Sahara Sunday Spain is a poet-and soon the whole world will know it! Sahara, who is 9, has been writing poetry since she was just 4 years old. Her friends love getting her homemade books of verses every Christmas. Starting this month, her poetry will be available in stores. Sahara's book, If There Would Be No Light (HarperSanFrancisco; 2001), includes 61 of the third-grader's poems, illustrated with her own black-and-white drawings. Sahara says her mother inspired her to be creative with language. "She told me to start every day with a happy word," Sahara says. "So, I started out with 'love,' then went on to phrases and poems."

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February 9, 2001 World Report