Author Jonathan Guffey reads his new book at the Tattered Cover in Stanley Marketplace. Front Porch photo by Christie Gosch

Jonathan Guffey sat in the back corner of the Tattered Cover store at Stanley Marketplace reading his new book to a group of excited listeners who waited to raise their hands and ask the author questions.

Story time is a semiweekly event at the store, but the storyteller is not usually a 9-year-old author.

Jonathan is the author of the book Tommy the Tap Dancing T-Rex, copies of which he eagerly signed after the reading. It’s the story of a Tyrannosaurus rex who had “a dream of being the world’s greatest tap dancer,” he said.

“Everyone knows T. rexes can’t dance,” Jonathan explained, and that’s where the messages in the book come out. Tommy got bullied because “the other dinosaurs thought he was weird because he danced,” he said. “He had a dream, but no one wanted to play with him at recess because he was different.”

The idea for the book popped into Jonathan’s head while riding in the car with his mother, Jennifer Knowles.

“Jonathan, just out of the blue, said he wanted to write this book, and he shared the entire plot of the story right there in the car. He asked, ‘Can we do it, Mom?’ Of course,” she said.

From that moment in the car, the project was on. Jonathan and his mother spent time working on the book during school vacations. The illustrations were created using artificial intelligence, and the book was self-published.

The next step was getting the book sold. The family visited Stanley Marketplace, and Knowles had some copies of Jonathan’s book in her bag, so they decided to go into the Tattered Cover.

“Jonathan walked in, and he had the book, and the store manager happened to be there, and he looked at the book, and he loved it and said that he would love to have the book at the store,” Knowles said.

It took some paperwork, but the contract was signed a week later. The store manager told them Jonathan is the youngest author signed at the store.

Tommy the Tap Dancing T-Rex is now in the store for a minimum of three months. So far, the author has received a lot of positive responses—so much so, in fact, that a series is planned to include a new coloring book with inspiring messages. And coming soon: the book Gracie the Gift Grabbing Giganotosaurus about a dinosaur who can’t stop peeking into wrapped presents.

The family lives in the Central Park neighborhood, and Jonathan said it’s “pretty cool” to have his friends see his work at the neighborhood bookstore. The most fun for him was seeing the final result.

“Before I could only see it on a computer, and it felt great seeing something that I’ve been working on for months,” he added.

His mother agreed: “It’s been a lot of fun seeing Jonathan’s idea come all the way to creation. Having a finished product just makes me so happy and so proud. I’m so grateful for the parents, the grandparents, and the kids who have supported Jonathan’s book.”

She also talked about the thrill of the first sale at Tattered Cover, to a grandmother buying the book for her grandson who dances.

That experience ties into Jonathan’s main message: “I want people to know, if they have a dream, to follow their dreams.”

Jonathan says he will save his share of the proceeds from the book sales and “let it grow.” A portion of the money will be donated to Children’s Hospital Colorado, he said, because “I know that they’re suffering budget cuts, and I just want to help them.”