Many students excel in academics and extra curricular activities, but before Mike Thompson even entered high school, he was a published author.
Thompson graduated from Brentsville District High School a little over a week ago. During his high school career he was Editor-in-Chief of The Roar, a fiction writer and an outstanding student. But before that he was the author of the "Chicken Boy" Series.
The “Chicken Boy” Series includes three illustrated chapter books about a superhero chicken and the children who help him to save the day. It a series primarily for children ages 8-12.
“It’s a really cool tale about a small bird that becomes extremely powerful. The story is about a chicken, who eats radioactive birdseed. He can fly, talk; he has super strength and shoots energy beams out of his hand,” Thompson said.
Thompson wrote and illustrated"Chicken Boy" when he was a nine-year-old student at Cedar Point Elementary in Chuck Aracich’s fourth grade class. Thompson credits Aracich with encouraging his interest in writing.
“He had this great writing workshop where we were able to write anything we wanted- comic books, short stories or even character bios,” Thompson said.
With his teacher’s encouragement Thompson wrote the first “Chicken Boy” book and presented it to his class.
“Every time I wrote a story, I introduced it to him. He thought it was great, and the class thought it was great as well,” Thompson said.
Soon Thompson’s mother was having his books printed and bound, and Aracich added “Chicken Boy” to his class library. As a thank you Thompson includes an Easter egg photo of Aracich in each of his books.
As Thompson entered middle school he did not forget about “Chicken Boy,” and he made it into a business. By 13 he was publishing through United Graphics.
With help from his family Thompson presented his books to small businesses, local libraries and large bookstores like Borders Books & Music. Although his mother would drive him to the businesses, it was Thompson who presented his work to the business owners.
The Whimsical Galerie toy store in Old Town Manassas was the first to carry Thompson’s book.
Owner Christine Finnie said Thompson appeared to be a shy boy when he first came in to show her his book. She looked at it, saw it was a good story, and told Thompson she would sell it.
"His face lit up like a Christmas tree," Finnie said.
Since then, she always tells children looking at his books that Thompson wrote them when he was about their age.
Lately Thompson has become his own publisher, incorporating Thompson Original Publishing. He still sells his books through local bookstores, toy stores and cafes, but he also sells nationally and recently in Europe via Amazon.com. And now when he pitches his book to a new business, they sometimes get star struck.
When he first approached a librarian at Nokesville Library about carrying his book, he was told they put very few independently published books on their shelves. Then Thompson introduced himself.
“Wait a minute, you wrote the “Chicken Boy” books?” she asked him.
Thompson believes his books are a favorite among children, because being a young boy himself when he authored the books, he knew what kids wanted to read about. “Chicken Boy” includes humor, memorable characters, fun dialogue and plenty of action.
“I wanted to make something as fun to read as a comic book, but as well written as a chapter book,” Thompson said.
He believes the graphics keep his stories progressing in an active and visceral way. He thinks it is perfect for children, who are ready for chapter books, but still enjoy illustrations.
Thompson has also inspired other young authors by visiting their classrooms and libraries. During one class presentation, a young girl found her calling. Not athletic like her sister, she did not know where her passion lay until she heard Thompson speak about writing.
“Mom, I want to be an author,” she told her mother after the presentation.
Today she is a child author as well.
It is just one success story, but Thompson maintains it is important for young people to share their accomplishments with children.
"I think the kids get that the book was sort of written by 'one of them' if that makes sense," said Chuck Aracich. "They see how the whole process got started, and realize that it is not as far fetched as they may have previously thought. Mike is just a regular kid who created a character that kids find funny and cool. I really think it is that simple."
At 18 and on his way to college, Thompson is on his way to being a full-fledged adult. George Mason University will be the next chapter for Thompson, but he also plans to continue writing, and is currently drafting his first young adult novel.
Thompson will be giving an author reading and book signing on Thursday, June 21 at 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Nokesville Library.
Thompson’s “Chicken Boy” series can be purchased via Amazon.com or at Chickenboybooks.com.
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