With her mother and older sister becoming authors in the last several years, it was only natural for eight-year-old Lowe Sound Primary School student Aleah Storr to want to follow in their footsteps.
And that she did.
Aleah, troubled by friends who were being mean to others, decided to show them a different way of doing things through the written word.
“Well, most of my friends in my class were not being kind,” said Aleah, who is now nine. “They were often mean to others, for example, they called them names, saying bad words to them, and they don’t share with others if they have more than enough to.
“I wanted to change that by writing my book about kindness, so that when they buy the book, they will know how to be kind to others.”
Aleah’s 10-page book, entitled “Friends with Kindness”, follows the journey of a dog and cat, who became friends and helped each other out.
Along their journey, they met other animals, who also helped them.
The book was published last year.
“After my sister wrote her book, I wanted to write a book of my own,” Aleah said. “Also, because I wanted to be a part of what my family was doing. I saw how successful their books were, and I wanted to be included in that success as well.
“Once I figured out what I wanted my book to be about, it only took me about two weeks to write the story. I was excited about the characters that I chose and what I would make them do and say in my book. That made it fun to write.”
While Aleah said the process of writing her book has sparked a greater interest in writing, she wants to eventually become a chef.
A little over four years ago, Aleah’s mother, Aleisha Storr, wrote her own book “Rising From Victim to Victor: Discovering Who You Are”, in which she shared her journey from victim to victor.
Reflecting on her daughter’s decision to follow in her footsteps, Aleisha said, “As a single mother, I am often worried about a number of things. One of the most concerning was how I’d raise my girls. I wrote my book shortly after a divorce. At that point, I had already thought I’d fail to an extent. After publishing my book and later finding out that my eldest daughter wanted to do the same, it made me feel proud that something birthed from that experience inspired my daughter to write.
“To then find out that my eldest daughter chose to write her book from the same angle [her experiences in life] and used it to help others was honestly an indescribable feeling.
“Aleah wrote her book shortly after her sister did and again, I was just so excited, so proud of their accomplishments and willingness to stretch themselves beyond their comfort zones to share their thoughts and ideas with the world. I’ve often told my kids that they can be and do anything they make their minds up to do. And that they should know that it requires work, but they have to be willing to put in the work.”
Aleah said she did not ask her mother or sister for help.
“Well, only with publishing it,” she added. “Writing it was all on me, but I did not have a clue on how to get it into an actual book.”
Aleah’s sister, Lavaria, 12, has self-published her own book, “A Quilt Called Life”, in which she addresses her various life challenges and the ways in which she overcame them.
This post was originally published on here
