A TINY school in the heart of the New Forest was the centre of a national media storm when an acclaimed eight-year old child author paid a visit.

The photographers were there to point their lenses at US author Adora Svitak, who has been labelled Dora the Explorer for the way that she has opened up a new world of creative writing to young children.

Adora has been billed as one of the most talented child writers of recent times following the publication of her first book, Flying Fingers.

The author commanded the attention of pupils, teacher Claire Thew and a collection of reporters from around the country as she taught the Year 6 class at Burley Primary School, revealing some of the secrets of her success.

She executed her presentation with deftness and determination, holding her audience - all of which were older than her - spellbound.

Flying Fingers is a collection of short stories, together with crucial information to help children write fluently.

Adora's mum Joyce has home schooled her "deeply philosophical" daughter for years. Her father, a computer engineer, has a PHD in science.

Joyce first noticed that her child was gifted at age five. Although Adora could read at three, Joyce had seen other young children do the same.

But when Adora began sitting in front of a computer, writing pages and pages of stories, she knew she was "special". "She would simply spend hours writing," said Joyce.

"Adora has always had a large vocabulary, so I wanted to help her express herself on paper. So we bought her a computer, complete with spell check.

"It was really helpful and soon Adora was producing the most beautiful stories. It was then that I thought wow', she has something significant."

Joyce said that she is proud of her daughter, especially because she remains so "well grounded", despite her near-celebrity status in the United States.

"Adora is deeply philosophical and observant. She has incredible wisdom for someone so young.

"She does not like fame but knows that it is essential to enable her to convey her message, which is that knowledge and education is key."