Back in March, Young Times launched a unique competition to design the front cover of the new edition of the classic J. M. Barrie novel Peter Pan. From crocodiles to ticking clocks, flying children to fairy dust, the ideas flooded in.

However, proving that sometimes the simple things really are the best, the judges’ favourite was a drawing by 11-year-old Anna Maxwell-Scott from the Lake District.

Anna’s picture showed the Darling children holding hands as they fly across the face of the moon in a beautiful starry sky. If you look closely, you can see that Tinkerbell is with them.

“They are flying to Neverland,” says Anna. “It’s my favourite part of the book because it’s exciting.”

Anna, who has loved art since she was a toddler, spent a few nights working on the picture, drawing it in ordinary pencil, then filling in with her watercolour pencils.

Why was Anna’s the winning picture?

Laura Hassan, from the publisher Random House, says: “We loved the way Anna imagined Peter Pan’s night-time adventures. Her picture is not only pretty and enchanting but is a clever book design because it draws you into the magical world of Peter Pan. The tiny Tinkerbell melted our hearts!”

It was many months before Anna received the news that she had won, and in fact she had forgotten all about the competition. It was only when she saw her picture in print that it sank in. “It’s going to be really cool seeing the book in shops [it is now on sale all over Britain] and I can point it out to my friends,” she says. “I was sent a load of copies but I think I might buy a few more anyway!”

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