RICHMOND, Va. — A seven-year-old student at Good Shepherd Episcopal School in Richmond is proving that age is just a number when it comes to following your dreams.
Destiny Bryant wrote and self-published her first children's book when she was only six years old, turning a scary real-life experience into an inspiring story for other kids.
"I put the funny parts together since I wanted to make it funny and a childish story, so I put it together and I made it make sense," Bryant said.
Her debut book, "Destiny's After School Adventure," along with a companion coloring book, was inspired by a true event during her second week at another school in a new city.
The story highlights her journey of overcoming fear and turning a challenging experience into a positive one.
At Good Shepherd Episcopal School, where Destiny now attends, Head of School Kathy Tappen says fostering a love of reading and storytelling is a priority.
She'd love to see every student there become an author.
"That would be a unique selling point for us, but that's not a reality, and we do try to instill a love for reading, sharing their stories authentically with one another, and we start that off in kindergarten where they have, even if they're not necessarily reading, they have great exposure to books, they have lots of conversations with one another," Tappen said.
Destiny's passion for reading and writing comes from both her school and family support, including parents Sean Bryant and Jazzamine Threatt.
"I'm proud that she's proud of it because like immediately when she did it she was like, I want to read to like she said this school she said her old, yeah, she wanted to go out and read to other people and get the book out there," Bryant said.
"I think she's learned, she'll take it, and learn how to turn her negative situations into positive situations," Threatt said.
While Destiny has ideas for future books, she's currently focusing on another passion - dance classes. When asked about her writing plans, she explained that while she wants to keep writing in the future, dance is her current focus.
Both the children's book and coloring book are available for purchase online through Amazon, Walmart, and Barnes & Noble. Readers can also borrow the book at the Petersburg, Richmond, and Chesterfield public libraries.
Destiny is scheduled to participate in the Black Author Expo 2026 in Petersburg on February 28.
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