Alabama 8-year-old writes best-seller on dealing with "annoying" little brothers
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Nia Mya Reese thought she knew so much about the care and feeding of little brothers, she could write a book.
So she did. Now, it’s a best-seller.
Nia Mya loves being a big sister. But admits it’s not easy -- not easy playing with Ronald Michael.
“I will sometimes have to say no,” she said.
“He will throw the ball and the ball will just goes flying everywhere,” she said. “And it sometimes hits me.”
She says it’s not easy giving him advice.
“He won’t always listen,” she said.
But one thing came very easy to the 8-year-old: writing about the whole experience.
“How long did it take you to write that book?” CBS News asked.
“Well it didn’t take very long,” she said. “It took a few days.”
Nia Mya is an official penned author, with her own built-in fan base. Even the town mayor showed up at her latest book signing.
Her book, “How To Deal With And Care For Your Annoying Little Brother,” is on Amazon’s best seller list -- for parenting.
“It really has spread the excitement across our school for other young writers,” said Beth Hankins.
It all started as an assignment in Hankins’ first grade class last year.
“And Nia Mya shared that she was a great big sister to an annoying little brother,” Hankins said.
“Aren’t most five-year-old brothers annoying?” CBS News asked Nia Mya.
“Well, he’s a little downright annoying,” she said.
Her mother, Cherinita, thought her daughter should continue the project over the summer.
“Work on your sentences. Work on the spelling, work on the way that it’s worded,” Cherinita said. “And that will be your summer project.”
The book has universal lessons on patience, kindness and love.
“You need to teach him sometimes,” Nia Mya said.
The best lesson, Nia Mya says, is the notion to disguise learning as fun -- something she’s managed to share with her entire school.
“What did you learn from all this?” CBS News asked her.
“I learned to follow my own dreams,” she said.
And with every signature, she encourages the rest of us to do the same.