One day a few years ago, Trinity Davis-Floyd’s older brothers didn’t want to play with her so she went to find her dad to lodge a complaint and found him doing laundry.
Anthony Floyd had a pile of socks waiting to be paired up, and he told her to jump into it like it was a pile of leaves and use her imagination.
Four years later, the eight-year-old East Orange resident turned that boring afternoon into a published book.
“Trinity and Sockland,” illustrated by Shekinah D. Baxter, tells the story of a fictionalized version of Trinity who escapes through a portal into the land where lost socks live and go on adventures.
The characters are based on her real family and friends, and some of the locations, like her purple bedroom and an ice cream shop, are real places.
“It took me three years to write,” Trinity said. “I thought of the pictures first and I wanted the words to describe the pictures.”
Turning her story into a book was actually Trinity’s father’s idea; when she told him about the imaginary world she dreamed up, he thought it was worth writing down.
“I had to come up with something quick,” Floyd joked about finding something for Trinity to do that day. “I was doing laundry and had this big pile of socks, so I told her to use her imagination. Then I said, ‘Well, that sounds like a book.’”
Publishing a book is a feat for anyone, let alone a second grader. But it’s just another triumph for Trinity, who has already been through a lot in her young life.
She was born with Tetralogy of Fallot, a heart defect that causes poor blood flow to the rest of the body; she’s already had two open heart surgeries and has another in her future.
“She’s a real fighter,” said Latonia Davis-Floyd, Trinity’s mother.
But for now, she’s focused on her art. “Trinity and Sockland” has made some waves; East Orange Mayor Ted Green hosted Trinity at town hall, her teacher and principal at KIPP Truth Academy in Newark both have copies, and many of the books that were printed have sold. Sen. Cory Booker also called to congratulate her.
Trinity has a little of her own money now, from the sales of the book. She doesn’t always understand what that means, but either way, she’s had fun with the process.
“Tomorrow isn’t promised for anybody,” Floyd said. “So really, what better way to spend your time than trying to make your kid’s dream come true?”
Now, Trinity is planning a sequel. But what she really wants to do is turn her book into a movie. She wants to see it come to life with real people.
“Mayor Green will be the mayor of Sockland,” Trinity said. “And I want to add more of my friends.”
“Trinity and Sockland,” which was published by the Columbia, South Carolina-based publisher Shannon McRae, is available to purchase on Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/m2wr7nr4.
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