Page 27 - South Mississippi Living - April, 2025

Kennedy Elliott and Susie Siemiontkowski.
And just like that, “Kennedy and Marie the Martian’s Mississippi Adventures” escaped Elliott’s imagination and began its literary journey. The children’s chapter book follows the escapades of Marie, a curious extraterrestrial who crash- lands on Gulfport beach and encounters Kennedy and her friends.
The fast pals explore the beach and build towering sandcastles. They put their heads together and solve a mystery or two while embarking on imaginative larks. But, most importantly, they must figure out a way to hide Marie’s spaceship in plain sight. Along the way, the group learns about acceptance, courage, and friendship all while showcasing areas of the Gulf Coast like Elliott’s favorite place to visit, the Mississippi Aquarium.
At only nine years old, this young pen master spent all last summer writing the book before it debuted on Amazon in late November. She said as the narrative grew from 30 pages to just under 100, writing the book was like putting together an all- inclusive puzzle and making sure all the people she loved were included.
Marie the Martian was named in honor of her grandmother who instilled Elliott’s love of reading at an extremely young age. The coastal martian adventure includes her friends Jackson and Olivia as well as her twin sisters Harper and Juliette. Her mom, Adrienne, and dad, Brandon, also make an appearance.
“Once we started, we just kept thinking of more ideas and SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living | www.smliving.net
Harper, Kennedy and Juliette Elliott.
more places that are fun to go and kept adding more and more people,” Elliott said, crediting her writing mentor and family friend Susie Siemiontkowski, who is a well-known magazine writer, children’s book author, and realtor on the Coast.
“It’s so incredible to see how far she's come,” Siemiontkowski said. “It had been years since we had seen each other and she was so shy at first. By the time she was finished writing it, she literally became a magpie and had sprinkled all of her magic on it. We made up all these funky little words and it was just a lot of fun.”
Inspired by Princess Diana’s legacy of compassion, Elliott wanted to write a story that lets kids know it’s okay to be kind and accepting of people who are different. She also wanted her first book to be filled with vibrant depictions of all the coastal fun spots and landmarks she and her friends frequently visit.
But that’s not all. Elliott is already fast at work outlining Marie the Martian’s next adventure. She’s planning to write
it during her summer break and this tale will take the lovable extraterrestrial and her newfound earthling buddies to Canada. Elliott said to expect to meet a few new faces and there might even be a surprise or two.
“She has such a great writing future,” Siemiontkowski said. “Kennedy’s book and her dedication is such a great motivation for any parent or any kid out there to realize that you can actually have your dreams come true.”
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