Children's Poetry Prize
Every year the Jewish Book Council organises a Jewish junior school poetry competition in the run up to Jewish Book Week.
Prizes are awarded in two categories: for those in school years 3-4, and those in years 5-6. The first prize in each category is a £40 book token, and there will also be two prizes of £20 book tokens for the runners-up in each category.
£50 book tokens will be awarded to schools that send in over 50 entries.
The competition will be judged by a panel including top children's authors and some other experts in the field. In 2008, the judges included Elaine Sacks (Chair) children’s author Andy Stanton and poet Jacqueline Saphra.
Here are some tips for entrants from Jacqueline Saphra:
*Look around you and pay attention to what you see and how it makes you feel. Listen to the voices in your head.
* When you start writing your poem, don’t be afraid of being silly or weird -often the craziest thoughts are the most interesting.
* Remember to read your poem out loud to yourself as you’re going along. The way a poem sounds is just as important as the meaning of the words.
2008 Winning Poets
Congratulations to the winners of our 2008 Poetry Prize competition!
The winners were announced at Jewish Book Week by Caroline Lawrence on Sunday 24 February .
Thank you to all those who entered –we had over 500 this year- so if you didn’t win it doesn’t mean that your poem wasn’t fantastic. It probably was and you should enter again in 2009.
Below is a picture of the tea party which Lady Elaine Sacks hosted for all the prize winners and all the prize-winning poems.
Prize-Winning Poems
Year 3-4
Rebecca Alexander, Moriah
2nd Runner-up
Ice is like white fairies drifting down to the ground
Chilly cold crystal colourless
Melting menacing wintry white,
Going to find snowflakes in the snow
“I’ve found one!”
“It’s so shiny!”
Water is blue glitter moving quite slowl,
Flowing sinking flowing suspending.
Soft stream sweep spurt swimming
On oh my snowflake’s nearly a puddle…
“Come snowflake!”
Clouds are like people dressed as ghosts,
Moving murky cold shadows
My Snowflake’s disappeared,
“Where is my snowflake?”
It’s fun whatever the weather
Gemma Oberman, Wolfson Hillel
1st Runner-up
Puddle Drop
There was once a raindrop that landed on my nose.
It stayed there for days and days.
I got bored of it, it got bored of me
So during those dull and boring days,
I called it a name, Puddle Drop,
(not that it is a proper name of course ).
It and I did not get on very well.
People asked me “What’s that spot
At the end of your nose?”
“It’s Puddle Drop,” I replied.
Even today you can still see it
Hanging on the end of my
Nose. “Is it from that dull
and boring day? “ I whisper to them “yes”
In case anybody heard.
Rachel Sinyor, Wolfson Hillel
1st Prize
Under The Waves
Under the waves all sorts of things go on all the
Creatures sing their song.
Under the waves, under the waves.
Under the sea coral shakes, the fish swim and
The water sways from side to side.
Under the waves, under the waves, under the waves.
The dolphins dive dangerously down and the fish watch as they go.
Under the waves, under the waves, under the waves.
The octopuses float at the bottom of the sea
Under the waves, under the waves, under the waves
Year 5-6 Prize
Deborah Korn, Moriah
2nd Runner Up
The River Stream
The river starts off as a stream
It leaps down the mountain
It strides in to the valley
It links its hands with others
It gets wider, still,
Until it almost bursts its banks.
A cliff stands in its way
It tries to keep the river in its grasp
But it slips away
It bolts around the corner
Like a snake catching its prey
All of a sudden it’s a member
Of the club they call the sea.
So it joins the race
To get to the shore
This river started as a stream.
Lara Kay, Moriah
The Seas
The shimmering sea fiddles hour after hour
With the small, brown pebbles,
Before letting them drift slowly into
His wide, open mouth.
The stormy sea snatches the
Golden sand from the lonely beach
As his vicious, grey waves crash over
It again and again.
The salty sea listens carefully to
the passing fish as they whisper water
jokes to each other.
Jake Summerfield, Kerem
First prize
The first drop is magical
It paints a smile on the Israelis’ faces
The second drop is a saviour
It sploshes on the dry soil
The third drop is cheeky
It lands on the Rabbi’s beard
The fourth drop is a relief
It parachutes into the river
The fifth drop is a sign
It lands on the Kotel bricks
The sixth drop is a follower
But to thousands yet to come a leader
The seventh drop is a tear
A tear of joy –the rain has come.
