Young Exeter student writes her own book to teach kindness

Exwick Heights Primary School has a new literary star on the rise, and she’s only in year two.

Mala, wrote her book ‘I am a monster who loves to play’ during the summer holidays. It took her two days to finish her story and then five days to draw her own picture book. After it was finished, Mala asked her friend to do some illustrations. The book was completed in early September and printed to be given out to families and friends.

She hopes the story conveys the message that we should celebrate the fact that everyone is different and that we shouldn’t judge people by how they look. She has kindly donated copies of her book to the school library so all the children can borrow it and enjoy it at home. Mala hopes to be a full time author when she is older.

At Exwick Heights, the English curriculum is designed to ignite a love of writing. They want every child to write with fluency and an author’s voice. Pupils are encouraged to re-read, edit and improve their writing so everything they produce is to the best of their ability.

Gemma Wills, headteacher at Exwick Heights Primary School said: “Everyone at Exwick Heights is so proud of Mala. She has put so much effort into her book and it’s not only a wonderful story, but also conveys a heartfelt message. We encourage pupils to think about the impact their writing will have on the reader and how they will achieve this, it’s clear Mala has absolutely taken all of that on board.”

Moira Marder, CEO of the Ted Wragg Trust said: “At the Ted Wragg Trust we want to celebrate the talents and achievements of all our pupils, inside and out of school and I was delighted to hear that Mala has written her own book. It’s particularly lovely that she has donated copies to the school library. It seems she is well on her way to achieving her dream of being an author.”