Rhea G. Madison James is celebrating the release of her second children’s book, and she’s only 10 years old.
From St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, Rhea’s first book, “The Runaway Watermelon,” sold over 700 copies. She is hoping her second book, “The Runaway Avocado,” will be just as successful, if not moreso.
According to Black News, “The Runaway Avocado is an exciting children’s story about an elusive avocado who was on the run because he did not want to be reduced to a guacamole mixture.”
Rhea, who also enjoys dancing, karate and tennis, said the book was inspired by a breakfast sandwich.
“I had an avocado sandwich for breakfast, so I thought about writing an avocado book,” Rhea told the publication. “Ideas came to me so quickly; I created a draft and continued working on it over this past summer. I decided to keep the runaway theme after the positive feedback I received from my parents.”
Segments of Rhea’s book are in Spanish. “I incorporated Spanish into my story because I wanted the avocado to be Mexican and most Mexicans speak Spanish,” she explained.
Mexico is the world’s largest producer of the popular fruit, accounting for 30% of global production. In Mexico, avocados are known as “green gold.”
There are also other perks to self-publishing:
“I’ve learned that I must review my work, check for punctuation and grammatical errors,” the fifth-grader noted. “I also learned to listen to others with writing experience because this will help me to be a better writer.”
“The Runaway Avocado” is currently available for purchase on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
