Gianluca was intrigued by books even before he could read. Whenever he found one of these treasures, he would look at it curiously, keen to discover the secret locked inside, his parents Richard and Lara Busuttil recall.

The nine-year-old boy from Mosta is what can best be described as a bookworm. His literary possessions are scattered all over the house, including the kitchen, the bathroom and on his parents' bed.

Gianluca told me he loved reading. And some months ago he also started to write.

His first 'book', a compilation of nine stories entitled Short Stories for Young Children, has just been completed and can now be found in the library at San Andrea School, where he attends fifth grade.

"The first stories I wrote were for homework but some of them I wrote during the summer holidays and my dad illustrated the book," the young author said, smiling shyly and toying with his work in progress.

Gianluca is a genius with words but unlike in his stories, he uses them sparingly in his speech. He is a rather quiet boy and tends to withdraw into his own imaginative world. A world in which toys play with worms made of paint, a boy tries to fly and puts lemonade in the engine of his plane, and a bat with a black cloak and long sharp fangs confuses names and nearly kidnaps the wrong child.

"I love reading and writing. It's fun! Whenever I have a sudden idea I simply need to write it down. Sometimes I get bored in conversations and then I take a pen and my notebook to write, even in the bathroom or in a restaurant."

He adds that he prefers quiet places for writing but does not have a favourite place, an especially inspiring one.

"I get my ideas from books, films and nature. Adventure stories are my favourite but I like all kinds of books and some of them I even read twice."

Ms Busuttil said she read books to Gianluca when he was still very young, and that she and her husband have always been proud of him and his abilities.

"We didn't need to encourage our son. Sometimes, we even have to stop him from reading too much and withdrawing into himself," Mr Busuttil continued.

"His teacher in the fourth grade was also a bookworm and had a very good influence on him. This year, he got another good teacher who introduced him to writing," Ms Busuttil added.

Ruth Vella, his teacher, spotted his talent straight away: "It is incredible how Gianluca, at such an early age, has mastered the skills of developing, organising and communicating ideas so effectively," she said.

"His narratives are so striking and heartfelt that he manages to elicit a great emotional response from the reader.

"It is very hard to believe that a nine-year-old boy is able to use language and imagery so effectively and creatively in his stories."

Gianluca is also interested in nature and plays football and when asked about what career he'd like to follow, he said his dream was to become an author. He is now thinking about writing a new book and is collecting ideas for it.

"This time, however, I want to write one long story instead of several short ones. The problem with short stories is that once I start, I can hardly stop."

Gianluca has no more to say and as his parents close the main door, his nose is already in a new book...