Students are authors for Starship

Students aged 11 and 12 years, from Waiau Pa School in Franklin, Auckland, watched their very own book roll off the printing press last week.

Their book, Paul and the Magic Pencil, is the culmination of a school year full of hard work, as part of the Barfoot & Thompson Magic of Reading Storybook Competition. 

The students’ story about a young boy, who discovers his potential at school with the help of mysterious characters and a magic pencil, was chosen out of more than 150 submissions from Auckland and Northland.

“This is a heart-warming and fun story that will have relevance for school children of all ages and help encourage their own confidence in the classroom,” says Peter Thompson, Managing Director of Barfoot & Thompson, which funds the programme.

“The purpose behind the competition is to inspire children to explore storytelling, reading and writing and hopefully help foster a life-long love of books.

“It is also a very special opportunity for the winning writers, as their creative idea and hard work enables them to raise funds to help other young people in Starship Children’s Hospital.”

The story was developed into a final manuscript in a series of classroom workshops with renowned children’s author John Parker, and then the story was brought to life with illustrations by rugby star Keven Mealamu.

“This is Keven’s third storybook with us and, as always, we have been very excited by the style and flair he has brought to the pictures,” says Mr Thompson.

The book can be purchased for $10 at any Barfoot & Thompson branch or online at www.barfoot.co.nz/storybook.  Previous titles helped raise $60,000 for Starship.

Every cent raised from all sales will be donated to the Starship Foundation to support the purchase of a new ultrasound machine.