A CHILD prodigy was thrilled to have his photo taken with Colchester's statue of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star authors Jane and Anne Taylor.

Ten-year-old author Hrikkrish Biswas visited 'sit exams' at Colchester Royal Grammar School as he tries to secure a place at King Edward’s Public School in Essex.

Hrikkrish also took the chance to explore the city’s literary history. 

And he was delighted to discover the authors of his favourite nursery rhyme  once lived in Colchester.

 "I couldn’t believe the authors of Twinkle, Twinkle lived here," said Hrikkrish.

"It was amazing to see their statues and learn more about them,"

At ten years old, Hrikkrish has achieved extraordinary success, publishing more than 1,000 copies of his bilingual book series in both English and Bangla.

He published his first book when he was just eight years old, and started writing when he had just finished reading the entire Harry Potter series at the age of six.

He said: “I had to do a lot of research as I wanted to write the book in rhymes.

"Finding out the words that sound similar and then understanding their meaning was a bit of a challenge which my parents really helped me with.

"My father also drew all the art-work for the book with me and we really enjoyed doing that together.”

His books, inspired by his love of animals and their habitats, aim to spark young readers' curiosity about the natural world. 

Hrikkrish is also waiting to see if he has got into the Guinness Book of Records for being the youngest bilingual series author.

His passion for literature was nurtured by his school and his parents, particularly dad Dr Manosh Kumar Biswas, an associate professor at Leicester University. 

"We’ve always encouraged Hrik to stay connected to his roots by reading and writing in both English and Bangla," said Dr Biswas.

"I’m incredibly proud of his achievements and how committed he is to his passions at such a young age.

"We also sold his books at a bookfair in Bangladesh recently and plan to take it to London next year. The community in the UK has also been very supportive of him."

Despite his literary success, Hrikkrish ’s ambitions extend beyond writing.

 "I love space and science, and one day, I want to become a physicist and scientist," he said.

"But I’ll always keep writing stories too."