The Island. Author, age 8

Creativity comes in all forms, and I do believe it’s passed down in our genes. With two designers for parents I think it’s inevitable that my son is going to be creative, though I wasn’t quite expecting it be in written form.

I wanted to share this short story that I read in his school book this week at parents evening. I’ve acted as editor and corrected his spelling – he is only eight after all! You can read his unedited version in the pictures at the end though. It’s inspired by Michael Morpurgo.

“I woke up having a broken leg and remembering nothing about my family or anything about this mysterious island and what is on it. I tried to stand back up to maybe climb out but I immediately fell straight back down on the mouldy old dirt below my feet. Until I had an idea…

I thought if this was a trap for animals there must be a way out for Kensuke to get in and out. My heart suddenly started to fill with hope once again as I started to search all around the hole and finally I scraped away some dirt to find a rope handle of a trapdoor. I lifted it up and walked out with a lot of hope on the inside.

I stepped out into broad daylight but something strange had happened while I had been down in that death pit, which was now closed off from sight of seeing forever. There was no trees, no trees whatsoever which was good but also bad, because I was not familiar with it at all. I slowly limped around the abandoned area in the hope to find any sight of the jungle maze I had just come through. But it seemed like there was no jungle or forest in sight, just solid plains and a couple of hills and mountains along the way.

I carried on walking on and on for an entire day and still just saw plains, plains forever. But suddenly a huge bird like dragon came swooping down clamping on to me with its razor sharp claws. And I remember thinking what is this beast and why is it here. It is almost 30 times the size of me but almost in a blink of an eye we were at the nest…”

I don’t know about you but I want to know what happens next! He did say he ran out of time to finish the story but I do think this actually builds suspense. Maybe he’ll finish it one day.

Thanks to Michael Morpurgo for inspiring my eight year old son.