“I was out for a walk when I saw a bee, and I immediately had a story idea that I wanted to write out,” says Zoe Wadekar, author of the recently published children’s book Diney the Bee.
She goes on to confidently narrate the synopsis of the story without giving away the plot.
Diney was a fun loving and a curious bee. One day she found something interesting that changed her life. Wonder what it was…
She adds, “My book has 23 pages, and it took me a few days to write the story.”
Zoe hopes her imaginary characters can teach readers important life lessons.
Twin Zara Wadekar, waiting patiently for her turn, chips in about her own book The Crystal Ball, about a girl Lizzy who must decide what to do when she finds a magical sphere – she wants to keep it, but should she? The book is intended to bring joy to the readers.
“I came up with the story idea myself,” she elaborates. “The character is completely different from me. I read a lot of books myself, and I have a lot of them at home.”
At an age when most children are still discovering their love for books, it’s hard to believe that twins Zoe and Zara Wadekar – all of seven years – are both authors who have their illustrated books selling now on e-commerce giant Amazon Australia.
“I felt very proud to finally hold my book in my hands,” declares Zara. “It’s got my picture on the back cover.”
She adds, “Our school friends were very shocked, but they are happy for us, as was our school principal.”
The books have now been placed in their school library too.
Proud parents Gaurav and Kanchan Wadekar say the books were a natural progression for the girls, given their voracious reading and love for storytelling.
“The girls have been writing stories for as long as I can remember,” Gaurav shares. “They would write on bits of papers, and then would ask me to glue them so that they could hold them together like the books they read in the school library. This time, we asked them to select one of their stories each, and with the help of an illustrator we found online, thought to bring them to life.”
“Story-telling seems to come naturally to both the girls,” Mum Kanchan says. “They make up stories as they go along, especially at bedtime. Interestingly, both have their own unique styles of writing, and don’t appreciate opinion from others for their stories. While Zoe is very methodical in her work, Zara scores higher in terms of imagination. Their love for reading has also translated into a good performance in school, especially in spelling. I enjoy reading their stories myself – they may seem very simple, but they usually have an underlying message about kindness or about self-confidence.”
Zoe and Zara Wadekar particularly enjoy stories with rich imagination, and have loved reading the Harry Potter series, and stories by the English writer Julia Donaldson. Besides reading, the girls also enjoy playing with their dolls, singing, swimming, and gymnastics.
The creatively inclined girls also recently found themselves on television, performing as opening act on Channel 9’s Christmas With Delta Goodrem
Find the books on Amazon here and here
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