10-year-old South Brunswick boy publishes his first book with proceeds going to St. Jude
Writing comes "simply" to 10-year-old Shiv Badgujar.
The rising fifth grader at Monmouth Junction Elementary School in South Brunswick said he enjoys using his imagination to create stories full of adventure and fantasy.
It was a school assignment that inspired his first foray into writing something longer than short stories or essays ? an 80-page adventure novel.
"That's where he wrote the first chapter of the book," said Shiv's mother Ruhi Malgaonkar. "And we thought, 'Oh, wow, he has never been to any orphanage. He can imagine about a boy in an orphanage and a principal? Talking to them about fantasy kind of stuff?' And then we asked him 'What happens next? What happens next?' And then he started writing chapter by chapter. To the extent that one weekend he finished the book with seven chapters in it. We were like, 'Well, OK, this is very nice."
That school assignment and encouragement at home led to "The Battle of Cerulea Pentalogy," Shiv's first novel.
Published in May, the book tells the tale of three friends ? Max, Ti?o and Alex ? who live in an orphanage.
They are gifted a mysterious object from an old guru that allows them to travel to places via the blue, pink and purple galaxy on a series of adventures complete with dragons, aliens, faraway lands and treasures as they fight battles with beasts and search for the precious Fire, Water, Earth, and Galaxy stones.
"I've been writing stories since the second grade," said Shiv, the only child of Malgaonkar and Amit Badgujar, who is the book's publisher. "With this, I just wanted to write to express my feelings and write about friendship."
Aimed at readers ages 7-12, the self-published book reflects Shiv's storytelling skills and vivid imagination. Several classmates read the book and asked for his autograph.
"The day he published, he was really nervous," Malgaonkar said. "He was like, 'What will my friends think? Will they like the story?' I told him that he gave them something to enjoy. He can have mixed reviews and should be okay with that. But thankfully, everybody, even his friends' parents who read the book, have been showering so much love on him."
Shiv had a clear vision for his book. He also did the prep work, such as editing for spelling or punctuation errors and detailing what the AI illustrations by mom should look like. He was very involved in the entire process, Malgaonkar said.
While the future adventures of Max, Ti?o and Alex are not known, Shiv knows he will continue writing fiction. He is already planning another novel.
"I really enjoy writing. It just lets my imagination go wild," he said.
Shiv hopes the book will inspire other young writers to give a voice to their own creativity and hopes that "their parents would be proud of their children’s artwork and display it no matter how it looks."
When not writing, Shiv enjoys spending time with friends and playing and watching cricket and soccer. He also likes to help cook in the kitchen and play video games.
A supporter of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital since 2018, Shiv pledged 100% of the proceeds of "The Battle of Cerulea Pentalogy" to the nonprofit organization.
"The money is going to be donated to the hospital to help children in need," Shiv said, "and so they can survive cancer."
The book is available for $6.50 online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
For more information about Shiv and "The Battle of Cerulea Pentalogy," go to shivbadgujar.wixsite.com/book.
email: [email protected]
Cheryl Makin is an award-winning features and education reporter for MyCentralJersey.com, part of the USA Today Network. Contact: [email protected] or @CherylMakin. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: South Brunswick NJ boy, 10, publishes first book supporting St. Jude
