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BY Mildred Europa Taylor, 9:00am December 28, 2018,

This 7-year-old’s book has been accepted into the Library of Congress

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by Mildred Europa Taylor, 9:00am December 28, 2018,
Nicholas Buamah's book has been accepted into the Library of Congress. Pic credit: Black Enterprise

“Kayla & Kyle The Walking Dictionaries: Election Day” is the first in a series of books written to help elementary children expand their vocabularies.

Nicholas Buamah, a 7-year-old Georgia native, is the author of the book that is currently being sold at Barnes & Noble and on Amazon.

The most interesting development is that the second-grader’s animated book has also been added to the Library of Congress catalogue.

The Library of Congress is the national library of the United States and the largest library in the world, with more than 167 million items on approximately 838 miles of bookshelves.

This 7-year-old's book has been accepted into the Library of Congress
Library of Congress. Pic credit: commons.wikimedia.org

The collections include more than 39 million books and other printed materials, 3.6 million recordings, 5.5 million maps, 8.1 million pieces of sheet music, 14.8 million photographs, and 72 million manuscripts.

An idea to help her son to build his own vocabulary ignited the concept of Buamah’s book, Danielle, his mother said.

“I developed the character of Kayla when Nicholas was younger to help teach him expanded vocabulary. After being praised by his first-grade teacher for using the word ‘collaborate’ during his first week of school, I asked Nicholas what he thought about writing a book to help his friends expand their vocabularies. He thought it was a great idea, as long as one of the main characters could be a male figure, and that’s when he created Kyle,” she said.

Buamah’s book introduces Kayla and Kyle – twins who were competing to become their school’s next class leader. They must first have a class debate to demonstrate that they are capable candidates before votes are cast.

Buamah made his first public appearance at a book signing on December 15, at the Snellville, Ga. Barnes & Noble to debut “Kayla & Kyle The Walking Dictionaries: Election Day.”

His mother described the book signing as a “phenomenal” experience. 

“He sold out in one hour and people kept coming in the store afterward, requesting a copy so much that Barnes & Nobles invited him back,” she told Black Enterprise.

The 7-year-old budding author and Honor Roll student is keen on becoming a mechanical engineer in future but he has not thrown away the value of vocabulary and communication to his success.

His father, Dominic Buamah, who is very proud of his son, has encouraged him “to explore different disciplines to satisfy his curiosity with the hope it helps him decide what he wants to be in the future.”

Already accepted into the Library of Congress, Buamah’s goal is to have his book available in every elementary school library across the country in an effort to help children build on their vocabularies.

As a typical second grader, Buamah loves playing chess, tennis, and basketball, but when he is not playing sports, you are sure to find him busy selling his book and doing autographs.

Not many seven-year-olds write books, let alone have them added to the Library of Congress’s collection, but Buamah has accomplished that feat to the admiration of many people.

His book is just the first edition in The Walking Dictionaries series. Volume 2 is scheduled to be released in summer 2019. 

Last Edited by:Nduta Waweru Updated: December 29, 2018

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