Four-year-old Bryan Patrick from New Bern, North Carolina, recently completed his first book and is on a mission to become the youngest author in history. His love for letters began at a young age when he was able to spell complex words like “axolotl” with ease. This sparked a fascination with language that extended into all areas of his life, from family trips to the Alphabet Museum to dressing up as his favorite letter ‘B.’
With the help of his parents, Eleanor and Ervin Patrick, who are both educators, Bryan created an alphabet garden in their backyard where each letter corresponds to a specific plant. The journey was inspired by Bryan’s ideas and they were more than happy to agree. Despite being in preschool, Bryan has already mastered skills typically taught to older children such as reading fluently, knowing letter sounds and even being able to multiply and divide.
Bryan’s parents are now faced with the challenge of determining an appropriate grade level for him due to his advanced abilities. They emphasize that Bryan’s achievements have been largely due to his self-teaching and natural curiosity. Each night, Bryan would spend hours typing out the alphabet on the computer before moving on to sentences and eventually writing an entire book in just one month.
In order for Bryan to claim the title of world’s youngest author, he must sell 1000 copies of his book. To support this goal, his family is hosting a book launch party in New Bern. Currently, another four-year-old holds the title but with community support, Bryan could become the new record holder at just four years old.