Wodonga five-year-old writes rhyming picture book for her teacher

St Monica's Catholic Primary School foundation student Elizabeth Lee was inspired to write her first book, 'Dragons Don't Fly', after learning about rhyming words in class.

Elizabeth asked her Mum, an author, to help her write the book so she could gift it to her teacher Mrs Lyn Bethune.

"Because she's the best teacher and because she might run out of books," Elizabeth said.

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Mrs Bethune said she got goosebumps when she received the book.

"I was very humbled to think that Beth would dedicate the book to me and I think it was really heartening to know that Beth would go home and be so engaged in her learning to write the book," she said.

"We do a lot of rhyme activities in the classroom, because it's an important phonological skill that helps children learn to read."

The picture book uses rhyme to tell the story of how dragons do lots of things, but don't fly.

Elizabeth's mother Kathryn Lee said the book was a top ten best seller on Amazon within a week of its release and that she had received many positive messages and reviews.

"Even someone said that it puts other children's books to shame and how incredible that she's only five years old," Mrs Lee said.

"I'm pretty blown away at the magnitude of what she's done, being that she is a normal student, she's not ridiculously gifted or anything like that.

"She's just come up with this fantastic idea and it's turned into something really huge."

Mrs Lee, a published children's book author herself, used her industry skills to help illustrate Elizabeth's book and get it published.

"In a way she was very fortunate that I knew all of that to help," she said.

"So we worked together on the last page and my husband worked on her with one page, but otherwise it's all her.

"I did all the necessary checks and found that it was something that she'd made up and she told me that she wanted to publish it, so we did."

Elizabeth is already planning her next book, Horses Don't Run, but she says she hasn't decided whether she'd like to be an author when she grows up.

"I want to do everything, like be a vet, be a mechanic like Dad and an author like Mum," she said.

Dragons Don't Fly is not available at local book stores, but it can be purchased online here.

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