia de los muertos: a mexican celebration. Her mum had been doing nothing else for the last three weeks. Charlotte’s rickety, old traditional house had been transformed; it was now laden with beautiful flowers adorning the ceiling and doorways, the wonderful smell of cooking food wafted through the peeling rooms. Her family had lived in this house for generations, Charlotte had never felt her mum’s connection to the house; she hated sleeping under a leaky roof.

Well, it’s been a very busy time reading all of your fantastic entries, but a very enjoyable one too. Some of the stories had me laughing out loud, and others had me scared to read the end – brilliant on both accounts! I was very impressed with the creativity from everyone in both categories.

Thank you to those of you in the Ten and Up age category for your patience. There were so many great entries, I had to go back and read some of them several times to make a final decision. But the decision has been made and without further ado, here is the Ten and Up shortlist.

The Forgotten Land (under the bed)

By Bill Kelly

Welcome to my world! I live in an empty wasteland of toast crumbs, odd socks, forgotten toys and giant marbles.  I am a knight, the King and rightful ruler over this domain and the collection of figures discarded by the Human. It has been a long time since we were last played with. Since then my hand has been stolen by the dog, my body has faded, and my yellow face chipped and scratched, thanks to a new kitten. However, I live on, enjoying the peace and quiet of retirement in my castle. A magnificent abode of four floors, each covered with a colourful arrangement of assorted bricks and purple flags.

Hello, what’s this? Something or someone different has entered my kingdom.

Thanks so much for entering the “What’s Under The Bed?” creative writing competition. This was the perfect way to celebrate the launch of my new book, There’s No Such Thing As Humans.

I was absolutely blown away by how many entries I received… 305 to be exact! This little author’s heart is delighted to see so many young people passionately writing, and such fantastic stories too!