Book at Bedtime embraces the internet
24/02/2009
Book at Bedtime, a competition to uncover young authors across the country, has embraced the internet to make entry more accessible.
Book At Bedtime 2009
After thousands of entries from children between ages seven and 12 in last year''s high-quality contest, Silentnight Beds is allowing young hopefuls to upload their stories from start to finish, giving everyone the chance to have their master work illustrated and published.
The top ten stories will be selected by Pongwiffy writer Kaye Umansky, who will record the top ten for the nation to hear before the nation decides their favourite.
As a theme, children are to write a tale of the Silentnight characters, Hippo and Duck.
Ms Umansky spoke of the importance of night-time reading as a tool for vocabulary and sleeping benefits.
She said: "My plea is simply this. Find time to read to your child every night. Make a book a part of the bedtime routine."
The writer said she shared books with her daughter for years and shared laughs and tears.
She continued: "It got us talking about things. It kept us close. That''s what a book at bedtime does. It keeps you close."
Ms Umansky was first published in a collection of songs for children called Phantasmagoria over 20 years ago, before writing the successful Pongwiffy series.
Book At Bedtime 2009
