Malala Yousafzai is one such name that has been an inspiration for all. Age is no bar. After sharing her life’s story in her autobiography in I am Malala, the Nobel laureate is all set to spell magic in the lives of young kids through her first picture book. The new book, named Malala’s Magic Pencil, has been penned by her and illustrated by Kerascoët. Though the book will be available from October, the young activist shared the cover on Twitter. Posing with a copy of the book, she wrote, “Opened the mail and thrilled to find a copy of my first picture book, Malala’s Magic Pencil!” Suitable for children above four years, the nonfiction book is based on Yousafzai’s childhood wish for a magic pencil Suitable for children above four-years-old, the nonfiction book illustrates Malala Yousafzai’s childhood wish for a magic pencil. “As a child in Pakistan, Malala made a wish for a magic pencil. She would use it to make everyone happy, to erase the smell of garbage from her city, to sleep an extra hour in the morning,” the book’s publisher, Hachette wrote on their website. “But as she grew older, Malala saw that there were more important things to wish for. She saw a world that needed fixing. And even if she never found a magic pencil, Malala realised that she could still work hard every day to make her wishes come true,” the description added. The activist for bettering girls’ education further shared a picture of her mother reading the new book. Expressing her joy as her mother happened to be its first reader, the author wrote, “So happy that my mother, Toor Pekai, who is learning English, is the first one to read the book.” There has been an ongoing debate about the right kind of children’s book for girls, that doesn’t include being rescued by a prince. The idea is to give little girls real-life idols they can be inspired by and give them a positive and more realistic outlook of life. Other than Cinderella and Snow White, to let them learn about Mother Teresa, Helen Keller, Anne Frank, Kalpana Chawla among others. And when talking about inspirations for young girls, then Yousafzai cannot be left out. The book is set to inspire a younger audience and make them realise even though there is no “magic pencil” one could “still work hard every day to make her wishes come true.” Published in Daily Times, August 14th 2017.