The Writing Warrior
WORDS: Kara Chalmers
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
E’yannie Gomez loves to write -
she always has. In fourth grade
at Samoset Elementary School
in Bradenton, language arts is a favorite
subject because it allows time for E’yannie,
11, to focus on her passion.
Last year, in third grade, when her class
had free time and most other students
headed straight to the computers to play
games, E’yannie - who was enrolled in
the Early Learning Coalition of Manatee
County’s VPK program back in 2012/13
- picked up her pencil and got to work.
“Writing time is one of the best times of
the day,” E’yannie said. “I like writing real
stories but sometimes I write fake stories,
just for fun.”
Last year, when E’yannie was 10, she and
her mother Shantia Benson co-authored
a 21-page book and had it published.
Called The Crazy World of Alexa, the book
is a compilation of ve short stories, most
of them inspired by E’yannie’s life with her
mom, her sister Za’rayah, age 5, and her
brother Na’zaire, 10 months.
“I had a little blue notebook and I showed
my mom and she said, ‘Write a book that’s
going to mean something,’” E’yannie said.
So E’yannie based the main character,
Alexa, on herself, and wrote the stories in
rst-person. She chose the names Zoey
and Jayden for the characters based on
her sister and brother, respectively.
The stories are about important moments
in E’yannie’s life. For example, The Weird
Bump captures Alexa’s excitement after
learning - in a special way - that she would
soon have a baby brother. Another story
details a great day the family spent at a
water park. The Mystery Lady is about
Zoey being afraid of a strange gure she
swears she sees during the night while
sharing a bedroom with Alexa.
Lots of the stories offer glimpses into the
life of a sister, specically how trying it can
be at times to be the eldest in a family. In
Poop War, sisters Zoey and Alexa bicker
over who is going to help their mom by
throwing Jayden’s dirty diaper in the trash.
Mom makes the call - it’s Zoey’s turn. But
Zoey gets the last laugh. E’yannie writes:
‘Zoey grabs the diaper and with a devilish
look in her eyes, she turns to me and
SMACK, she popped me right in the
face with the poopie diaper. Sorry mom,
it’s war.’
The conflicts in these stories - which
sister tripped the other on the stairs, who
is copying, who is tattling - are relatable.
But so are the many touching examples
of the special bond that only siblings
understand: Alexa calling Jayden the
“best surprise this year,” and holding
a nervous Zoey’s hand atop a super
high waterslide.
Dealing with Bullies
Of the ve short stories, the last one,
The Bully Twins, is perhaps the most
important to E’yannie. The story is inspired
by real-life events that occurred when
E’yannie was nine and was nervous about
making friends in a new after-school day
care program. It tells how Alexa dealt
with being tormented by a set of twins,
girls who excluded Alexa and called her
names including “Fatty-Patty”, on her rst
day at a new school. E’yannie writes:
‘Every person I tried to play with here
at the new school, the bully twins told
them not to be my friend. I ran into the
bathroom and I started to cry. I had no
one to play with.’
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