Young Halifax girl sells 200 copies of her book worldwide

Amal Rahman, a seven-year-old schoolgirl from Halifax has sold 200 copies of her book, Ray’s Balloon Hullaballoo, worldwide. She first wrote the story at the tender age of six and impressed her school teacher with her unique storytelling abilities and illustrations.

The book, which is inspired by The Great Balloon Hullabaloo written by Peter Bently and Mei Matsuka, features a fictional character of Ray the rabbit along with spacemen, aliens and monsters.

The Lightcliffe Primary School student was also awarded the Headteacher’s Award after her work was noticed and was then encouraged by her uncle to create another version of the book fit for printing and publishing. In an interview, the young author said, “It was really hard and long to draw the pictures, but when you finish it feels so good. It took me days to write the book.”

In memory of Rahman’s uncle, Muzaffer Hussain, who died after being infected by Covid-19 in 2020, the earnings of the book are being sent to Drop of Compassion, a UK-based charity that works in Malawi, Africa. The money will be sent to Masuku Academy School run by the Charity in Malawi.