She is five years old. And that statement sits at the heart of “Heyra, the Big Sister”, a children’s book that has earned the little girl a spot in the Malaysia Book of Records (MBR) as the youngest author in the country.
The illustrated book is filled with colourful drawings, sisterly love, and warmth. But, as fate would have it, the story began with the sorrow of absence.
“When Tiara was born, I met her in the hospital,” Heyra recalled, referring to her younger sister. “She was there for a long time and I missed her a lot. I felt sad because I was missing her.”
Her mother, Pooja Beesoon said that when Heyra was two and a half, her second daughter Tiara was born prematurely. Both mother and baby were unwell, separated in hospital for weeks, with no phone, visitors or children allowed.
“It was the first time that Heyra was staying without me,” the Mauritian national, married to a Malaysian, shared.
When she finally returned home, the change in her older daughter was obvious. “Within those two months, there was a drastic change in her,” she recalled. “It’s really painful for a mum to see that.”
Slowly, Heyra began to talk – about missing her mother, about not understanding why she was alone, about how it made her feel.
“It’s very painful for a small girl to talk about the way she felt,” she said. Pooja, a hypnotherapist, listened, and began writing down what her daughter told her.
Those notes stayed hidden for more than a year. Then one day, scrolling through her phone, Pooja read them aloud to her daughter. Heyra stopped her mid-sentence, asking: “Amma, why did you copy my story?” That question changed everything.
Wanting to make Heyra’s fifth birthday special on Dec 5 last year, Pooja suggested writing a book about her experience as a big sister.
Mother and daughter worked on the book together. Heyra retold her story in her own words. New details surfaced, the past met the present, and the book was officially published on the little girl’s birthday, and later launched with family and friends.
What no one knew – not even Heyra’s father – was that something else was going to be revealed.
“I kept it a surprise,” Pooja laughed. Just one day before the launch, the MBR confirmed the recognition. Then the officials arrived and announced the title.
“I actually teared up,” Pooja admitted. As a foreigner navigating formal Malay documentation, ISBN approvals and official procedures, the journey had been exhausting.
Standing there, watching her five-year-old receive national recognition, was overwhelming. “I really couldn’t talk during the speech,” Pooja said.
Heyra, on the other hand, was perfectly clear about how she felt. “I felt happy and proud,” she said. “It’s (the award) not just for any school or just for me. It’s for the whole of Malaysia.”
At home, there are no writing classes, no rigid schedules, no push for achievement. “I never sent her to any reading classes,” Pooja said. “But since she was very small, I used to read storybooks to her. We are pretty much into reading and writing.”
Pooja said children learn by watching. “They say kids always copy what parents are doing. Even before she knew the alphabet, she was imitating.”
Heyra’s mother is also careful about how creativity is nurtured. “I’ve seen many parents give gadgets to very young kids,” she said gently. “I’m not judging anyone. But I feel kids should be more creative and build things, play, and socialise.”
For Pooja, the lesson is simple. “If you recognise that your child has potential, let them spread their wings,” she said. “We are not supposed to stop them.”
For Heyra, those wings were made of words – shaped by love, absence, and the courage of a child learning how to name her feelings.