Nicholas Buamah, a 12-year-old Ghanaian-American is an author, TV producer and philanthropist who consistently surpasses expectations. His latest book, The Sky Is Not The Limit: Positive Affirmations To Help You Rise Above The Sky, published on February 5, 2024, is his fourth book and a testament to his remarkable achievements.
His newest publication is a motivational affirmation guide tailored for teenagers and young adults seeking inspiration and guidance toward boundless achievement. This compelling anthology motivates young individuals to envision grand aspirations, transcend barriers, discover realms of positivity, and embrace a future brimming with possibilities.
Buamah’s passion for books began at the young age of 3. Unlike many children his age who gravitate towards comics or illustrated children’s books, he showed a preference for more complex and engaging literature. Recognizing her son’s talent for reading, Buamah’s mother Danielle, played a crucial role in his development by nurturing his vocabulary skills. This early encouragement eventually inspired the creation of Buamah’s first book titled Kayla & Kyle The Walking Dictionaries: Election Day.
“I developed the character of Kayla when Nicholas was younger to help teach him to expand his vocabulary. After [he was] praised by his first-grade teacher for using the word ‘collaborate’ during his first week of school, I asked Nicholas what he thought about writing a book to help his friends expand their vocabularies. He thought it was a great idea, as long as one of the main characters could be a male figure, and that’s when he created Kyle,” said Danielle, Buamah’s mother.
Notably, Buamah is among the youngest writers to have multiple works preserved in the prestigious Library of Congress, further solidifying his promising career. At 7, Buamah successfully published and cataloged (Library of Congress) his first book Kayla & Kyle The Walking Dictionaries: Election Day.
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“At 7 years old I published and cataloged my first book into the Library of Congress called Kayla & Kyle The Walking Dictionaries. This book went on to become an Amazon bestseller,” says Buamah.
Kayla & Kyle The Walking Dictionaries centers around twin dictionaries named Kayla and Kyle, both vying for the position of class president. Before the election, they engage in a debate before their peers to showcase their suitability for the role. Both dictionaries champion their credentials, employing sophisticated language and vocabulary. The book became a bestseller on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and was accepted into the United States Library of Congress, ensuring its availability in elementary school libraries across America.
When questioned about his inspiration for writing a book centered around an election, Buamah replied, “I picked election day because I had a whole bunch of titles to choose from, and I love Barack Obama so much.” He continued, “I picked him because he did a lot during his election term.”
Buamah’s third book, Is Santa Really Real, a 30-page children’s book co-authored with his mother in 2011, originated from a conversation they shared about Santa Claus. In 2021, this book also achieved bestseller status on Amazon and became his second work to be included in the Library of Congress.
Within this festive Christmas poem, a child poses the most challenging question, and a mother responds with the only genuine answer she knows to provide.
“I now have 3 books published and cataloged. My third book, Is Santa Really Real, was co-written with my mother based on a conversation we had about Santa Claus. In 2021 that book was also an Amazon bestseller,” said Buamah in a 2022 interview with CanvasRebel.
Onward to TV Shows – Nick’s House
Moving forward into producing and acting, 12-year-old Buamah has expanded his passion for writing books to craft TV scripts. He recently debuted his TV show titled Nick’s House, a family-friendly series highlighting entirely Black excellence. It features intellectually gifted children who are trying to manage their businesses.
The concept for Nick’s House originated during an interview with Buamah on a talk show. The host proposed collaborating on a 5-minute film together. However, Buamah’s mother had a different vision; she saw the potential for a 22-minute pilot instead. Taking action, she enlisted the expertise of a professional writer to assist them in crafting the script, thus igniting the beginning of their journey.
“I recently starred in my very own TV show project called Nick’s House. I took my love for writing books and channeled it into writing TV show scripts. This was very meaningful to me because at 11 years old I am the creator, executive producer, and star of a television series made for network TV,” says Buamah. Nick’s House idea came about when I was interviewed on a talk show. The host suggested that we create a 5-minute movie together. My mom on the other hand thought, “Why create a 5-minute movie when we can create a 22-minute pilot?” She hired a professional writer to help us layout the script and that’s how it all began.”
Buamah added, “The summary of Nick’s House is that my friends and I run a successful business out of my parents’ home. The chaos begins when my slightly immature uncle moves in to be my nanny. I end up teaching my uncle how to act more like an adult while he teaches me how to have fun as a child.”
Community Outreach
In addition to his endeavors in writing and entertainment, Buamah is dedicated to uplifting disadvantaged individuals and communities through his nonprofit organization, Books Without Borders, Inc. Through this initiative, he provides underprivileged communities with books and other essential school materials.
During a recent appearance on The Steve Harvey Show, Buamah showcased his remarkable intelligence by effortlessly using vocabulary words that even Harvey did not grasp.
When Harvey inquired about his aspirations, Buamah articulated his desire “to get my book into every elementary school library in the United States, to get enough subscribers for my YouTube channel because I’m doing … videos where I will teach you a word in 30 seconds or less, and to donate some books to Ghana and give them to the schools and libraries.”
Impressed and inspired by Buamah’s vision, Harvey pledged his support by purchasing 555 of Buamah’s books to donate to elementary schools in Ghana.
Harvey said, “Since you are such a smart kid and you are trying very hard, I’m buying five hundred and fifty-five books, and we are going to put them in schools in Ghana.”
Adding to his achievements, Buamah was recognized by Whoopi Goldberg in 2022 during Black History Month on her show, The View.
“I’ve been honored by Whoopi Goldberg for Black History Month on her show, The View, said Buamah. “I also had the opportunity to appear on the Steve Harvey Show. That was truly an amazing experience. Not only did I teach Mr. Harvey a new word, but I even taught him his Ghanaian name which is Yaw. Yaw means Thursday born. Mr. Harvey donated 555 books to my nonprofit “Books Without Borders, Inc.,” for the children in Ghana. Since then, I’ve appeared on several TV and radio shows discussing my books.”
“Writing is exciting, but I do have to say my true passion is helping others through my nonprofit Books Without Borders, Inc. My career goal is to be a mechanical engineer, and my passion is to be a philanthropist. Every year for Christmas, through my nonprofit, I host a “Nick’s Christmas Extravaganza.” This is where I donate to families in need. It makes me feel good to make people happy, says Buamah.
In 2019, Buamah, a Georgia native and son of Ghanaians Danielle and Dominic, met with then Ghana’s ambassador to the United States, H.E. Dr. Barfuor Adjei-Barwuah, and presented a copy of his book. Alongside his academic and literary achievements, Buamah also harbors a passion for sports, including basketball, golf, and chess.
Buamah’s aspirations include pursuing studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to become a mechanical engineer. Additionally, he aims to earn recognition as the youngest individual to create and produce an original series for network television, aspiring to receive nominations for prestigious awards like the Oscar or Emmy for his show, Nick’s House. In the interim, he intends to continue spreading the joy of reading across the globe.
“Now that I’ve started focusing a lot on script writing I have set my goals even higher. I would love to be recognized as the youngest person to create and produce an original series for network TV. I would also love to be nominated for an Oscar or an Emmy award for my new show Nick’s House,” says Buamah.
“What I love most about being a creative is when I see my vision come to life. Nick’s House started off as an idea that was written into a script. I read the script many times, but it wasn’t until we actually filmed the show was I able to understand and see exactly what had been created. Pure magic.”