Meet Malaysia’s youngest published non-fiction author, Karen Chew, who wrote ‘What Can An 8-Year-Old Tell You?’

“You see, I am not just different from you in size, I am different in the way I act, speak, and most importantly, think,” read the opening lines of Karen Chew’s book.

The author was eight years old when she started writing her book What Can An 8-Year-Old Tell You? The book tackles a range of topics including depression and even why the ocean is in danger­­.

This month, she celebrated her book launch. Malaysia’s Youth Achievement Records has recognised the 11-year-old as the youngest non-fiction published author in the country.

Karen has learned a lot from her travels with family around the world. She told Posties that she always had a lot to say but did not know how to express herself.

“[I] find it easier to write as opposed to talking as you can take your own time while you are writing,” she shared.

The young author explained why she chose to express herself through her book: “It is difficult for me to tell adults what I am feeling as ... they do not have the patience to listen. Writing helps me communicate better with them.”

Karen is also a voracious reader, and her family often finds her missing from her bed in the wee hours of the night, only to see her reading a dictionary in the living room.

Her mother, Yvonne Teh, said, “I have to use very different methods of parenting for Karen as she is not a conventional child. She is a deep thinker with an intense vocabulary.”

Attending the University of Oxford is Karen’s next big goal, and she hopes to study archaeology and anthropology.

Use the crossword below to test your knowledge of the vocabulary words in the story.

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