FORT SILL, Okla., Dec. 17, 2020 — Many people dream of publishing a book, but a Fort Sill 4-year-old military family member has already accomplished that.
Amari Cooper Ferguson’s book, “Amari goes to Dinosaur Land,” features him as the main character as he travels back in time and walks with the dinosaurs.
“His mom, Tammie, and I noticed his love for dinosaurs and listened to his stories about becoming a paleontologist and dreams of seeing real dinosaurs,” said Lt. Col. Jerald Ferguson, Long Range Precision Fires deputy operations officer and Amari’s dad. “Tammie thought it would be a good idea to create a book using his words and daily interactions.”
His mother held a launch party for Amari’s book Nov. 19 on Facebook live. Amari popped in and out of view, eating pizza with his family.
“A lot of the books we check out at the library, we don’t see people who look like him. We thought it would be really cool to have an illustrated Amari talking about what he loves,” Tammie said during the launch.
Although the book is mostly about dinosaurs, it also incorporates parts of Amari’s life. On one page it shows how his friends and family held a Zoom-party for him because his party was canceled due to COVID-19. They all drew pictures of dinosaurs and showed him.
Tammie explained to the online audience how Jerald is an active-duty Soldier and they wanted to incorporate their relationship into the book as well.
As Amari flipped through the pages of his book, he turned to the last page where it showed him holding a tablet talking with his father, Jerald.
“I can’t wait to see my dad,” said Amari.
Jerald said the goal was to create something that would resonate with military children, African-American children, and children whose parents are divorced but co-parent like himself and his former wife, Tammie.
“Hopefully, it will also get him excited about building a business and a brand of his own and be a successful “kidpreneur.” His book has already inspired other parents to capture their kids’ dreams and stories and create their own series,” said Jerald.
When asked if Amari is enjoying the status of being a published author, Jerald said other than signing some books, he is still just a 4-year-old enjoying dinosaurs.
“He is excited to see himself as a character next to some of his favorite dinosaurs, but we don’t think he fully understands how significant this is at age 4. But, he’s having a good time autographing each book and video calling me each night to tell me more dinosaur tales.”
His book is the first in a series titled “Life with Amari” that features his adventures as a paleontologist and also him enjoying some of his favorite things such as martial arts, cooking, and swimming.
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