It’s Thursday afternoon and my kids and I are at a public library in Jersey City. They’re kind of nervous because we’re here for a book reading and we’re about to meet the author. For my son, who’s 8 and loves all things science, the event’s “kind of a big deal.” After all, he says matter-of-factly, “the writer loves science too and he’s just like two years older than me.” That’s right. Ishaan Gupta, a fifth grader at Frank R. Conwell, is the author we’re here to see.
He’s reading excerpts of his new self-published book, “The Martian Miracle: Ivaan and the Climate Crisis,” that’s on global warming — yes, global warming! It follows the story of Ivaan, “a middle school prodigy, grappling with life’s challenges while being profoundly aware of the looming global warming threat.” Ishaan, who’s wearing a t-shirt with his book cover on it, and black glasses that my son giddily tells me look just like his own, makes his way to the front of the room like he’s done this a thousand times.
He quickly starts to speak and tells us his book-writing journey began two years ago when he “was much younger ...you know, 8.″ “I’ve always really cared about the environment, mostly thanks to my dad,” he says. “He’s the one, who started teaching me about why it’s important to take care of the planet, and about wildfires, flooding, all of that ... both of my parents, really, but you know, my dad and I, we both really like to write so we started talking about it and decided to write this book together.”
His dad and co-author Binit Kumar, an immigrant from eastern India whose day job is in finance, is standing in the corner of the room intently watching his son speak. Behind his own black glasses, his eyes shine with pride as Ishaan talks about “all the simple ways” he and his family try to combat climate change and how others can, too. “There’s recycling, you can plant trees or a garden, walking more,” he says.
Writing the book together, Binit later tells me, started “as a way for us to bond.” “But it’s incredible to see what it’s become, he really has the power to inspire other children, and even adults, to learn about and care about the urgent need for global warming mitigation.”
In the front row, about six school-aged children are also watching and listening to Ishaan intently. And with the short attention span kids have, I’m shocked by how he’s captivating them. During the Q and A portion of the event, after the reading, some of them raise their hands to ask questions. They want to know how often he writes, what kinds of books he likes and what the process of “collaborating” with his dad was like.
He tells them when he was writing the book he’d write daily. “But don’t think it was whole chapters, that would be too much,” he says. “Sometimes it was just a page or two.” He tells them his favorite book series include “George’s Secret Key to the Universe,’ ‘Space Case,’ ‘Keeper of the Lost Cities,’ “and of course, ‘Harry Potter.’”
Columnist Daysi Calavia-Robertson's son, Ford David who's 8, meets Ishaan Gupta, a Jersey City 10-year-old who recently wrote "The Martian Miracle: Ivaan and the Climate Crisis," a book about a "middle school prodigy" grappling with the looming threat of global warming.Daysi Calavia-Robertson | For NJ Advance Media
“Now, about the writing process,” he says. “We had brainstorming sessions to talk about the different chapters and before we wrote, we actually talked a lot about what we were going to write.” (Now, that’s something I can relate to.) His dad, he explains, focused more on the “scientific aspect” of the book and “refined and edited the paragraphs involving science.” “What I was really good at, was the characters’ conversation and dialogue,” he says excitedly.
“That’s so true,” his mom, Suruchi Gupta, beams. “His dad and I were both really impressed by that. He’s always been so smart and he’s so good at so many things,” she tells me. “He’s also really great at math and has won several math competitions but this, writing, is something that he really loves.” Ishaan says when he grows up he’d like to “be both, a mathematician and a writer” and tells the crowd he already has some ideas for “Ivaan’s next adventure.”
After answering all the pressing questions from the audience, Ishaan tells us it’s time for a raffle. One “lucky kid” was getting a copy of his book. “And I’ll sign it!” he exclaimed. “This is actually my favorite part of writing,” he adds. “Sharing it with others.”
When he called out the winner — and it wasn’t my son — I saw the disappointment on his face. “Awww!,” he looked over at me. “I was off by one number. So close!” “We have more books,” Ishaan says and asks his parents if he can give away another one. They nod. “Yes!! I have one more chance,” my son says.
Thankfully, luck was on his side the second time. “Oh my God! I won!” he says before jumping out of his seat. “It’s so awesome to see this,” Tyara Tucker, the library manager at Pavonia Branch, tells me. “I mean, a 10-year-old author and what he’s writing about, which is such an important topic ...it’s ‘wow!’ and to see other kids so excited about it, I’m hoping it’s an encouragement to them to also want to write and want to publish a book.”
On the way home, as my son flips through the pages of Ishaan’s book, I ask him if he’d also like to write a book one day. “Well, maybe,” he says. “I mean, I’m thinking about it. It could be fun. His dad helped him. The good thing is you’re already a writer so you could help me, right?” Right. Maybe we should both follow Ishaan’s advice: “If you really want to do something, like write a book, you don’t have to wait. You can start now.”
Ishaan’s book is available in paperback at select bookstores in N.J. as well as on Kindle and Amazon. He’s doing more readings at Pavonia Branch in Jersey City and plans to do some at other libraries in the state.
Stories by Daysi Calavia-Robertson
Daysi Calavia-Robertson may be reached at dcalavia-robertson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Instagram at @presspassdaysi or Twitter @presspassdaysi. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Here’s how to submit an op-ed or Letter to the Editor. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters.