Reeham Ahmed’s debut book BOBO AND THE MAGIC CLOAK has received praise from readers and reviewers alike, including features on platforms such as bookGeeks. Reeham’s short fiction has been published in an anthology by the Bengaluru-based Young Author Program and the Chicago-based Lucky Jefferson, where she was also featured on their podcast. Her poetry has appeared in The Hooghly Review, and she has been invited to speak at various institutions including St Xavier’s High School, Pragyanam, and Noida International University. 

We interviewed Reeham to get an insight into her creative process.

What is BOBO AND THE MAGIC CLOAK about? 

It’s a sweet book about a penguin who wants to go to space but skip the studies—they’re boring, right? So, she puts her trust into magic books, finding a way to get to space without the extra studies. Though, once she finds a cloak that can take her there, she realises that it’s not easy to trick your way into getting what you want. She learns that studies are important and a safer way to reach your goal. Just achieve your dreams through academic and scholastic means!

Why is it different?

It’s quite a simple story, and as I said before, when writing it I had no plan of making it a moral story. In fact, now when I am 13, I’m glad I just went with the flow and kept it a story just for the sake of a story. One thing which I’ve seen often in books for children is that there is almost always a moral in every story, you cannot escape it. I think that that is a boring idea. If adults, teenagers, and seniors can read fiction for the sake of fun, then why not kids? Let them read because the pictures are pretty, let them read because that one line makes them laugh. Let them enjoy reading and see it as more than just learning. I avoided reading a lot, it just seemed boring to me because I grew up with the same books as many other kids, stories with morals, and it made me miss out on so many great books that I could’ve read today. Reading is wonderful and I believe that BOBO AND THE MAGIC CLOAK can show that reading doesn’t always have to have a lesson, or at least, a direct lesson.

Why did you write this book?

I was in a writing workshop during Covid-19 which my mother made me do because she wished to support her friend (thanks, Mom). I didn’t even complete the course and still got published in the anthology called FOOTPRINTS ON THE MOON which has stories that are equally as good and worth a read. Then a lot happened, the story getting published in Little Jefferson as well, and then Mrs Sahana took up a publishing course. At the end she had to make a book, and it couldn’t be their own story, so she chose mine! The process was so wonderful to see, and I couldn’t be happier to work with Ma’am.

Why does this book matter?

The book is just a penguin who wants to go to space and lives in a library and she also wears glasses. It’s not one of a kind or something show-stopping, it doesn’t have a strong lesson at the end, but it’s fun to read. Looking at the cute drawings of Bobo and reading the simple story with your brain turned off is just that. And wouldn’t you also believe in magic books over academics if magic was real? It’s just a fun story to read to kids and has a cute ‘how to draw’ at the end.

How does this relate to similar books? Or: Can you think of comparable books in your genre/category?

Listen… I have never read a kids’ book as a child, none that are like BOBO AND THE MAGIC CLOAK, it’s just such a simple story. I didn’t take inspo from other stories either since it was a writing course.

Three words to best describe you.

Pink. Horror. Videogames.