Story/Interview November 15, 2022
“More time to do creative activities”, 8-year-old author | Omar Radhouane, Author
An age-old quote states that “everyone has a book inside them,” and our eight-year-old King’s InterHigh student Omar proves that age is no object to writing that book. While Omar is only in Year 4, that hasn’t stopped him from publishing his very own book this year: Berryboom and the Lost City of Doom!
Omar first got the idea for his story when he took part in the national ‘Bonkers Monsters’ writing competition, where young learners were inspired to imagine and write about a ‘roarsome’ creature. He and his family enjoyed the story so much that Omar couldn’t leave it there. Instead, he transformed his work into a real book — now available on Amazon and in school libraries across Malta!
We spoke to young Omar about why he loves writing, his book creation process, and how online schooling gives him the freedom to pursue such big ambitions.
Talk us through your journey to date!
When my English teachers announced that we can participate in the Bonkers Monsters competition and write a monster story, I realized that I could take part and make my own story about a monster that I can create.
I enjoyed so much creating my character. I love monsters who have bright colours and use many different face expressions, so I really wanted to create my own monster. I wanted to participate in the writing competition so I can share my ideas with my friends and teachers.
When I finished writing my story, my brother, mum and dad liked it, and my dad said he can help me to make my story into a real physical book! I felt so excited and happy, and I couldn’t wait for my story to be on the Amazon store!
What’s your proudest moment or biggest achievement so far?
My proudest moment was when Amazon accepted my book and when the book got delivered to my house and I could actually touch it with my real hands!
What’s your favourite part about writing stories?
My favourite part about creating a story is drawing my characters and deciding what picture goes with the paragraph or sentence. I also like coming up with the problem of the story, it is always fun for me to find ideas about what is going to happen to my character and how my story is going to end.
What do you do to improve your writing and creating skills?
I really enjoy reading comics, picture books and chapter books like Geronimo Stilton books because I can find many funny adjectives and cool illustrations, which give me thousands of ideas for sentences and pictures. Also, I read Roald Dahl books which also have really creative and funny ideas which give me more and more inspiration. Lastly, I read comic books. They are my favourite because I like the different types of speech bubbles, they give me ideas for different designs which I like.
What’s the most difficult part about writing stories, and how do you overcome that difficulty?
Sometimes when I am writing, I don’t really like the ideas that come to my mind and that makes me a bit stressed.
I breathe in from my nose for three seconds then breathe out from my mouth for three seconds and repeat that 10 times, and sometimes I think of a memory where I had lots of fun with my family or my friends. I feel so much better after doing that and it helps me to get some fresh ideas.
Aside from writing stories, what else do you like to do outside of school?
I love playing table tennis, football, and swimming.
What kind of school did you used to go to before joining to King’s InterHigh community?
Before joining King’s InterHigh, I was in an international school and I really enjoyed it.
Does learning at King’s InterHigh help you to work on writing stories or following your other dreams?
I think that when I joined King’s InterHigh, I could find more time to do creative activities like making art and writing stories.
I also find more time for my personal football training and that’s great. This helps me to focus on improving my individual skills in different activities.
What does a typical day as an online student look like for you?
Usually, I start my lessons at 9:30 am. This gives me time in the morning to do some sport exercise with my brother before we begin our lessons.
I make sure to be focused during my lessons and not get distracted. When I don’t have lessons, I try to plan my time so I can finish my schoolwork and do some creative activities like drawing, reading, and crafting.
During our breaks, my brother and I play and eat together. We also enjoy drawing together and reading the same books because it is fun for us. We exchange a lot of ideas together and that makes me so inspired.
When we finish school, we go to our football training every day. I try to work hard during my training so I can learn new skills every time.
What’s your favourite part of online learning?
I really like breakout rooms because it’s a good a way to interact and talk to each other. Also, we work as a team, and it is so much fun.
Has writing stories helped you with learning in any way?
Yes, writing stories is a great way to help me get more ideas for my schoolwork. It makes my imagination grow and I feel more confident when I write about anything.
What are your favourite subjects at King’s InterHigh, and why do you love them?
My favourite subjects at King’s InterHigh are STEM and science. I love science because I always wanted to learn about humans, animals and what it’s like in space. I love STEM too because I’ve always wanted to learn how the satellites work and how the GPS can locate devices. I find it very interesting.
I love building and inventing toys out of crafting and recycling materiel, and I learn so much from my STEM and science lessons. I also enjoy making and sharing presentations with my whole class.
What’s your favourite way to connect with your online school friends at King’s InterHigh?
I try to keep in touch with them, for example chatting to each other, calling each other, and even playing online with each other.
What’s are your hopes for the future and the next goals you’re working towards?
I am working on writing more monster stories in the future and I hope to inspire other children to make their own stories too.
I want to practice languages like Arabic and Spanish and I want to translate my books into these languages too.
What would you say to a student like you who’s considering joining King’s InterHigh?
The teachers at King’s InterHigh are so nice and friendly. They explain things very well and if you don’t understand something, there are assistant teachers always ready to help. My friends in the class are very nice and we like talking to each other.
King’s InterHigh is a great school and if you do good things in class, you can get credits and you can buy cool things from King’s InterHigh merch.
The teachers at King’s InterHigh are so nice and friendly. They explain things very well and if you don’t understand something, there are assistant teachers always ready to help. My friends in the class are very nice and we like talking to each other.
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