At 10, Anu Shekar authors book for kids

It was her father who suggested that she must not just read books but do something more. “My father told me that if I loved reading so much then I must consider writing too. I then gave it a serious thought and with the help of my parents, conceptualised a book. I started working on it when I was in Class two,” says Shraddha, a student from Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School in Mylapore. 

Her book Adventures of Morty revolves around a turtle, which goes to different places to solve cases. “Morty, a very smart turtle goes on adventures to solve cases. He goes to fictional places, that are mostly under water. The book also describes the scenes and the feel of these places,” says Shraddha, who also drew the sketches. She adds that she worked on the book during the holidays or when she was done with her homework. About the turtle detective, she says, “There is this story where Morty is called to a restaurant to solve a case where two delivery girls claim that the money was taken by conmen. On arriving there, the detective asked the two employees separately who said that the conmen were dressed like police officers and took the money. When questioned individually, one said that the guy was wearing sunglasses and was in uniform. The other girl gave away the same description but she said that the man had hazel eyes. How could she notice the eyes when he was wearing sunglasses and that’s how Morty solved the case,” she says. 

Shraddha aims to write more books in the future. “The response has been great. My school friends and family friends have encouraged me and I plan to write more books.” The book is available online and is published by the Notion Press. It is priced at Rs 100.