As the countdown continues until the GoGoHares hop out onto the streets of Norfolk, the animals the colourful sculptures are based on seem to have well and truly captivated the imaginations of children across the county.
For 'hare' was today revealed to be the most popular word used by Norfolk children who sent in stories to BBC Radio 2's 500 Words competition on Chris Evans' breakfast show.
The finding was made by Oxford University Press which analysed 134,790 short stories sent in from children aged five to 13 nationwide.
It comes after schools across the county have been involved in preparations for the GoGoHares art trails that are set to decorate Norwich and Norfolk this summer to celebrate the 50th anniversary of children's charity Break.
The charity is presenting three trails in partnership with Wild in Art, and the GoGoCreate trail through Norwich will feature more than 160 sculptures of young hares, known as leverets, that have been created by schools and community groups.
There will also be a city trail of 50 large hares designed by artists as well as a trail of 18 moongazer hares in the wider county.
Peter Marron, GoGoCreate co-ordinator, said: 'GoGoCreate has provided a learning resource pack full of educational hooks and cross-curricular activities around the subject of hares. It is great to hear that children have been so fired up about it, and for the word hare to be used so much in this creative writing competition.
'We look forward to seeing the creativity on the leverets when they hit the streets of Norwich from July 2 to September 2.'
Chameleon and gremlin were the second and third most popular words used by children across Norfolk who entered the 500 Words competition.
In Suffolk the top three words were monster-truck, jersey and minstrel.
Nationally the top word was plastic – thought to be due to the influence of David Attenborough's Blue Planet II TV series which highlighted the damaging effect of plastic pollution on marine life.
The competition's winning stories will be revealed later this month - visit www.bbc.co.uk/500words
The GoGoHares will be celebrated in a sticker book created by EDP and Evening News with Break and East of England Co-op. The album costs £5 but people who pre-order it before June 17 will save £1 and pay just £4 – visit www.edp24.co.uk/hares or call 01603 772138.
For more on GoGoHares, visit www.gogohares.co.uk and for more GoGoHares stories click here
Top 10 words used by children in Norfolk and Suffolk
Norfolk:
• hare
• chameleon
• gremlin
• fern
• cypress
• scottish
• pike
• sonic
• step-parents
• kayak
Suffolk:
• monster-truck
• jersey
• minstrel
• gorgon
• sidecar
• hitchhiker
• supersize
• kart
• chick
• terrorists
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