11-Year-Old Turns Her Imagination Into a Book

Ava McDonald, an autistic 11-year-old author from Missouri in the United States, has turned her love of creating stories into a published book. Her science-fiction adventure, The Moon Crystal, began with an idea formed during an ordinary walk.

“I was walking down a sidewalk, and I found a crystal. I picked it up, and when I held it up near the full moon, it started sparkling and glowing,” Ava told News 5. “I thought that was really cool, and it made me want to write a story about a moon crystal.”

Finding the crystal also became Ava’s favourite part of the book because, as she puts it, “that is where everything starts.” Ava’s father, Greg McDonald, says creating stories has been part of her life since she was little. She would fold sheets of paper in half, tape the pages together, and fill them with her stories, eventually turning that childhood habit into The Moon Crystal.

For Ava, seeing her story become a real book brought a mix of emotions. “I was very happy, a little scared, and excited,” she said. “It was really cool seeing something that started as an idea in my head become a real book with my name on it.”

Ava is already thinking about what comes next. She says she wants to write more books, with one titled ‘The Movie Star Job’ next on her list.

Greg hopes Ava’s accomplishment encourages other children to take their own ideas seriously.

“A child does not have to wait until adulthood before creating something meaningful,” he said. “Sometimes they just need somebody to take it seriously.”