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A gifted and talented Mansfield Woodhouse eight-year-old has a “bright future ahead” after releasing his first book.

Dylan Patabendige has just penned and published his debut book, entitled ‘The Far Lands: Adventure of a Brother and Sister’.

The Amazon Kindle release tells the story of siblings who venture into the virtual world of popular video game Minecraft, exploring its vastness and navigating obstacles along the way.

Dylan, who has been an avid Minecraft player since the age of five, has channelled his creativity and sense of humour into the book.

Dylan Patabendige, eight, has just had his first book published.

Proud mum Smita Patabendige said: “He has been working on it since last year and he’s finally finished it.

“It all came from his imagination. He used to get ideas about what it would be like to be in the game, or if he had created the game what he would do. So that’s what inspired him.”

Dylan has always been a gifted child, taking an interest in science at the age of two and excelling in his studies at St Edmund’s CE Primary School – often completing work aimed at much older children.

The youngster is also a self-taught piano player and was able to memorise songs in their entirety by the age of four.

“He’s very talented,” Smita said.

“If you meet him, he won’t stop talking about science, history and geography. He knows so many things I wouldn’t even understand.

“When he was two, he used to learn about fountains and different kind of pipes and volcanos. He was never interested in cartoons or anything like that.

“He knows about planets, about mushrooms – he can talk for an hour on mushrooms. Just about any topic really, he’s amazing.”

In 2020, Dylan featured in a documentary entitled ‘Becoming You’. The show, which aired on Apple TV, explores how the first 2,000 days on earth shape a person’s life. Dylan was filmed for an episode about how children develop their sense of humour.

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Mum Smita is now looking into applying for Mensa, as Dylan continues working on his sequel to The Far Lands.

She said: “We can’t wait to see where he goes with his brains. I’m so proud. He’s definitely got a bright future ahead.”

Super-talented Mansfield Woodhouse boy has first book published at just eight years old