The Premier League Writing Stars programme launched its new book of poems by children (ages 5-11) from schools all over the UK. I added some drawings to the book of poems which were written on the theme of RESILIENCE.
The poems selected by the judges are diverse: humorous, spirited and heart-warming.
One of my favourites (by Eve) is about her grandmother's soup which is hard to stomach: "I must go on, I cannot stop". That is resilience for you.
As you can tell, they're not all about football. Another by Amelie (aged 6), is about the monkey bars in her local playground which are formidable to her: "high off the ground". But she beats them and now her arms "got stronger" and she can face them "without the help of her mamma". I remember how that is.
One of the winning entries, by Sadie aged 10, is about her mum's experience with cancer and is so clever and thoughtful you just have to read it to understand.
They're not all children's poems either because some sporting celebs have their own poems included in the book, recounting some very similar challenging childhood experiences and others in their adult lives too.
There's more than 80 poems in the new book, and the children really put a lot of work into getting their messages across. Writing doesn't always come easy and you can identify people with a knack for it, and others who have tried… and tried again. And that's what this is all about.
Lauren Child , the Children's Laureate, judged the entries with Yannick Bolas, Caleb Femi and Frank Lampard. The National Literacy Trust produced the book with the Premier League.
