Hyderabad: At a time when half the world is reeling with all sorts of problems due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a nine-year-old girl has perhaps created a history of sorts by writing a book for her contemporaries. “The Three Adventurers at Fungalore” by Kavya Kompella, a fourth-grader studying in the Sishu Griha School in Bangalore, has in fact penned a best-seller.
Daughter of Kashyap Kompella and Divya Kumar, Kavya is one of the youngest authors to have a written best-selling book and has found a place alongside authors like JK Rowling and Rick Riordan, who have topped the Amazon bestseller charts. Kavya in fact finished writing her book when the COVID-19 lockdown was in place.
Her book was also among other new releases on Amazon USA, UK and Germany in the Children’s Adventure Category. Kavya used the lockdown as an opportunity to venture into this adventurous journey of writing a 13,000-word book, which is about two children, Neel and Nina, who are excited to go to their new school, Fungalore.
The Kindle edition of the book became available online in July, after which her book became a best seller on Amazon, according to her parents. They said that it became a top hit without any marketing.
“Three Adventurers at Fungalore” is written and illustrated by Kavya Kompella. Confined to home due to the Coronavirus lockdown and unable to step outside, Kavya Kompella let her imagination soar, which perhaps is a cue for all of us, especially those with a creative bent of mind.
In the book, Neel and Nina go to their new school, Fungalore, where the unique boarding school allows each child to bring a pet along. They quickly settle into Fungalore with their dog Nibble, making new friends, and are also thrilled to find a talking parrot, Chatter. The children tumble into a world of adventure along with their pets and enter a magical world of fairies, pixies, witches, and wizards.
Kavya has also done the illustrations for the book, which bring her imagination to life and take the readers along on a fun-filled journey. Kavya’s father is Telugu and mother is a Tamilian. “We did not go down the traditional publishing route due to the COVID situation that shares her father Kashyap. We have plans to go for the print edition, once the situation turns normal in the near future,” said her father.
“It is not just a fantasy that catches your eye, but the scientific temper that laces the adventure. One wonders…one is stunned at the wild imagination of this little author as she writes about the contraption the wicked Wizard Vixil had designed in his world of Worgic and also the dialogues uttered”, said a reviewer.