A Talented Young Lady
By Bonita Wilborn
Isabella Cowart, a 9-year-old, third grade student at Fyffe Elementary School, has been writing, illustrating, and producing her own “books” since she was very young. “I’d say from about first grade to third grade,” Isabella explained.
The fact that Isabella’s books consist of folded sheets of paper with the pictures hand drawn and the stories hand written, has no bearing on their importance; even famed authors like Mark Twain and Beatrix Potter had to start somewhere.
Isabella’s first book was a home- school project in Shurley English, where the students were instructed to cut out the words for the story, paste them on a page, and then draw the pictures. I’m sure the project coordinator didn’t realize it would spark a student like Isabella’s possible future writing career.
“I think with the first books, what I watched was what inspired me,” Isabella recalled.
“Isabella loves paper,” her mom, Hannah, added. “She makes things from paper all of the time. Even before she could write she would make the paper books. She staples them together or tapes them together. “
“Yes. Tape, staples, and paper do not last long at our house,” her dad, Jeremy, agreed.
“Isabella is very, very talented in arts and crafts,” Hanna continued. “She drew a playground and then made a 3-D model of it. She entered it in the fair and placed. For my birthday she made a rabbit out of paper. Her brother, Gavin, used to do that too and cut it out like little dolls, but Isabella took it one step farther. She stuffed it with tissue and taped it together. It was super cute. She’s very artistic.”
Isabella’s current work in progress is a fiction story about a group of thieves, titled “The Black Night Bandit”. According to Isabella, this particular book was inspired by a black hoodie at her dad’s house. She said, “I thought, ‘Why can’t I just make a thief that steals things, wearing that black hoodie?’ And what the book is mostly about is a thief that makes some friends, and then those friends help her to become the leader of the entire thief empire.”
With a plot and her protagonist well in mind, Isabella spends lots of time creating The Black Night Bandit, but writing books is not her only interest. “Sometimes when we write in our journals, and it’s Free-Write Down Friday, I write songs and stuff, and I also sing,” Isabella said. According to Isabella, she also has a vested interest in dance, where she creates her own dances. Her choice of song genre varies from love songs to pop style songs as is evident by her song titled, “Girl Power” that was inspired by a dress she wears from time to time.
Hannah has a large envelope of “books” written by Isabella. “It’s hard to keep them all,” she said. No doubt those books are mementos from Isabella’s childhood that will be treasured. However, if Isabella continues in her current pursuit of being an author of children’s books, those treasured mementos might also be very valuable some day. What collector wouldn’t pay a huge price for a book created by Mark Twain when he was a young boy?
“This project that she’s working on now is her most serious,” Hanna said. “It’s like her pet project. She takes it to school and works on it.”
Isabella explained, “All of the characters of this book are real people, but the characters are made up.” She further explained, “The Black Night Bandit is me, as a thief. My dad is the bad guy.” (This is totally fiction because in reality Isabella isn’t a thief, and her dad isn’t a bad guy). She continued, “People at school ask, ‘Can I be in this book?’ constantly.”
Isabella commented on a Facebook post Jeremy had recently shown her that said, “Writing a book is like giving homework to yourself.” While the average person might view writing as a chore, for the person who has been blessed with the talent for writing, it’s a pleasure rather than a chore.
At the time of the interview, Isabella’s current book had 9 completed chapters; short though they may be, there are still 9 completed chapters. She has a prospective climax or ending in mind, with intrigue and romance planned along the way.
“I like to draw too,” Isabella said. (which according to Hannah, Isabella gets from her dad).
In addition to Isabella’s series of fiction books, she also writes, illustrates, and produces comic books. This came from her dad’s interest in comic books. Isabella is also an aspiring musician, meaning that she has aspirations of becoming an accomplished player of both guitar and piano some day. She also wants to play basketball this year.
While she isn’t sure at this point how to even begin the process to complete the goal, Isabella’s long-term goal for her current writing project, The Black Night Bandit, is, “To get it published, and after I make a movie with it, and when I get old enough to become mayor, then I’m going to try and become mayor, and then try to move on to become president, and I’m going to try to change the world.”
I’m reminded of the old adage, “From a tiny acorn, a mighty Oak is formed.” The sky is the limit for Isabella Cowart. Someday, I hope to interview her again, as published author, mayor, and president.