8-year-old writes book for brother after he was diagnosed with autism

Marin McDonald may only be eight years old, but she's already a published author.

Her mom, Alison, told Boston 25 News Marin has always been interested in writing and drawing. Marin's 2-year-old brother, Henry, has always loved books.

When Henry was diagnosed with autism in the fall, Marin decided to write a book for her brother. She wrote about dinosaurs because they're Henry's favorite.

"She put a lot of love and soul into the book," Marin's dad, Ross, said.

Marin used her brother's word for dinosaurs -- "ninos" -- as the book's title: Ninos Dinos: A Book Dedicated To All Kids With Autism. She came up with pages of imaginary dinosaurs and descriptions for them.

Her parents decided to publish her book. They're donating the proceeds to non-profit organizations like Autism Speaks and the Doug Flutie Foundation. Both groups work with families impacted by autism.

"We were just so taken by how cute it was and thoughtful that she wanted to entertain her brother," Alison said.

The family's main goal is to raise awareness about autism.

"The first time you tell somebody, 'My son's autistic,' the first thing they'll say to you is "I'm sorry," and it's like, no, he's lovely and wonderful and beautiful and brave and funny, but they don't think that and it's tragic," said Ross. "With this beautiful that that my daughter created and wife helped to do, maybe we can at least raise awareness."

Ninos Dinos is for sale on Amazon. So far, 50 copies have been sold, which has raised more than $300.

Cox Media Group