Oftentimes we tell people, especially our children, that the sky's the limit. We encourage them to do the uncommon, think outside the box and go beyond what is expected of them. That is exactly what eight-year-old St. John's College student Maria Ford did. As a Grade 4 student, she is perhaps one of the youngest published Bahamian writers ever, if not the youngest!

An interaction between Maria, 8, and her younger brother Michael, 5, led to what would become an award-winning book, entitled "Why Am I?" The idea mushroomed from her while sitting down with her mom, Michelle Ford, to have her hair braided. Her younger brother Michael seemed bored, so Maria decided to weave a story to entertain him. She captured his attention and he listened intently.

"I was a teacher for 13 years at the primary school level, so I know children's books and the interaction caught my attention," said Michelle. "It sounded like a book I would read to a child."

This revelation led to Michelle and Maria going on the computer and using Microsoft Publisher to put the book together. "It took about two hours to put the book together, because it was really simple and straightforward." A year later a decision was made to publish the book.

"I went online and started researching the various publishing companies to submit the book to. We took a chance and put the book out there and it caught the attention of Xlibris Publishing. They loved it, the idea that it was written by a child for a child, they wanted to publish it and they were willing to work with us. The whole process took about three or four months."

According to author Maria, the book is about being yourself, and uses the example of animal sounds to entertain as well as to reinforce this point. "I really enjoyed putting the book together," she said.

"Anytime you are making animal sounds, the bark and the roar, we read these kinds of stories to kids all the time," said Michelle.

The book was immediately made available on Amazon.com and we initially purchased 100 hard copies, because we wanted to make it available to family, friends and schools," said Dr. Jonathan Ford, father of the author.

"She has full rights to the book, it is available on Amazon and we are very excited, she recently attended the International Miami Book Fair and her book was featured in the publisher's catalog," said Michelle.

Following the book's launch, Maria has become an inspiration to students locally and internationally. She sent a copy of her book to family members in Georgia, and it made it to classrooms where it is being read and shared, all to inspire other young authors.

On Friday, November 20, Maria autographed and presented books to the library at St. John's College, as well as the Pre-K, K-5 and Grade 1 classes at the school. Samantha Hurston, vice principal, Prep Department, and Geraldine Romer, school librarian, accepted on behalf of the school.

"We told the students about the book and how wonderful it is. I read a few pages of it to get the kids excited and everyone was very enthused about the book," said Vice Principal Hurston. "It has also encouraged other authors in the school. We had an assignment for the Grade 5 kids to make a book for the younger kids, we have some wonderful work coming out, so she has definitely inspired other kids as well as adults," Hurston added.

On Friday Maria also hopped on a plane and traveled with her family to the International Miami Book Fair, where her book was on display and available for purchase. Maria has also had her first international book signing. She attended an international conference in late October, hosted by New Covenant University, in St. Augustine, Florida. She attended the conference with her father and was also interviewed by the Chancellor and President of NCU, Dr. Paul Crites.

While at the conference, she was awarded the Rising Star Award by the university's provost marshall, Dr. Angel Crites.
Locally, Maria presented her pastor, Apostle Delton Fernander, of New Destiny Baptist Cathedral, with a copy of her book.

"The response locally has been amazing, especially from her school and church family," said Michelle Ford. "People have been purchasing the book and we are almost out of hard copies, we have gotten that good of a response, especially from our church family, they want to plant in her a seed and see her do well. That has been a blessing, so we have to order more books."

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