12-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis continues to blow our minds with a rad new project
Quvenzhané Wallis has officially accomplished more than most adults aspire to in their lifetime. The twelve-year-old who first blew us away as the youngest actress ever to be nominated for an Oscar is now a soon-to-be author. And not just of one book, of FOUR.
Quvenzhané just signed a four-book deal with Simon & Schuster. And in case you’re worried she’s not busy enough, those books are all set to be published by summer 2018.
The biggest portion of the deal is a three-part series in the style of Clementine or Judy Moody about a third grader named Shai Williams. According to the publisher’s press release, we’ll find out more about the young “star in the making who has a flair for the dramatic… both onstage and off” in January 2017, with the rest of the series following soon after.
The final book is a picture book slated for fall 2017. It’s based more or less on Wallis’s life, about “a spunky young heroine who is very much looking forward to a night out with her mom at an awards show.” Here’s hoping the pictures are as gorgeous as Quvenzhané’s dress choices.
“Reading is very important,” Quvenzhané said in a statement. “It allows people to form a visual experience in their minds of what is going on in the story. I hope all readers enjoy using their imaginations along with me and take a journey into my books.”
Quvenzhané has blown us away time and time again — from her Oscar-worthy performance in Beasts of the Southern Wild to her incredibly mature handling of journalists who hadn’t bothered to learn her name. (One journalist told her they would call her Annie now, since she starred in the new movie, to which Quvenzhané replied, “My name is not Annie. It’s Quvenzhané.” Now how’s that for a twelve-year-old teaching a grown-up their manners.)
With Quvenzhané being so incredibly awesome, there’s no reason to expect her books to be any less mature and gripping. That’s why I’m excited to pick one up for myself — after all, if a child is doing the work of an adult, then I say adults should be more than welcome to read the work of a child.
(Oh, and if you’re not sure you need more Quvenzhané in your life — you do.)
(Image via Shutterstock)
