BRIDGEWATER, NJ — At just 9 years old, Bradley Gardens Elementary School student Dante Vallejos has already published his first book “Dino Bakes A Cake Despite A Big Mistake.”
The book is about a T-Rex Dinosaur named Rexy who wanted to make a birthday cake but made a big mistake.
“Everyone makes mistakes, and it’s important to learn from them and try again. If you never give up and always try your best, you’ll accomplish great things!” according to the book’s description.
Dante’s story was first written when he was 7 years old as part of his second-grade short story assignment.
“I started by making ideas, putting ideas on paper, and I picked one and started writing, and then more thoughts came into my head, and I kept writing and writing,” said Dante.
The teachers in the school loved his story so much, Dante was named “Author of the Month.”
“It felt really good,” said Dante of receiving the award. “I got a certificate, and I was proud of myself.”
After local authors stopped by the school to sell their books, Dante felt inspired to publish his own story.
Dante proceeded to spend the following year bugging his parents Krysty and Alain to publish the story until they finally did.
“He kept insisting and insisting, and we kind of like shrugged it off,” said Dante’s mother Krysty Vallejos. “I’m really proud of him that he really pushed us to navigate this for him.”
The book is geared for ages 1 to 7 since Dante believes it is good for kids to read to their younger siblings – which is the case with himself and his 3-year-old sister Dahlia.
Dante even included Dahlia and himself in the story.
Moving forward, Dante hopes to continue to pursue his love of writing.
“I want to make more books, a series of like five books about different things that Rexy does, and each one has its own message,” said Dante.
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