Reading with Amayah

By Kaelanne Jordan

mediarelations.camsel@catholictt.org

At just eight years old, Amayah Wallace-Aniebonam is stepping into the literary limelight with her debut book, Amayah’s Quest for the Golden Diamond: A Magical Adventure in Three Portals. This charming young author, a student at Curepe Fatima RC Primary School, is now an inspiration to young readers and writers alike.

Amayah’s journey into the world of storytelling began in an unexpected way. “It wasn’t really my idea to write this book,” Amayah admits. “My teacher asked me to write three paragraphs, and I ended up writing three and a quarter notebook pages.”

This initial assignment turned into a full-fledged book, thanks to encouragement from her mother. The book is dedicated to her teacher Rea Jewel Frank, and friends Amiynah, Abriana, Malaya who are the main characters and all supporters.

“It feels great” Amayah told The Catholic News on being an author. “It’s about going on a big journey to the Nightmare Jungle through three portals to find the Golden Diamond and get a reward from the King and Queen,” she explained.

Amayah’s mother and manager, Alisha Wallace, has been a steadfast supporter throughout this process. “When Amayah finished the story, I said, ‘This is very good. Do you want to turn it into a book?’ and she replied, ‘Yes, of course,’” Alisha recalled.

Amayah revealed she did not always enjoy writing, preferring reading instead. For Amayah, meeting with the illustrator was the highlight. Commenting on the use of three brown girls on the cover, Alisha replied, “All that was Amayah. Amayah had the vision. I guess when she was writing the story she already pictured how she would want everything.

“I think it would stem from her reading a lot of local books as well. Her resources were wide as well because we go to the library all the time. She has a wide scope….I think it appealed to a lot of people because that is one of the main things people are commenting on, they are all impressed, they loved the representation,” Alisha said.

A combined book launch and book fair was held July 28, at Our Lady of Fatima RC Church parish hall. “The most exciting part of the book launch was everything,” Amayah exclaimed.

While Amayah enjoys reading, she does not have a favourite author but mentioned Sherwyn Williams who wrote The Adventures of Jada, local author/poet Keeron Isaac and the Percy Jackson series, as notable influences.

Her advice to other kids is to “go for their goals and reach for the skies.” Despite her early success, Amayah has no immediate plans for a second book. “I’m looking forward to being normal when school reopens,” she says, with a desire to blend in as just a regular student.

Meanwhile mom Alisha highlighted the importance of promoting reading. “We use karaoke at home to encourage reading. You find the songs to the movies they like, and they can read along with the lyrics on the screen. It’s a fun way to engage with reading.” She also stresses, “Parents, you have to take the responsibility and read to your children and read in a fun setting.”

“In her [Amayah’s] YouTube channel, the settings for the reading are in many different settings. You don’t have to be by your desk sitting upright….So she’s reading while she’s waiting for gymnastics class, she’s reading while she’s in the backseat of the car, we are in the park…relaxed, so it’s natural, you can read anywhere. And that’s important in how you support reading,” Alisha said.

The book is available in five versions: English, Spanish, French, an English/Spanish colouring book and an English/French colouring book.

“Part of that is because I studied in a country called Georgia which is former Soviet [Union]. In that country, out of all the medical students, only Trinidadians and Guyanese knew only one language. Everyone else had their native tongue and were learning another language. So, by age 4 or 5, the children were already speaking three languages. So, get them all,” Alisha said.

Support local authors

Alisha encourages parents to buy local books and support local authors. She mentioned there are over 90 local children’s book authors, and their work is diverse and engaging.

“The numbers keep on growing. It’s not dull, dreary books like long time. The authors and illustrators are amazing. Books make great gifts. The local books are not all about Carnival characters. There’s a wide range. We have a local comics book author…we have culture and natural pride, life stories…an entire merchandise that they do try to market and it’s just that they’re not reaching,” Alisha said.

She also encouraged all bookstores to have local books more to the forefront and even consider adding local books to the booklist.

Looking ahead, Amayah has diverse aspirations. “She wants to be an ice cream vendor, teacher, or chef,” Alisha reveals. “She doesn’t want to be a doctor like me because, as she says, ‘No thanks, too much blood.’” While Amayah doesn’t envision writing as a profession, she hopes to continue reading and inspiring others.

Amayah’s Quest for the Golden Diamond: A Magical Adventure in Three Portals is available at Scribbles and Quills Limited and Paper Based Bookshop. Alisha mentioned more bookstores will be added soon, and it will also be available on Amazon.

For more information on Amayah’s book and to keep up with her literary journey, visit her Facebook and YouTube channels, ‘Reading with Amayah’.