Southlake author, 11, inspires peers to be super kids with best-selling book

Abigail Perez wrote the book on how children should behave.

She really did, literally.

The 11-year-old sixth-grader at Durham Intermediate School in Southlake is the author and illustrator of the popular book “How to Be a Super Kid: Six Scoops to Earning Your Super Kid Status.” She wrote it when she was 9 and it is still selling strong.

“I have always liked superheroes, so I wanted to write about them. My first few drafts were all a story about a girl named Alice who was bullied because of her hair color,” Abigail said. “I also included a character named Abigail — sound familiar? — who was the hero of the story and saved Alice from being bullied.

“I asked my mom for feedback, and she suggested that I make a story that could apply to anyone.”

The inspiring book offers ways to help kids — and adults — develop a positive mindset, determination, and healthy habits. Amazon describes it as “written by a kid for any kid who has ever dreamed of becoming a superhero and being the best person they were created to be.”

Abigail said it took her about a year to write the book, starting in third grade and getting it published in the fourth. The book soon became a hit, becoming a best-seller on Amazon in only the second day of its release.

Less than a month after her release she used her book to raise over $10,000 to fund two children’s wishes through the Front Row Foundation.

So yes, it’s OK to call her a super kid as well, she said.

“I think so, since I am giving it my best and using my talents for good, hoping to inspire other kids to know that they can do anything, even at a young age,” she said, smiling.

“Her book is a beautiful representation of the importance of diversity in this world and how we can establish healthy habits and the right mindset,” said her mother, Elizabeth Perez. “The principles she writes about in her book are lifelong principles that we can all use. She’s had some amazing opportunities because of her willingness to put herself out there.”

Abigail’s book has reached people from all corners of the world. There’s even a copy in a German library, and it has been found on the office bookshelf of a well-known CEO of a Fortune 500 company, Elizabeth said.

“Since I was 4, I was always stapling or taping pieces of paper together and writing stories in them. I even persuaded my mom to get me blank books to write in,” Abigail recalled. “One day in third grade, my mom said she was taking me to meet a real author. I was very excited and decided to bring my most recent handwritten series of books called ‘Super A!’ to show the author.

“When we got to the place where the author would be presenting, I realized that there were also a few kids there with posters, standing in the front of the room. The posters showed each person’s talent, interest, and the need they were helping fulfill. I immediately knew that I wanted to have one of those posters made about me.”

Abigail asked how she might obtain one of the posters. A lady smiled and said she was choosing kids who have used their talents to create a product that helps fulfill a need in the world.

Abigail showed the lady her books. The lady happened to be Claudia Beeny, author and founder of House of Shine, a nonprofit whose mission is to help students discover who they are and why their self awareness matters.

“I showed her my series and told her how I wanted to publish a real book someday,” Abigail said, adding the response was, “Abigail, you can do anything if you set your mind to it. If you want to write a book, you write a book.”

“The next year, my book was published, and, sure enough, I got a poster with my talent, interest, and need I was fulfilling,” Abigail continued. “Mrs. Claudia and I are still friends today, and I even still have that poster in my bedroom.”

Shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Abigail worked with Market by Macy’s in Southlake to host a Super Kid Saturday cape-making event. Kids made a cape for themselves and one for a child in the hospital.

“It’s one thing to write it, another thing to live it,” Elizabeth said.

Abigail said it isn’t hard to be a super kid, and that, in fact, there are many all around us.

“I think that anyone who always does their best and recognizes that they are special and unique in their own way is a super kid,” she said. “They know it isn’t always easy, but they do their best to be kind and do what’s right. They use their talents — or powers, as I refer to them — for good, changing the world one person at a time.”

The book was also a hit with her classmates, she said.

“A few days before my book got published my mom ordered pre-sale copies of the book for me to show to my class. They were all so excited when they saw my book, and I even heard a few kids say that they wanted to write a book of their own,” she said. “I think my book was able to inspire them to be super kids. It was a very exciting day for me.”

While Abigail is the first published author in the family, Elizabeth now hopes to soon be joining her daughter in that rank.

“Now I am working on my own book, a memoir for a friend who overcame some of life’s most extreme challenges,” Elizabeth said.

And Abigail is also back at work on her next major writing project, the first book in a fictional series. She also plans to follow up with “Super Kid Missions” (for different grade levels) with puzzles, mind games, etc.

“I’ve always loved those types of things, so I thought making them would be just as fun as doing them,” she said. “I used to say I wanted to be a writer when I grew up all the time. But then I realized I can be a writer now. So technically, yes I want to be writing as a grown-up but also writing as a kid, too.”