The 4-and-a-half-year-old Emirati girl, Alfai AlMarzooqi, is preparing to set a new record as the youngest writer and painter in the world, after she published her story “The Lost Rabbit”, which she wrote and executed all of her drawings. AlMarzooqi signed her story, published in both Arabic and English, at the book signing platform at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, which is currently taking place and will continue until May 28. She is also happy to sign the book at her school, Brighton College Abu Dhabi, next week. AlMarzooqi aspires to become an author and illustrator of children’s stories where she can share writing and reading the story with her friends on YouTube. Alfai mother, Tyeb AlBarri indicated that she is preparing to apply to break the record and register her daughter in the Guinness Book of Records as the youngest “publisher” in the world. It is noteworthy that AlMarzooqi’s talent appeared when she was two years old, as she loved listening to what her mother read to her before bedtime and was eager to learn about names and letters, ask many questions and search for different plots and endings for stories. She added: «She always asked me strange questions like how old is the tree? Are the roses laughing? She was not interested in the TV or the tablet computer like the rest of the children, but her interest was focused on reading books. She explained that AlFai took three days to write her entire story, in addition to drawing and coloring all the pictures, which surprised her when AlFai showed her her drawings and how her idea became a reality. The father, Yaqoub AlMarzooqi, confirmed that his daughter was always interested in pen and paper. He added, “When AlFai holds the pen, she starts drawing characters from her imagination, and I realized at that time that AlFai has the talent for drawing, so I provided her with all the drawing supplies, including colors and pens, when she was young, so that she could start learning about colors and how to combine them.”