* Like Morpurgo’s Laura, who turns her troubled community’s fortunes around when she saves a sea turtle, the appropriately named Green class from Halsford Park school in East Grinstead, Sussex have put their imagination to work on the natural world. The class of five-year-olds have won the infant category of the Earthworm Short Story Competition organised by Friends of the Earth following its Earthworm Children’s Book Award.
Junior winner was Janet Blake of Lakes primary school, Redcar, Cleveland; senior winner was Jonathan Gilchrist of Hawarden high school, Deeside. The entrants continued environmentally-friendly stories from openings supplied by Colin and Jacqui Hawkins, Dick King-Smith, Anne Fine, Anthony Browne, Paula Danziger and Sian Lewis. Winners receive Puffin books for their school libraries.