2007 Winning Poets
The Poets
Years 3-4:
First Prize, Moshe Waxman, Broughton Jewish Primary School
Second Prize, Emily Kenton, Wolfson Hillel
Joint 3rd prize, Natalie Deller, Naima JPS and Sarah Carroll
Broughton Jewish Primary School
Years 5-6:
First Prize, Ella Grodzinski, Kerem School
Second Prize, Arielle Domb, Independent entry
Joint Third Prize, Tamar Haschel, Menorah Foundation and Gabriel Segall, Hertsmere
The Poems
First Prize
Moshe Waxman
Broughton Jewish Primary School
The Wild Colours
Blue is
A blue bell ringing to the Sun
Yellow is
An autumn leaf
Red catches
A bull eye with rage
Green grass
Is a cow’s prey
Orange is a mighty tiger
That can not resist a deer
White is the shivering
Snow drop
Second Prize
Emily Kenton
Wolfson Hillel
The Colours in my room
My bed is made of thick brown wood
With covers in pink, purple and wite
My bedside table is also brown wood
With my books and purple bedside light.
I have a long white bookshelf
With some pictures, teddies and a purple clock.
So many books of different colours,
And my secret diary with a silver lock.
My big white desk is in the corner
With my green desk chair which can spin
I have a pink CD music player
And a silver rack to put my CD’s in.
I’ve got a closet on one wall
Full of outfits in purple, blue and green
Along with socks, shoes and tops
There are pyjamas in yellow and tangerine
So long my friends
The poem is over so
Toodledo and I will see you later
Joint 3rd prize
Natalie Deller
Naima JPS
Blue is the Colour of….
Blue is the colour of water splashing around…
Blue tastes like cold ice feeling its way through me…
Blue is the colour of Tali’s eyes…
Blue is the sky in a sunset and the colour of rain drops.
Sarah Carroll
Broughton Jewish Primary School
Feelings
When I feel happy it’s like a
yellow lemon
And when I feel angry it’s like
dum blue
And now I’m lonely it’s blowing red.
And
I
Just
Forgot
Sad, sad is like dark black like
Night sky
Years 5-6
First Prize
Ella Grodzinski
Kerem School
Colours
What was he thinking
When he created the world,
And the blue of the sky and the sea.
What went through his mind
When he fashioned the flowers
And the blue of the sky and the sea
Did he smile when he made
The little white lamb,
Or the blue of the sky and the sea.
How could he think of,
The solid black of the night,
Or the blue of the sky and the sea
What power could shape,
The colours of the earth,
And the blue of the sky and the sea
And the blue of the sky and the sea
Second Prize
Arielle Domb
Independent entry
Noah’s Ark
Noah stares into the day
Only rain-an endless grey,
Colours gone, locked under sea,
Oceans forming gradually,
Leaden skies hover above
Only G-d will send the dove
Up so high it’s his delight
Reaches out, the dove’s in sight.
Crimson Hawks soar above,
Our g-d sent colour with love,
Lavender sparkles yellow lights
Opal fires, shimmer bright,
Under the heavens, vivid gleam
Rainbow promise fills our dream.
Joint Third Prize
Tamar Haschel
Menorah Foundation
The world is multicoloured
I could paint the whole world yellow
I could paint the whole world red
But red is a colour of blood and danger
So I might paint it pure white instead.
Perhaps I will paint the world purple
There’s a chance of me painting it blue
With all the various shades that there are
I’ll paint the sea and sky too.
I could paint the whole world orange
I could paint it the colour peach
It’s such a difficult decision
So I’ll use a bit of each.
The entire world is like a canvas
Each colour adds its own spice
It was really fun painting it
Next time I will need more advice
Joint Third Prize
Gabriel Segall
Hertsmere
Surfer on the Sea
On the ocean blue,
The waves come crashing to the shore.
The white seagulls hovering for fish,
And wanting more.
The little boy building golden sandcastles,
On the windy beach.
The climber stretches for a dark grey rock,
Just out of reach.
The surfer glides on white powered waves,
On his board so shiny and red.
Blue dolphins follow him, oh so brave,
While a grey shark swims ahead.
