GREAT KIDS: Student author using the power of the pen to amplify kids rights

WINDSOR, CT (WFSB) – At Sage Park Middle School in Windsor, 7th grader Jhayden Morrison is on his way to class. But this middle schooler is already way ahead of the curve. He has co-authored a book, and he’s only 12.

“Not a lot of children know that they have rights and that they have a voice,” Morrison said.

His books are all about giving kids a voice. It’s a journey that started with a sick friend and a lemonade stand in his mom’s native Jamaica.

“It was just traumatizing to see a friend I had just made in a short time be in a bad conditioned hospital,” Morrison explained.

The lemonade stand did its job, but back home in Connecticut, Jhayden wanted to do even more to specifically reach more children.

“Just going and interacting with children, even doing the lemonade stand,” Morrison’s mother Larissa Rhone stated. “He wants to talk to children, and he wants to get the message out.”

So he and his mom wrote this book called, “Children have Rights too”. Specifically, to bring awareness and healthy boundaries for children and to prevent abuse.

“It’s your body and your body belongs to you,” Morrison reads.

The book is in graphic novel form, and even features Jhayden as a character. It came out in 2021 and it echoes Jhayden’s message that he wants every child to know.

“They have rights and they have a voice,” Morrison said. “I feel like I’m helping so many people.”

His mom couldn’t be more proud.

“He just goes for it,” Rhone says. “He inspires me daily. He wants to talk. He wants to share.”

Jhayden says he will continue writing hoping his young voice, magnified by the power of the pen, will make a big difference.

“I don’t want to stop to continue to bring that awareness to children and want to continue to write books.”

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