9-year-old Houston author has best-selling book

HOUSTON – The book "Sydney Sunshine and the Not-So-Magic-Mirror" came out about two months ago. 

One week after being published, it was No. 1 on the AALBC (African American Literature Book Club) best-sellers list. 

Its author is from Houston and currently attending Peggy Wilson Elementary School.

Sydney McGee is a 9-year-old girl, a fourth-grader in Cy-Fair ISD and the youngest ever AALBC No. 1 best-selling author.

“I started writing at age 8,” says Sydney. “This is the very first one that I wrote…it’s about a girl who wants to spread a message to kids all around the world about self-esteem and self-confidence.”

That girl, Sydney Sunshine, is bright, bubbly, and always thinks positively -- the perfect character for moral-driven kids’ books.

“Sydney Sunshine is more than a character, Sydney Sunshine is Sydney McGee,” Meredith E. Greenwood said.

Meredith is Sydney’s publicist, publisher  and mom. Watch them interact for a few minutes and you can tell they share a special relationship.

“I want to be a published author and I also want to be an accountant like my mom,” Sydney said.

Don’t let that motherly influence fool you, though these are truly Sydney’s books.

“Sydney writes every word from beginning to end. Of course, we do some copy editing… but as far as the order of the book, the plot, what’s going to happen, what Sydney Sunshine’s going to say, the days of the week, that’s all Sydney McGee,” says Meredith.

And she writes with a purpose.  Each of the 12 Sydney Sunshine books she plans to write comes with a lesson for her peers.  Such as the first book.

“The mirror is to show that it’s not only that the magic is inside the mirror, it’s that the magic is already inside of you and that your love, care and that you should never doubt yourself,” Sydney said.

If you get the chance to read about the “not-so-magic-mirror” and want to continue following Sydney’s adventures, you’re in luck. 

Her next book, "Sydney Sunshine and Her Summer at Aunt Janet’s Farm," is due out by the end of April. 

You can find more information on Sydney and her series here: http://www.sydneysunshine.net/