Five-Year-Old Author Ariana Jalia Has Book Signing In Manhattan Beach

She’s eloquent, personable, creative, and far more mature than some adults I know. She’s only five-years-old and, according to her website, America’s youngest published author.

Ariana Jalia held a book signing on Sunday at Toy Max, 104 West End Ave, for her two children’s books, Mommy B and Me and AJ’s Birthday Surprise, which are both part of the series titled Mommy B and Me. She chatted with fans, young and old, and stole the hearts of everyone in Manhattan Beach.

“It’s very nice for me to write. My favorite part about writing is making creative characters,” said Ariana confidently.

Her characters are based on her and people in her life. AJ is the main character of the series and she is based on Ariana. In her second book, AJ’s Birthday Surprise, AJ’s friends, Dalia, Willow, and Ari, are based on her real-life friends.

Her first book, Mommy B and Me, is all about the character B. Each page states another thing that B is. B is listed as things like a friend, a mountain, a house, a turtle — but not a tortoise. We learn at the end of the book that B is based on Ariana’s pink, polka-dot blanket that she was given when she spent her first Christmas Eve in the hospital with a lung infection.

The book is about her imagination of B — that’s what she called it as soon as she could speak — being anything in the world that she could think of. This creativity is what is fueling her childhood dreams.

Her third book will be released in early spring along with a special Mommy B and Me charm. She also has an animated series based on her stories coming out in February. She’s especially excited for the red carpet event for its premiere.

Ariana is incredibly productive and embraces the hustle and bustle of running a publishing company.

“Plenty of things to fill up my mind. I mostly just run my company,” said Ariana with a huge smile. “I don’t have a lot of time to watch tv. Mostly just working on business.”

She is from Manhattan but visits Manhattan Beach often to see her godfather. She also rides horses at the Jamaica Bay Riding Academy on Shore Parkway, where her favorite horse is Comet.

The Mommy B and Me series can be bought at Toy Max and on Amazon.