--- title: Malala Yousafzai Offers First Glimpse at New Picture Book description: Malala Yousafzai offers a sneak peek at her new illustrated children's book canonical: https://time.com/4887234/malala-yousafzai-magic-pencil-book/ author: Kevin Lui article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-04T09:57:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:46:09.091Z og:title: Malala Yousafzai Offers First Glimpse at New Picture Book og:description: 'Malala's Magic Pencil' aims to inspire young readers og:url: https://time.com/4887234/malala-yousafzai-magic-pencil-book/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1adad55ff2057d0b/69887593524fc06b9adf5f31/malala-yousafzai-donald-trump-muslims-comments.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Malala Yousafzai Unveils Her Official Portrait By Nasser Azam og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Malala Yousafzai Offers First Glimpse at New Picture Book twitter:description: 'Malala's Magic Pencil' aims to inspire young readers twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1adad55ff2057d0b/69887593524fc06b9adf5f31/malala-yousafzai-donald-trump-muslims-comments.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Malala Yousafzai Offers a First Glimpse at Her Magical New Picture Book by [Kevin Lui](https://time.com/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Aug 4, 2017 9:57 AM UTC  Malala Yousafzai at an event on November 29, 2015 in Birmingham, England. Malala Yousafzai at an event on November 29, 2015 in Birmingham, England.Richard Stonehouse—Getty Images by [Kevin Lui](https://time.com/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Aug 4, 2017 9:57 AM UTC Malala Yousafzai, the 20-year-old [Nobel Peace Prize winner](http://time.com/3482434/malala-yousafzai-wins-nobel-peace-prize/) and education activist from Pakistan, will soon be publishing an illustrated children’s book that she hopes will inspire young people to bring about positive change in their communities. After receiving her first copy of _Malala’s Magic Pencil_ in the mail Thursday, the author tweeted out a few heartwarming teasers. “Opened the mail and thrilled to find a copy of my first picture book,” she tweeted along with a picture of her posing with the book. > [](https://twitter.com/Malala/status/893136985153339394) > [](https://twitter.com/Malala/status/893137480458715136) According to publisher Little, Brown and Co., the book, set for release on Oct.17 of this year, draws on the author’s childhood dream of having a magic pencil with which she could reinvent the world around her. “As a child in Pakistan, Malala made a wish for a magic pencil. She would use it to make everyone happy, to erase the smell of garbage from her city, to sleep an extra hour in the morning,” reads a [synopsis ](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/malala-yousafzai/malalas-magic-pencil/9780316319836/)on the publisher’s website. “But as she grew older, Malala saw that there were more important things to wish for. She saw a world that needed fixing.” Yousafzai came to international attention in 2009, when the _New York Times_ made a [documentary](https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/asia/100000001835296/class-dismissed.html) about her school’s forced closure by the Taliban. She gradually moved into advocacy for girls’ [education](http://time.com/4777563/malala-yousafzai-refugee-neco-ellis-island-medal-of-honor/) and women’s rights, even after being shot by a Taliban militant in 2012. She persisted with her activism — publishing an [autobiography](http://time.com/3490769/malala-yousafzai-the-day-i-woke-up-in-the-hospital/) along the way — and became [the youngest-ever](http://time.com/3482434/malala-yousafzai-wins-nobel-peace-prize/) Nobel peace prize winner in 2014\. In April of this year, she became the [youngest ever](http://time.com/4734179/malala-yousafzai-messenger-of-peace/) U.N. 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