At the age of 16, Zaila Avant-Garde has already built up a pretty outstanding resume. The 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee winner and two-time Guinness World Records holder teenager is now ready to add the title of author to her incredible achievements. The Louisiana-based teen wonder is making her debut this year as a children’s book author with two back-to-back publications in line.

The Release

Random House Children’s Books will publish the pair of books, conceptualized and penned by Zaila Avant-Garde. It’s Not Bragging if It’s True: How to Be Awesome at Life, a non-fiction book, is slated to release on May 2nd. The second one, a children’s picture book named Words of Wonder From Z to A will hit shelves on June 27th.

The Objective

The Spelling Bee winner teen author expressed her excitement and stated that she absolutely loved her experience as a first-time author. Zaila remarked in a press release that she was especially happy that her books are for young kids. During her childhood, she knew all her favorite books by heart, and so had a firsthand experience of feeling the joy brought by a good book. The young author also shared that her books are mainly dedicated to all those kids who get nervous about picking up a new book to read.

The Books

Meant for readers aged 8-12, It’s Not Bragging if It’s True is an empowering collection of real-life stories with various personal anecdotes illustrating Zaila’s successful journey. Co-written with author Marti Dumas, the book highlights how Spelling Bee winner Zaila has accomplished so much at such a young age. Through this uplifting book, Zaila hopes to motivate other kids to pursue their dreams. Words of Wonder From Z to A features colorful illustrations by Keisha Morris. In this book, Zaila has used her favorite motivational words like ‘resilience,’ ‘hope,’ etc. to create inspiring pieces of work.

England secured its place in the quarterfinals of the Euro 2020 in the last match with Germany, their long-standing rival, by scoring a 2-0 win in the second half. Since the World Cup in 1966, Germany had never lost a knockout match in an international competition to England. But Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling changed that with two late goals.

Both Teams Were More Afraid of Losing the Match

Germany had the upper hand until Sterling’s finish changed the score at the 75th minute. The head coach of England Gareth Southgate’s decision of getting Jack Grealish on the field in the second half helped alter the results of the game. He played a great role in making the goals for England happen.

Making it to the Quarterfinals

When there was a little over 20 minutes left in the game, both managers changed players. Grealish replaced the player Bukayo Saka and Timo Werner with Serge Gnabry. Shortly after this change, Sterling made the first goal. There were loud cheers at the stadium with the crowd starting to believe that England had a chance at winning. This thought was confirmed as Kane made the second win happen.

A Cacophony of Chants

The Wembly Stadium was packed with thousands of excited fans singing choruses and chants that would not have affected the tone-deaf. German fans in their white shirts were booed and their small numbers drowned out their voices by the English fans who were gathered in large numbers.

At the end of the match, the crowd chanted “It’s Coming Home” the adopted anthem of England. It echoed at the Wembley stadium. The English team took a lap of honor to absorb the crowd’s affection and adulation. It noise was deafening. And why wouldn’t they be loud? They have not witnessed such a win in a long time.

The Euro 2020 quarterfinals will be held at the Stadio Olimpico, in Rome.