The otter who wants to be an author

 

“The Otter Who Wants to be An Author”
SunStar Davao, February 25, 2023

As early as 6 years old, ten-year-old Alessandra Cate or Ally had already dreamt of publishing her own book.

At that time, her mom Architect Christine Amy “Mec” Buyco-Sy did not take her seriously yet as she was still too young. But that did not deter the eager reader from confidently declaring to family and friends that she would soon publish her own book.

Mec and banker-husband Alfred Sy, Jr., who are based in Singapore, have been reading books aloud to Ally and her older sister Ava Christiane since they were babies and even until they could already read themselves.

                              

“Parents have the challenge of making books more appealing than gadgets. It is a tall order but certainly achievable. Alfred and I read aloud to Ally half of the first Harry Potter. We would take turns as our mouths ran dry, and our throats started to hurt. That certainly captured her imagination. Sometimes it is the first few chapters that are difficult and the extra nudge of reading to them helped a lot. Ally finished the entire series when she was only in Grade 3,” reveals Mec. 

             

Reading culture

Ally is also fortunate that her school has a reading culture where it is normal to share novels and bestsellers with her friends. In addition, the school instilled a reading habit through DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) every after lunch. This is a relaxing moment in school with a wide range of genres available to the students – from information books to fantasy and adventure books.

“We are also blessed that her school has a strong curriculum in Literature. Instead of normal English lessons, they have the Writer’s Workshop. They would write every day in various genres, building up their stamina from short stories to multiple pages,” shares Mec.

Once a year, the school hands out the “Golden Book Award” to a deserving student in the whole elementary school. Fortunately, Ally’s writing was recognized and awarded, and this boosted her confidence, as well as her resolve to publish her own book.

“After our summer Europe trip in 2022, Ally decided to seriously sit down and focus on completing a manuscript,” the proud mom says.

The Otter Who Wants to be An Author

Amazingly, Ally finished writing her 32-page manuscript entitled “The Otter Who Wants to be An Author” in three months.  Another three months were meticulously spent on the illustrations and editing. However, the concept of the book took root a couple of years back.

“Back when she did not have her two front teeth, Ally would mispronounce words. When asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, the word that we could hear was “otter” instead of “author”. That became an inside family joke,” giggles Mec.

                   

The jest developed into “The Otter Who Wants to be An Author” as having a nice ring to it. So, when the right time came, Ally thought it was a novel idea to start with that.

The first-time author was very particular with her illustration. Mec showed her the portfolio of an illustrator friend and some other artists, but she did not gravitate to realistic or 3D (Pixar-style) type of illustrations. She wanted something more childlike and vibrant. Then, Mec’s friend referred a mom illustrator from Indonesia, and Ally instantly liked it.

Last February 19, 2023, Ally had a successful book launch and reading at the Poblacion Market Central with family, friends, and other special guests in attendance.

Nurturing talents

“I think exposure to a lot of things is important when nurturing your kids’ talents.  The goal is to let them gravitate naturally to the things that would interest them. Of course, sometimes this is met with resistance, like “I’m not interested” or the ubiquitous “I don’t want”. I do not give in too easily until they have engaged in the activity at least a couple of times,” Mec intimates.

                      

For example, Mec says that Ally did ballet from when she was 4 years old until 9 years old. One day, she told her parents that she did not want to continue anymore. Initially, Mec and Alfred thought it was sad to give up ballet after five years of doing it.  But Ally was adamant to channel her energy to join a writing club instead. When she got into a London-based group, they saw that joy in Ally even though she had to stay up very late because of the time difference.

“In nurturing writers, I think that it is very important that the interest is there. This could be encouraged by exposing them to different genres of books and attending book launches. I take Ally to the annual Singapore Writers Festival and there are some children’s authors there as well. This is such a huge inspiration to her,” enthuses Mec.

            

Aside from writing, Ally likes to draw and play the violin where she is a part of the Elementary School Orchestra. She is also an eco-activist in their school, as well as playing varsity Netball and Badminton.

Currently, the young author is already writing two sequels to her first published book. Way to go, Ally!

The paperback or hardbound copy of “The Otter Who Wants to be An Author” is available in Davao City at Rooke + Reese while the e-book may be downloaded instantly via Kindle. The book is also available worldwide via Amazon and Book Depository.