Senior Micah Hamilton publishes a children’s book, promotes diversity

RECENTLY PUBLISHED: Author, Micah Hamilton holding his illustrated children’s book, *Uniquely Cyrus*. *Shea Gallagher*

Shea Gallagher | Student Life Editor

October 7th, 2022

San Clemente senior Micah Hamilton recently published his first book, a children’s story about overcoming struggles with racial identity and learning acceptance called Uniquely Cyrus.

Micah illustrated, wrote, and published the entirety of his 25-page graphic book, following young Cyrus along for his first day of school. Cyrus learns to embrace his unique features after seeing he appears different from his peers.

INSIDE THE BOOK: An insight to the detailed illustrations and theme of Uniquely Cyrus. Micah Hamilton

Micah put a great deal of effort into creating his book and spoke on the creative process. Senior Micah Hamilton said he, “bought an iPad and learned how to digitally illustrate with no prior knowledge on what it’s like drawing on a screen. Through a lot of trial and error, [he] found the perfect style”

An exceptionally remarkable element of this children’s book is the detailed and colorful illustrations, all drawn and thought up by Micah.

Micah’s efforts were recognized as his book was featured on the front page of the San Clemente Times.

SC TIMES: Micah featured on the cover of the local newspaper. *San Clemente Times*

The process of writing this book took up much of Micah’s time, spanning through summer into the beginning of this school year. One of Micah’s best friends, senior Chloe Mills said, “Micah spent countless hours working on this book- hand illustrating every detail on each page. Being on the cover of the city newspaper must feel pretty amazing after all his hard work. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

In the process of creating the book, Micah’s task after the illustration was writing. He explained, “The actual content of the book was more difficult than I expected because I needed the message to be conveyed through language understandable to someone in elementary school. Nonetheless, after over 150 hours of illustrating and writing, my efforts finally came to fruition, as it is published on Amazon, available for anyone to read.”

Micah and Cyrus’ story is especially touching for young children of color as it encourages them to embrace themselves in a city that may not feel like it provides a strong community. The experiences Cyrus undergoes are apparent and relevant to many children, which is one of the elements making Micah’s book so significant.

Uniquely Cyrus is available for everyone to read on Amazon, priced at $11.99. Go buy it!