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Before Malcolm Mitchell became a children's author, he read. He read a lot, and as he has said, few authors have had more of an impact on his decision to write than Amy Krouse Rosenthal.
When Malcolm picked up Amy's book "!," he was immediately struck by it and has said it played a major role in his decision to pursue writing a children's book. Malcolm saw that dream become a reality when he self-published "The Magician's Hat" while still in college.
While the two have never met face to face, Malcolm recently reached out to the author who inspired him.
Amy was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and is currently in hospice care, and she recently wrote about her battle. She wrote an essay called "You May Want to Marry My Husband" for the New York Times "Modern Love" column, a touching piece about her husband written as a dating profile for a woman who may love him after she is gone. The response was immediate and overwhelmingly positive.
This week, MMQB released a video Malcolm recorded for Amy the day after the Super Bowl, as well as a story about what her work has meant to him.
In the video, Malcolm explains how "!" changed him.
"I went to the local Barnes and Noble and picked up your book '!' and opened it. It changed my outlook on life. It taught me that it doesn't matter who you are or where you're from, there's a place in this world for you. You just have to stay strong and keep moving forward," Malcolm said in the video. "I definitely want to credit you for having an impact on my life and spend some time to say thank you. I want to thank you again for pulling for us. I want you to know that I'm definitely pulling for you."