9 year old writes dating book

Is this kid a miniature Mystery?

By Caitlin Gray

9-year-old Alec Greven actually wrote his book How to Talk to Girls when he was only eight. It started with a school writing assignment where he had the choice to write about anything he wanted. He chose to write about girls. His teacher and principal at Soaring Hawk Elementary School in Castle Rock, Colorado were so impressed, they sold the book at the school book fair. It quickly became the fair’s top-seller.

As buzz about the book grew, Ellen DeGeneres had Greven on her show in February and put him in touch with HarperCollins. They signed him to a contract and released the book on November 25, 2008. You can now buy How to Talk to Girls on Amazon where it is a best-seller among children’s, self-help and psychology books.

A Today interview revealed what inspired the tiny dating guru to write his book. “I saw boys around the playground having trouble getting girls — just not knowing what to say. I wanted to write a book that could help them.”

One of the fourth grader guru’s most talked about tips is to give “regular” girls a chance and avoid riskier, “pretty” girls. He writes, “About 73 percent of regular girls ditch boys; 98 percent of pretty girls ditch boys.” He continues, “It is easy to spot pretty girls because they have big earrings, fancy dresses and all the jewelry.”

He also advises boys to “move on” when life deals them a rough hand. “I had a crush on a girl in preschool. Then my family had to move, so I had to let her wash out of my mind.”

What should you do when you have a crush on a girl that might work out? According to Greven, “You need to get her to like you. You can also show off a skill, like playing soccer or anything else that you are good at.” Wait, like bow-hunting skills? Or computer-hacking skills? Fair enough, Alec, fair enough.

You can check out a full excerpt of the book here at MSNBC. Likewise, you can see Greven’s interviews with Meredith Vieira, Hota Kotb, and Kathie Lee Gifford.

Alec is donating part of his royalties to “Stand Up to Cancer” and hopes to be able to raise $100,000 for cancer research. Rumor has it his next book will be about Watergate.
12/04/08
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