Children across Cumbria can enter an art competition which will see their works exhibited at Florence Arts Centre in Egremont and win books for themselves and their school libraries.

Storyteller Steve Wharton originally wrote the story of Sylwedyth to help children engage with an exhibition of space science at The Beacon Museum.

Sylwedyth (pronounced Sil-wed-ith) is a local stone age girl who begins to question her tribe’s beliefs.

By testing her tribe’s sayings against the weather and observing the movements of the sun and moon, she becomes Britain’s first scientist.

Steve said, “Having worked with children as a storyteller and early years teacher, I’m in awe of their enthusiasm for understanding the world around them.

“I hope this is the first of a series of books that will help children to tackle some big concepts by presenting them in relatable ways.”

The book expands on Sylwedyth’s story with some pages of science explanation suitable for younger children.

A review in Popular Astronomy magazine hailed the book as, “a really thought provoking and enjoyable reading experience.

The first category in the competition was Seasons.

The category was won by Aadya Bharadwaj who attends Thornhill Primary School, Egremont.

With her manga-style picture, she decided to show how beautiful girls are in all the four seasons.

The competition’s second theme is Space. Nursery, receptionand primary school children can submit any form of artwork in response to the theme.

They need to ask an adult to email a photo of their artwork to 28DalesLater@Gmail.com by the deadline, which is Wednesday October 5.

The winning artworks will be exhibited at Florence Arts Centre from Friday 7 to Sunday 9, which is during World Space Week 4-10 October.