Eight-year-old Jediel Andrew Tucker, a Grade Three student of the New Guyana School, recently became an author when he published his first book.
In an interview with this newspaper shared his love for story writing which resulted in him penning several short stories.
“My teacher at school gave me a project to write a story and after writing one I wanted to keep writing more,” Jediel said. The result, titled “My First Book” is about different stories he made up, or experiences he had.
The young writer said his mom assisted him by typing them out on her computer. When asked what his favourite story in the book was, he said, “Our Burger Sale, What Third Grade Might Be Like and The Best Afternoon,” were his favourites.
Jediel’s mom, Latoya Arthur-Tucker, who was also present during the interview, said that she would encourage other parents to get their children into story writing as well, but noted that the child must have an interest in order for them to enjoy it. Arthur-Tucker said she realized her son’s writing wasn’t just his assignment he got from school, which encouraged her to get his stories published. “I do believe that anything good is a sacrifice” she proclaimed, adding that she would encourage other parents to not let the cost be a deterrent. She said the target audience for her son’s book ranged from the youngest child who can read up to a Grade Six student.
Arthur-Tucker said that she had not reached out to any local bookstores, but she planned to do so. Meanwhile, the book is available on Amazon and will be sold for $6,000 at the book launch at the University of Guyana campus on March 23rd. There will be author-signed copies available.
