He’s 10 and just wrote a book about global warming. | Calavia-Robertson - NJ.com

He’s 10 and just wrote a book about global warming. | Calavia-Robertson - nj.com

It’s Thursday afternoon and my kids and I are at a public library in Jersey City. They’re kind of nervous because we’re here for a book reading and we’re about to meet the author. For my son, who’s 8 and loves all things science, the event’s “kind of a big deal.” After all, he says matter-of-factly, “the writer loves science too and he’s just like two years older than me.” That’s right. Ishaan Gupta, a fifth grader at Frank R. Conwell, is the author we’re here to see.

He’s reading excerpts of his new self-published book, “The Martian Miracle: Ivaan and the Climate Crisis,” that’s on global warming — yes, global warming! It follows the story of Ivaan, “a middle school prodigy, grappling with life’s challenges while being profoundly aware of the looming global warming threat.” Ishaan, who’s wearing a t-shirt with his book cover on it, and black glasses that my son giddily tells me look just like his own, makes his way to the front of the room like he’s done this a thousand times.