Darshan Ravindran, 8
Imagine waking up one morning and discovering that the world has flipped upside down!
Avinash Ravindran, 11Suddenly, the ceiling becomes the floor, trees grow with their roots in the sky, and your pet cat strolls across the roof like it’s the most natural thing ever.
Sounds like a scene from a cartoon?
Well, that’s exactly the kind of crazy adventure we are talking about in this week’s Starchild topic, My Upside Down World.
It’s about seeing life from a totally different or weird angle. Maybe your homework does itself while you watch TV.
Maybe school starts at midnight and you sleep during the day. Or perhaps your favourite foods – like ice cream, pizza or nasi lemak – are served upside down on the plate, and you have to eat them with a straw!
Sometimes, life feels a little upside down for real. Like when your routine changes, or you try something new for the first time. Maybe you’ve moved to a new neighbourhood, switched schools or suddenly discovered you love broccoli (surprise!).
Here are the letters from our young and imaginative readers on the topic.
Bethany Wang Qi Syuen, 10
Bethany Wang Qi Syuen, 10, says that in her upside down world, children are the leaders who make the rules.
“A zero mark would equate 100% full marks, pet dogs are trained to stay in lockers so they can accompany students to school, mice are kept on leash as pets and children scribble with birds as their pens. Electronic gadgets like tablets are built-in to the floor for convenient access.
Azra Nafeesa Ahmad Syauqi, 11“Also, it is a world where goldfish can fly, hungry people pluck drumsticks off trees to eat, people can walk upside down to avoid congestion, while ballerinas wear tutus that double up as food trays. It’s a wacky, wacky world.”
“If the world turned upside down, I would live in the clouds and build a treehouse that hangs from the sky. People would swim in the air like fish, and the ocean would be above our heads,” writes Azra Nafeesa Ahmad Syauqi, 11.
“My upside down world means bedtime in the morning and school at night. The sun would shine at midnight, and the moon would pop out at lunchtime. And of course, I’d be hanging upside down like Spider-Man,” says Avinash Ravindran, 11.
Jayden Tan Li Sheng, 12, writes, “This photo shows my room, it’s simple but weird. I sleep in a pool that I use as a bed. “When I feel hot, I turn on my hair dryer to make myself even hotter. My drawer is upside down, and on top of it sits my pet hummingbird... in a fishbowl.
“I have a tree planted upside down in my room, and my television talks to me every night, plus it floats. My cat watched too much of the Disney movie, Aladdin, and it has started floating on my room carpet. Now it barks. Maybe I accidentally let it eat some soap. My classmates always ask why I’m always so early to school. Uhm... maybe it is because my school is right next to my bed?”
Jayden Tan Li Sheng, 12
Wan Maysa Wan Ahmad Shafiq, 10, says: “In my upside down world, I brush my teeth with chocolate syrup and eat broccoli-flavoured ice cream! Cats wear sunglasses and chat with me about cartoons, while my school bus is actually a flying dragon. My friends and I zoom to school on a broomstick – upside down.”
Wan Maysa Wan Ahmad Shafiq, 10
Younger sibling Darshan Ravindran, eight, says: “In my upside down world, I walk on the ceiling and jump on the fan for fun rides. Pizza falls from the sky, and water comes out of my shoes when I walk. The trees grow underground, and we pick mangoes by digging holes.”
Erica Sophia, 12, says: “In my crazy upside down world, I love hanging from trees like a happy bat! When I’m upside down, the grass looks like the sky and the clouds look like fluffy pillows under my feet.”
Erica Sophia, 12
ITEM: What are some of your favourite bedtime stories? Could it be The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Eric Carle), Hansel And Gretel and Rapunzel (Grimms’ Fairy Tales) or a magical adventure of your own? Tell us what you love about it and why it makes bedtime special.
Email your contributions to lifestyle@thestar.com.my by Oct 3. Please put “STARCHILD: My Favourite Bedtime Story” in the subject line of your email.
Scanned drawings should be in jpeg format, with a resolution of 200dpi. Your contributions must carry your full name, age (open to children aged 12 and below only), gender, phone contact, and address. Instead of handwritten letters, please type out your letters.
Starchild My Upside World drawings
Darshan Ravindran, 8
Jayden Tan Li Sheng, 12
Avinash Ravindran, 11
Azra Nafeesa Ahmad Syauqi, 11
Erica Sophia, 12
Wan Maysa Wan Ahmad Shafiq, 10
Bethany Wang Qi Syuen, 10
