Competition One
The first Walking with Witches competition asked children to illustrate an excerpt from the prologue of the book:
Leaves skittered across the pavement, scratching along like
brittle spiders. The wind toyed with them, lifting and whirling them into the air in spirals of orange and gold. Safe under the earth, something pulsed. Fingers of coloured light felt their way up towards the surface, stroking pebbles, buried coins and long forgotten fragments of pottery. A curious mole was startled to feel his silky fur caressed by the warm beams of light. He shot above ground into air scented with wood smoke.
The coloured lights sparkled across discarded crisp packets
and drinks cans as they blew across the building site. They paused
over a coal black feather, illuminating it with green and gold.
Overhead, a lonely crow cawed.
Leaves skittered across the pavement, scratching along like
brittle spiders. The wind toyed with them, lifting and whirling them
into the air in spirals of orange and gold. Safe under the earth,
something pulsed. Fingers of coloured light felt their way up towards the surface, stroking pebbles, buried coins and long forgotten fragments of pottery. A curious mole was startled to feel his silky fur caressed by the warm beams of light. He shot above ground into air scented with wood smoke.
The competition was won by Luke - congratulations! The prize was the opportunity to have a character in the story named after you. Luke now appears in the story dressed as the Grim Reaper! He will receive a copy of the book when it is launched at Halloween 2008, signed by both Nigel and myself.
To see the winning illustration by Luke, please click HERE or go to the 'Your Photos & Art' section of the website.
Competition Two
This competition has two parts.
Part 1 is for under 16s.
Part 2 is for home educating parents or guardians and teachers.
In Chapter Three, Elle and Izzy discover a small wooden box, buried in the earth. When they open it, they find the treasures that belonged to one of the witches executed on the Town Moor in 1650.
‘Oh, wow...look at this stuff!’ Eleanor levered the box out of the mud. She tipped the contents into her hand. Pewter coloured coins, strange round bells and a necklace, blackened with age sat in her palm.
‘There’s something else in there, Elle – look!’ Izzy pointed at a lumpy package, wrapped in brown paper. Eleanor picked it out, and some of the paper flaked into the box. Izzy picked up a fragment. ‘Look, it has drawings and some sort of writing on it.’ She held the paper out to Eleanor. Spidery writing, strange symbols and stars covered the paper. Eleanor carefully peeled the paper open. Inside, there was a chain that ended with a grubby but still glittering stone.
To enter the competition, this is what you have to do.
Under 16s:
Imagine that you have found a box with something magical inside. What is it? How do you know it is magical? What does it do?
Write a description, and email your entries with the subject line competition 2 - under 16s to:
competitions@walkingwithwitches.co.uk
The prize is a Walking With Witches baseball cap, and all entrants will receive a Walking With Witches fridge magnet. The best entries will be published on this website, so remember to include your name, age and address (for prizes).
This competition was won by Gemma Brady, aged 11 - well done, Gemma! Your cap is in the post. Look out for your fridge magnets, entrants - they are on their way! The best entries will appear on the site very soon - so watch this space!
HE parents and teachers:
Design an activity for children to carry out, inspired by finding the box, or the contents of the box. It can be worksheet based, or can be instructions for an activity. The best examples will appear on this website. Email your entries, with a note that gives me permission to display your work on the site, to:
competitions@walkingwithwitches.co.uk
What do you win? This prize is amazing - I rather want to keep it myself! In the chest that the girls discover, there are some pieces of jewellery. A sterling silver pendant set with moonstones and black onyx is up for grabs as the grand prize in this competition. For yourself or as a present, it's beautiful!
Closing date for both competitions is by midnight (the witching hour, of course!) on Thursday August 7th.
This competition was won by Tina Goodfellow all the way from Boston in the US! Your prize is winging its way to you - congratulations. Tina's ideas will appear on the activities page shortly.
Competition Three
In the story, the girls and their friends design and make their own Halloween costumes. To enter, you need to send a sketch of your spooky idea. What will it be? A wraith, like Sarah? A sorceress, like Eleanor and Isabel? Add notes to say what materials you would use. Send a scan of your drawing, or take a photo of your drawing and send it along with your age, name and address (for prizes) to:
competitions@walkingwithwitches.co.uk
Send your entries by midnight on October 20th. What is the prize? It's a bumper one this time! You get a signed print of Nigel's artwork, together with a copy of the book signed by Lynn and Nigel. There will also be some Halloween goodies thrown in!
