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The 11-year-old has beaten 2,000 other junior writers to win a national story competition.

Now she is set to have her tale Star from Afar read out on children's TV after ti won a competition on Nick Jr TV channel.

Her story tells of a lonely little star who finds himself millions of miles from home and though he can grant other people's wishes but can't fulfil his own wish – to go home.

Leah, a pupil at Rothwell Victoria School, said her win was a big shock.
"I screamed when I found out I had won," she said. "I had never entered a competition before but I love reading and writing.

"My favourite author is Jacqueline Wilson who writes the Tracey Beaker stories and I also like the Harry Potter books. I would like to be a writer when I am older."

Leah is working on a story about a girl who moves to Scotland and her experiences.

She can't explain where her ideas start from. "I just write it really," she said.

"I can't remember when I wrote my first story but I am looking for other competitions to enter now."

Leah's story will be one of five winners read out on the new children's show A Bedtime Story on Nick Jr.

Her tale, below, will be read out on Tuesday, November 25, at 7.15pm.


Star from Afar
by Leah Carter

Once upon a time, not far from here actually, it was a dark night. Nobody knew that something was falling out of the sky. But, the next morning the people woke up and found a star. Pictures of the star were all over the newspapers but, it didn't look right. It wasn't glowing and it looked sad.
A little girl called Jane got really happy and wanted to meet the star. "Hello, Star! My name is Jane. Do you grant wishes?" she asked. "Yes, but you have to touch me first," Star said, unhappily. Jane ran up to the star and tapped him. She was really happy! "I wish for a zoo. With monkeys and elephants and kangaroos!" she shouted. The star did a little flip in the air and said "Your wish is my command!" All of a sudden, a huge zoo appeared right in front of them. "Cool!" Jane shouted, as she hugged a giraffe! "And I also wish for..." "Sorry, only one wish for each person" said Star.
Then, lots and lots of people ran up to Star and started touching him. People were shouting loudly. "I touched you! Now I wish for a new house." "I touched him first! I wish for... um... no school!" "I wish for a computer! Thanks Star!"
Everyone got their wish apart from one little girl, called Natasha, who couldn't get near Star. So, she waited until everyone went to bed and then she went up to Star. "Star" she said. When she saw Star's face, she was very unhappy. "Star, what is the matter?" "I miss my home. I can't glow anymore because I'm not in the sky. Have you had your wish yet? What is it?" He replied. "No. I haven't had my wish yet, there are lots of wishes I'd like to make, but I can't choose. Can I think about it? "Yes. Sure."
Natasha ran home and went to bed. She thought about it and thought about it more and more. Then, in her mind, she saw Star's sad face and she chose her wish. She ran back to Star. "Star, I've chosen my wish," Natasha whispered. She tapped Star and he said "What is your wish?" "I wish to send you back to your home in the sky" she said. "Are you sure?" Star asked. "Yes, I'm really sure." Natasha said. "Your wish is my command!" Star said. He did a little flip in the air and he had a smile on his face! He floated up into the sky. He waved goodbye to Natasha, and the he disappeared into the darkness.
The very next night, Natasha looked out of her bedroom window and Star gave her an extra twinkle!