Girl, 10, Gets Book Deal

Writes Guide To Help Kids Cope With Divorce, After Her Parents Split

(CBS)  A young schoolgirl has become the newest publishing darling in Britain.

CBS News correspondent Richard Roth reports Libby Reese wrote what wound up being a 60-page book of advice for children on how to cope with their parents' divorce.

Libby's parents broke up three-and-a-half years ago.

She's 10 now, but Rees was just nine when she put her thoughts on paper, reflections on how she managed her own turbulent feelings when her parents' marriage was breaking up.

The result was a self-help guide, "Help, Hope and Happiness," from Aultbea Publishing.

Reading from her book, Reese said, "Find a place where you can be all alone, and let it all out. Scream, shout, stamp your feet, whatever you feel like doing, but this physical activity will help you release the anger inside."

Reese e-mailed her work to publishers, and got a contract offer within a day.

"Surreal," her mother admits but, in a nod to parental pride, not entirely unexpected.

"I mean," says Kathryn Loughnan, "I know I'm her mom, so I'm biased, but I think she is very special. And she's got a very caring nature, which I think has come through, and is why she wanted to write the book."

Rees' tips include positive thinking and, to help relax, taking time to be alone, which is proving a bit of a challenge for her given her sudden celebrity.

"I quite enjoy it," Rees admits, "but it's just amazing and overwhelming because, one day, I was just writing notes on a book and the next day I'm getting interviewed by TV people."

Charity, she says, will get a share of the profits, which her publisher now says could include the proceeds of a movie deal. And Aultbea has already commissioned two more books from her.