For the second year in a row, 8-year-old Ben Fowler of Poplarville placed in the Mississippi Public Broadcasting’s Kids Club Writers Contest. Last year, he received third place and this year, his short story, “Train Ride” won first place.
According to contest guidelines, the word count for third grade stories is a minimum of 100 words and stories must have at least five original, clear and colorful illustrations.
The contest is open to students in kindergarten through fifth grade, Ben Fowler’s mother April said. Ben’s father is Barry Fowler.
“I’m very happy for him and always try to get him to do his best at everything he does,” she said. “He loves telling stories.”
Her son is also an active member of Cub Scouts, a soccer team and the 4-H Club, where he participates in robotics and sport shooting, she said. This school year, he will be entering the fourth grade at Poplarville Upper Elementary.
On June 4, the Fowlers traveled to Jackson where Ben Fowler received his award.
Ben Fowler said his story is told in first person narrative style and is about a man riding a train.
“He has cars on the back of it and sees logs on the train tracks,” he said. “Then he used his brakes, pushed a black button and turns the train onto another path.”
His book is about ten pages long and can be viewed online at http://www.mpbonline.org/writerscontest/.
Ben Fowler said the inspiration for his story came from a dream he had. He said he felt great after winning this award and said he put his best effort into it.
He plans to be an engineer and build robots to help keep police officers and military personnel safe. He also offers this advice, “Don’t be afraid to try new things. You may not always win, but don’t be afraid of trying.”