An out of this world IKEA prize for Morpeth schoolgirl thanks to her space story

Emma Wood, a Year 1 pupil at Abbeyfields First School, got creative for the contest run by IKEA in Gateshead.

When the five-year-old and her parents were in the store looking at a space-themed bedroom for her as it had one set up, they noticed a poster for a competition where children had to write the ending to their very own space story.

Her dad Chris has had two books – ‘Famous Last Words’ and ‘Death in the Theatre’ – published by Pen & Sword.

He said: “Emma loves writing stories and makes her own books weekly at home and her dream is to see one of her books next to her daddy’s in the bookshops.

“So, in IKEA, she set herself away writing a full space story instead of just the ending. Her story involved three animal friends who travelled to space before getting lost and obstructed by lots of ‘space junk’. Eventually, they find their way back to the rocket and happily head back home safely to Earth.

“We handed Emma’s story in and thought little more of it until a few weeks ago when Emma’s mummy Charlotte received a call from IKEA saying her entry had won and they wanted to meet Emma and give her the box full of toys.

“We were both so proud of her, firstly for her desire to write and draw, and we were so excited for her that she won. She was thrilled with her space goodies, which fit perfectly into her new bedroom.”