A LITTLE story about a big rat has won a Year 4 student from Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School, Darra, the third annual National Andy Griffiths Kids Short Story competition.
Jackson O’Shea’s short story Giant Zombie Rat was picked from a large number of entries from across Australia.
The nine-year-old had his winning story illustrated by Andy Griffith’s renowned illustrator Terry Denton and it is hanging in the school library.
He also received an Andy Griffiths Book Collection containing 21 books.
His mother Angela said Jackson was excited and gracious when he learnt he had won the competition.
“Jackson really enjoys creative writing and was very excited to be handpicked to win by Andy Griffiths and to have his story illustrated by Terry Denton,” Angela said.
“His inspiration for the short story came from one of his teachers who brought her pet rat into class a few times.
“He’s wanted a pet rat since, so I’m glad he’s chosen writing as an outlet to express this wish.”
She said Jackson wanted to be a famous comic book writer and had starting a club with his friends from school.
“I’m so proud to see him win this competition as he’s really developed a passion for reading and writing,” she said.
Judged by Andy Griffiths himself, the competition called for budding young writers up to the age of 12 years to write a poem or short story with a theme and genre of their choice.
“We were thrilled to see the high standard of short stories from children of all ages across the country,” Griffiths said.
“Jackson’s winning entry Giant Zombie Rat was truly imaginative and creative.
“We hope the competition inspires Jackson and other young children to continue reading, writing and develop a real passion for storytelling.”