2006 Winning Poets:
Years 3-4
First Prize: Sam Rabin (Moriah Jewish Day School, Pinner) ‘The Mole’
Second Prize: Molly Kay (King David Junior School, Manchester) ‘Autumn is Here’
Third Prize: Francesca Hilton (King David Junior School, Manchester) ‘Autumn Poem’
Years 5-6
First Prize: Louisa Sober (Moriah Jewish Day School, Pinner) ‘Nature’
Second Prize: Ariel Tamman (Kerem School, London) ‘Nature’
Joint Third Prize:
Libby Viner (Moriah Jewish Day School, Pinner) ‘I am the Earth’
Yocheved Gehler (Menorah Primary School, London) ‘My Pets.’
The Poems…..
The Mole
Sam Rabin
Down in his burrow,
The mole lurks,
It turns summer
And he pokes his
Head out of the burrow
He stops, he hears the
Steps of the troubling dog
He fits his head back in, OUCH!
An insane boy treads on his burrow,
He pokes his head out again.
He steps outside and wanders
Like a lost soldier, he spies
On the juicy worm,
CRUNCH! One less
Worm in the world.
Suddenly he hears it,
The over-enthusiastic
Girl “Ma, Ma, look at that
Mole, isn’t he cute!”
He hides,
She’s gone,
He hears the,
Wailing owl,
He crawls,
Back to the burrow,
Steps inside.
All in a day’s work for a mole!
Autumn is Here
Molly Kay
Big and little leaves whirling around.
Going everywhere.
Not making a sound.
There’s so many colours like red, orange and brown.
And when they fall off the trees.
They twist and turn and go all the way down.
The days get shorter and the nights get long.
And when you hear the wind whistling.
It’s like a song.
In Autumn it gets colder.
The trees shed their leaves
And the wind becomes bolder.
Autumn is here.
And
I am another year older.
My Autumn Poem
Francesca Hilton
Autumn comes
Dull and dark
Howling winds pull apart
The lovely trees of summer.
Hovering like the seagulls
They zig zag down
Red, Orange
And Golden brown.
Multi coloured rain drops,
Fall from grey skies They dance and twirl
Before your eyes.
BANG! ZOOM! HISS! AND BOOM!
Fire works flash past your bedroom
The smell of burning fills the air
Hold a sparkler if you dare.
After autumn winds
Winter snow
Then spring awakens
And flowers grow.
Nature
Louise Sober
It’s not in my dog’s nature
To eat the pencil,
It’s not in my cat’s nature
To chase the dog,
It’s not in my fish’s nature
To do what I say,
It’s not in my rabbit’s nature
To swing on the light,
BUT they do it anyway.
Nature
Ariel Tamman
My teacher told me write a poem
About nature I thought disability My teacher thought not because it was
Not linked with nature I thought
Creation because that’s where nature
began. My teacher thought not
because too many others had done
it. I thought hard. What is nature? I
thought Nature is the crystal
mountains over looking the sky. I
thought nature is the blushing
blossom of the cherry tree. I thought
nature is the white rapid horses of
the sea rushing towards the sway
beach. My teacher said I write it
down, so I wrote about nature.
I Am The Earth
Libby Viner
I am the earth
With green leaves as my eyes,
I am the earth
With a tree as my nose.
I am the earth
With long roads as my hair,
I am earth
With a river as my lips
I am the earth
With countries as my teeth,
I am the earth
With sky as my body.
I am the earth
Who looks after you,
I am the earth
So please can you treat me well?
My Pets
Yocheved Gehler
There are so many creatures that I like to meet
Some of them are scary and some of them are sweet
My family never know what I’ll bring into the house
One day it’s a hippo, the next could be a mouse
Upstairs in my mother’s bedroom she found an armadillo
Fast asleep and snoring loudly on her silky pillow
My sister woke one day to find a very grumpy llama
She screamed so much it took us all, half a day to calm her
I went into the kitchen to make my dad some tea
I’m sure he doesn’t mind to have to share it with my flea
When my granny came to stay I took her woolly scarf
I thought it would look so cute upon my pet giraffe
My baby sister went to play with her very best toy
Only to find that my tarantula had had a little boy
All in all, it is really quite sad
That my interest in animals drives everyone else mad.
|
