Writing complete

Thirty astonishingly good stories later - well I am still marking actually, but the buzz around the children during their writing was palpable, some of the finest writing I have had the privilege to mark. I wish I could post it all up here, but time and space won't allow it. I am including one for now, and may add excerpts of others. I really hope some of you literacy bods read and comment. The children love seeing positive comments on their efforts.

‘Machinarium’ by Daniel

Because of the puzzles, today was the longest day of my life. We crash-landed on a colour-less, lifeless, tedious planet. I was the captain of the S.S. R.Bot and as a result I was responsible for landing on this dreary planet. This barren planet has a very rich smell of oil-waste coming through all the pipes underground. It doesn’t feel right; it just doesn’t feel right...

Under the pile of broken arms and other limbs lay me, Ned (Norbert Edwardo Deuce), the rusty old tincan, broken like everybody else in this landfill.

“Please help me, please help me” I repeated to myself as I knew if any robot was without limbs for more than ten minutes they would die. Suddenly a finger came out of the gloomy black sunless sky, and relocated my head to my body; oh the spring in my spine felt soooo good! Then the gigantic digit came and attached my legs into their sockets and I was able to move freely and get my other arm.

There was the space-craft.

“It looks more like a city now. Why?” I asked a guard. His reply was, “They’ve converted it into a city because they know they’ve got no hope getting it up in the air since the great crash.”

“Can I go in please?”

“NO! Only police allowed.”

Now was the time to test my new body. Does it have the most important power; the power of puzzle-solving?

Carelessly I kicked the cones down the gorge out-skirting the city. There was one cone left, so I decided to consume it. Underneath it lay a can of blue paint – guess what? I gobbled it up being extremely careful not to spill it in my body. There was a big pot of white paint and I needed to dip the cone in light blue paint because the colour if his hat was light blue. So I put the blue paint into the white paint and it made light blue. Then I dipped the cone in it and I realised that the guards wore helmets with a little light on top. There was one on the light-post, so I climbed the light-post with the little rungs. I got it. I thought to myself as I put together the cone and the light-bulb. I yanked the lever for the last time and finally he let me through. It felt so exciting walking along the bridge to the city, so I inhaled all of the lovely aromas.

Suddenly...