Being a published author is a goal many individuals strive to achieve. Parker junior Riya Jain has written several children’s books that empower young minds. Jain’s company The Land of Can creates books that have different topics, but share a central goal. According to the company’s vision statement, that goal is “to help ALL children throughout the world develop a CAN mindset so that they can reach their true potential.” 

Jain wrote her first book called “The Class That Can: Food Allergies” in 2019, when she was still in middle school. It was a topic she could personally relate to and a topic on which she wishes more people were informed. She then partnered with JJ Vulopas to publish that book and many more. Vulopas created The Land of Can because he too used to define himself by his allergies. “I used to define myself by my allergy, which is defining yourself by your ‘nots.’  I wanted to teach kids to define themselves by the ‘cans’ and what they could do and be,” said Vulopas.

Since Jain came to Parker in ninth grade, she has written nine new books with topics from screen time to anxiety to nutrition. Jain also has a new book in the works, focusing on ADHD. She will continue her work in the future and in college. “It’s definitely not something that’s just a high school project,” Jain said.

Writing books is not an easy task. Jain said it takes up most of her free time. “It’s like a whole other class if not three classes.” When writing a new book there are a lot of different components that go into it. First she has to think of an idea and draft the  book, which she then sends to medical professionals to verify the information. 

Jain partnered with her mother, Dr. Ruchi Gupta, when writing her first book on allergies to make sure that all the information was medically accurate. “I am on The Land of Can’s medical advisory committee, so I help review every book for medically accurate information,” Gupta said. Once the illustrations and edits are done, Jain receives the first copy and then the books are sent to schools and libraries all over the country. 

Jain’s main goal with her books is to empower kids who have previously defined themselves by what they can’t do to have a growth mindset. She wants them to feel like they can do anything, that they can go from the “land of cannot,” to “the land of can.” “It’s something that I had to learn when I was younger with food allergies.” To spread her wish, Jain travels all over the country to schools and conferences to talk about her company and how to have a ‘can’ mindset. 

Jain and Vulopas are going to continue writing  books and expanding their company to reach a larger audience across the country. Jain is also working to incorporate her books into Parker’s Lower School curriculum. “We have so much material and are just beginning,” Jain said. Jain and Voloupas hope to continue working on The Land of Can for many years.