Learn about crystals with help from Salisbury 8-year-old Rose Scully and her aunt Amalia Stamatelatos

While most 8-year-olds were celebrating the end of the school year, Salisbury resident Rose Scully was celebrating the release of a book she’s been helping her aunt with for the past year.

“Rose Knows…All about Crystals” was written by Roses’s aunt Amalia Stamatelatos. It tells the story of a young girl named Rose who collects crystals which bring her both comfort and happiness. She has a friend named Annie also likes crystals, but Annie gets bullied from their classmates because they think it’s weird to like crystals. Rose feels bad for Annie, and through the book she tries to show how beautiful crystals are.

Stamatelatos, 52, is a Certified Crystal Healer and has been since 2017. The Tennessee resident never thought she would be an author, but felt inspired by her nieces own collection of crystals and decided to turn her love and passion for Rose and the benefits of crystals into a children’s book.

Rose has been interested in crystals for a few years now thanks to her aunt. She uses different crystals to maker her feel less stressed, like her study stone, that helps her study and do her homework.

“(Crystals) make me feel like I’m at a fun amusement park,” Rose said. “They make me feel more safe around people.”

Stamatelatos reached out to Rose to see if she would be interested in working with her on the book, and Rose agreed. A lot of Rose’s personality was the model for the character Rose in the book.

“Not only do I teach her, she really teaches me,” Stamatelatos said of her niece. “That was like going out of the box for me. I never thought that I would write a children’s book and I’m so grateful for this little creature, she’s such a blessing to me and I adore her.”

Stamatelatos said that once she decided to model the character after her niece, the development of the character came easily to her. Not only was the personality the same between real Rose and character Rose, but the outfits were made to be like what Rose wears.

All of the illustrations were created with Stamatelatos and Rose’s visions in mind. When the designs were sent back to Stamatelatos and she saw that the original character was wearing sweats, she sent it back because she felt it didn’t match her nice enough.

“I just wanted to write a book and get it dedicated to Rose so it’s something she’ll always have,” Stamatelatos said. “But it just turned into something where I want to continue writing.”

Stamatelatos, said that writing the book made the pair closer than before. “So I just wanted to put it on concrete, something she’ll always have.”

With the help and support from their family, in a matter of ten months the book was written. She started writing last summer, and the book was published on June 13.

Once the book was available in print, Rose shared the news of the book with her class.

“In school after we read the book, the day after, I brought crystals in to show them to my class,” said Rose. “(My class) thought they were really cool and I had some in a box, and my teacher passed it around so everyone could look at them.”

Stamatelatos and Rose both agree that the book brings a certain uniqueness to the world of storytelling. Stamatelatos describes it as niche, especially for those who are into crystals. After getting feedback from mothers about the book, she said that she finds the book as another avenue in a child’s creative development.

“I just want the book to make children feel like how it makes Rose feel,” Stamatelatos said. “It makes them feel good, and I love people feeling good.”

She said that she hopes that the book will teach parents to be more aware of their child’s interests.

With encouragement from Authorhouse, the publishing company that Stamatelatos used, she and Rose are in talks of making “Rose Knows…All about Crystals” a book series. The two want to write a book focusing on chakras and animals in the future, describing it as a fun project they’re working on now.

“Rose Knows…All about Crystals” can be purchased at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Google Books.

“I want the book to make children feel good and knowledgeable,” Stamatelatos said. “Like if they feel anxious they can pick up the crystal and feel comfortable.”