A local student at C.P. Blakely Elementary School has become a published author.
Inspired by adventures with friends he made while visiting his grandparents in Saskatchewan, 11-year-old Cohen Bojda from Sylvan Lake along with his friends Konnor, Ryker and Reign Jones have all become published authors.
Together the four of them wrote The Amazing Adventures of the Gallumphing Gobbler with some help from David Schleich, a retired post-secondary institution president and current president of the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild.
"The story is about the four of us boys, and the adventure we have with the Gallumphing Gobbler," Bojda said.
"We find a model plane and build it but then lose it in the forest after trying to fly it. I can't tell you more without spoiling it, but the Gallumphing Gobbler may have had something to do with the missing plane."
As for what a Gallumphing Gobbler is, it is kind of like a monkey, Bojda said.
"He doesn't speak, but he is smart."
The illustrations in the book were created by Bojda's grandfather Darrell Baschak a Canadian landscape painter and artist.
The book came together gradually over a number of years, starting when Bojda was six years old. Bojda and his friends would sometimes get together with Schleich who would help the boys' ideas take shape.
"Schleich started the idea of writing the book. We would give ideas and he would ask questions about our ideas to give them more detail," Bojda said.
The book is selling well in Canada and has become a hit in Germany where fans of the book are asking for swag, stuffies and a sequel which is already in the works.
"I don't know if Cohen knows what a big deal this is," Bojda's mom Sacha Bojda said.
"We think this is a real opportunity for kids like Cohen and his friends to see that you don't have to be 50 years old to achieve something like this."
Having a real author at the school has been super exciting, Principal Anne Frey said.
Currently the school is planning a type of book tour, with Bojda sharing some of his book with classes during library times in October.
