Wentzville Middle School student Malakai Lewis Hagood was among the twelve young authors and artists who participated in the fourth annual Grannie Annie Gathering at Left Bank Books in downtown St. Louis on June 2.

The authors read their family stories that were published in Grannie Annie, Vol. 7, released in May, and the artists discussed their published illustrations.

Malakai illustrated "The First Snow," by Yifu Zhu, who recently completed fifth grade at Conway Elementary School in the Ladue School District.

"The First Snow," which Yifu read at the Gathering, tells about his grandfather, who lives in a dry, mountainous region of southern China, seeing snow on the ground for the first time at age five—and having to wait nearly seventy years to see snow again, falling from the sky. Malakai's illustration captures details from Yifu's story and evokes a feeling of quiet wonder.

The Grannie Annie Family Story Celebration is a nonprofit group based in St. Louis that encourages 4th through 8th graders from around the world to discover, write, and share stories about their family history, and to submit them to The Grannie Annie for possible publication. Young authors are also invited to submit illustrations with their stories. After stories for publication have been selected, additional illustrations are solicited from students in the St. Louis area.

Malakai's artwork will be on display at the Gya Community Gallery, 2700 Locust Street in St. Louis as part of a special Grannie Annie Family exhibition through June 17.

(Patch thanks The Grannie Annie Family Story Celebration and Wentzville School District for contributing to this story.)