ANTARCTIC literary fun kept children amused at penguin-making workshops.

The events at the Spa Leisure Centre, Beckenham Road, Beckenham, looked at the work of illustrators who drew animals to inspire youngsters to make their own creatures.

The workshops were held in association with the News Shopper-sponsored Young Author Competition, organised by The Glades shopping centre.

The 150 youngsters, aged five to 15, then painted, collaged, drew and modelled the penguin characters they had dreamt up.

One of the artists in charge of the workshops, Jodi Jones, said: "We worked with the children to think about how they were going to bring the cartoon to life including how the penguin would look, how old it was and what its favourite foods were.

"All of these factors led the children to make some very individual creations."

Young writers only have three more days to enter the contest.

So far there have been 249 entries for the competition which sees the winner have their story printed with images by children's illustrator Nicola Slater.

Not many entries have been received in the 13 to 16-year-old category.

The stories should be based around the Glade's penguin, which will be appearing in the animated Glades grotto at Christmas.

The top 20 entries in each category will be displayed at the Glades during the October half-term.

The competition will be judged by a panel comprising of News Shopper Editor Andrew Parkes, author Andrew Murray and Maria Cooper, marketing manager at The Glades.

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