Hilde Lysiak is pretty much proof that age is no barrier to follow your passions. Despite her tender age the uber-talented nine-year old’s news website Orange Street Press was the first news outlet to break the news of a suspected murder in her hometown of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania.
While in her local police station she overheard police talking about the case, and went to the address of the crime scene to report. With the help of her father, journalist Kevin Lysiak, she then posted the story on the website, incredibly scooping her competitors by several hours and earning instant recognition.
Yep, sounds like the madcap adventured of a fictional character in a children’s book right? But although it’s real life, Hilde’s reporting adventures have inspired a series of children’s books for readers aged six to eight, co-written by Hilde and her father. Hilde Cracks the Case: Hero Dog! will be published in September 2017, to be followed by Bear on the Loose! UFO Spotted! and Fire! Fire!
The film rights for the books are also up for sale – so who knows, Hilde may very well add screenwriter to her eye-watering repertoire.
While many are wildly impressed by Hilde’s achievements, she has also come up against criticism by people who think she is too precocious.
Her response: “I don’t think people should be able to decide for me who I should be and what I should be doing,” she wrote in The Guardian. “I never began my newspaper so that people would think I was cute. I started the Orange Street News to give people the information they need to know.”
Well that’s us told!
