As announced live on Radio Derby on 20th March 2022 here are the finalists and winners of our character competition.
Thank you to everyone who took the time and care to enter our competition which closed on World Book Day and for loving The Adventures of Poppy and Lord Ted. We have received 363 entries for our competition and the children’s imaginations did not let us down, but this has made the job of finding a winner incredibly difficult – much harder than I anticipated.
The key to finding a winner has come down to simply understanding what the new character would add to the existing story and how can I weave them into the next story. Individually 95% of these would have stood up on their own – being able to fit it in was the overriding factor.
Here is a quick list of some of the brilliant characters we had to choose from:
Princes & Princesses
Fairies – Caring & Helpful, Ice, Rock & Roll & Panda fairies, Good, Evil, Nature & Healing fairies, and Princess & Queen Fairies and even a Weather Controlling Fairy
Teddy Bears – Good & Evil teddies, relations to Lord Ted such as Brothers, Sisters, Uncles and Friends, Girlfriends of Lord Ted, and Lady Ted’s
Robots – even a Fairy Eating Robot
Rabbits – Good and Evil, Hamsters, Sheep, Birds, Horses & Unicorns, Cats & Dogs – Flying Dogs
Witches and Wizards
Robbers – Male, Female and Fairy Robbers
Aliens
Boys and Girls – friends of Poppy, relations of other characters, Good & Evil even a School Bully
Dragons – lots of Dragons
Dinosaurs – Sparkly with Crystals to Fairy Eating
Sea Serpent, Polar Bears, Crocodiles and made up mutant animals
And even an Italian Weather Controller and a Karate Koala
There were two age group categories - KS1 and KS2. The lucky winner of each category receives a £20 Amazon voucher to spend on books. The winner of each category will be in the next book – so we have two overall winners, two characters.
The top 5 finalists for each category will receive a certificate, a signed copy of the new book and will be featured on poppyandlordted.com. However, there are so many outstanding entries for KS2 that there are now 15 finalists for this category meaning 20 finalists in all.
KS1 finalists:
The following will receive a certificate, a signed copy of the new book, when released and will be featured on poppyandlordted.com
Lily Cooper, 6 from John of Rolleston School with her entry called Hugo based on her cousin
Isabelle Fenn, 6 from John of Rolleston School with her entry called Mrs. Trickster, a magic rabbit
Alexus Timmins, Year 2 from Bells Farm School, Birmingham with her entry Rose the Fairy Princess
Alice McVeighty, 7 from Mapledene Primary, Birmingham with her entry Squeaky the Hamster
But the winner…. who in addition to a certificate, signed book and website mention also receives a £20 Amazon voucher and will be named, with their character in the next book is:
Henry Walker Plowright, 6 from John of Rolleston School with his entry called Tommy Rainbow who is a fairy that helps people when they are sad. Henry’s wonderful, colourful picture and description really stood out for me. He should be very proud, and I look forward to sharing my ideas with Henry soon. Well done Henry!!
KS2 finalists:
Over 250 entries for this category with some incredible imaginations so 5 finalists became 15.
The following will receive a certificate, a signed copy of the new book, when released and will be featured on poppyandlordted.com:
Lucy Vincent, 10 from Etwall Primary School for her excellent entry James Fairy who becomes gradually invisible when scared
Zola Signori, Class 4BR from Edge Hill Primary in Burton on Trent with her character called Penny Punishment – a fairy that used to be called Penny Perfect but turned bad.
Matilda Onions, 10 from Mapledene Primary in Birmingham with her entry Phoenix Lavender, a 12 year old Guackama which is half bird half fairy.
Fletcher Dawes, 10 from Church Broughton C of E school for his entry, Lady Bun, a rabbit who is Lord Ted’s best friend.
Millie Smith, 11, from All Saints School in Alrewas with her brilliant entry called Kitty with her amazing camera
Scarlett Swetman, 9, from Stoneydelph School in Tamworth with her entry called Benji – who is the class bear and we have met him. There were a couple of Benji entries, but the characterisation of this entry made it into the top 15. The other by Georgia Cammerer receives an exceptional achievement award.
Jessica Wright, 11 from Church Broughton C of E school for her entry who was a girl called Jessica; it was clear, simple yet well described which is what we asked for.
Sophie Lam, Year 6, from Bells Farm School, Birmingham for her well thought through entry, a dog called Blaze
Poppy Adams, Year 4, from John of Rolleston School with her entry called Pixie, a nature fairy that was an excellent character
Maya Yarnold, Year 4, from Bells Farm School in Birmingham with her brilliantly described entry called Starlight, a chatty, helpful, and brave fairy.
Olivia-Skye Shorter, Year 3 from John of Rolleston School with one of her many entries called Princess Fairy
Ava Davidson, Year 5 from Bells Farm School in Birmingham with her two entries of Isabella and Amara – two very well described friends for Poppy. Year 5, The Kestrels, from Bells Farm all had some exceptional entries, as such the class wins an exceptional achievement award.
Amelia Johnson, Year 6, Bells Farm School in Birmingham with brilliantly described entry of a man called David based on her late father who sounded like an amazing Dad for Amelia.
Adrianna Motyl, Class 4BR, Edge Hill Academy, Burton on Trent, with her multiple entry but a finalist with Conor, one of my characters, Dave Jonny Johnson’s grandsons – Conor is a good guy!
But the winner…. who in addition to a certificate, signed book and website mention also receives a £20 Amazon voucher and will be named, with their character in the next book is:
Jessica Warren, Class 4SC, Edge Hill Primary in Burton on Trent with her character Rosie. I instantly connected with Rosie. Jessica’s description about a happy 8 year old girl with a hidden talent who lives close to Poppy’s Nanny and Grandpa meant I could instantly see how she can fit into the next story. Brilliant work Jessica – well deserved win, I look forward to discussing Rosie further with you soon.
Our congratulations to everyone who took part, finalists and Henry and Jessica from all of us at Poppy and Lord Ted HQ – we hope you all enjoyed the competition and look forward to reading the next chapters of The Adventures of Poppy and Lord Ted.