A. I’ve been friends with Mauricio Velázquez, the
publisher of Duopress, for over 20 years. Mauricio is a Mexican national who
has been living in the U.S. for maybe 25 years and worked previously as an
editor for Rosen Publishers. In the fall of 2022, knowing of my previous
children’s books, he asked me if I would be interested in writing a non-fiction
book about Chef José Andrés. Since I was familiar with the chef and the amazing
work of his World Central Kitchen, I jumped at the chance. Mauricio offered valuable
editorial comments, but basically he allowed me to craft my own book. It has
been an amazing experience.
Q. How different is writing a children's book than one
with more adult themes.
A I published La Casita, my first children’s book in 2012,
and I have published four other kid’s books since then. What you might not
know, Keith, is that I have translated 8 children’s books, including three by
Guatemalan Nobelist Rigoberta Menchú, for the Canadian publisher Groundwood
Books. Through this translation work, I went through a kind of apprenticeship.
Obviously writing children’s books requires a different skill set than writing
adult fiction. In all my work, I have been interested in how characters adjust
and change, and how experience transforms their lives—this obsession is
imbedded in me…It also helps that I have three daughters and five
grandchildren.
Q.What was the relationship between you and Marta? Did the
illustrations come first or did the words.
A. I was familiar with the children’s books that Marta
did for Source Books, now the parent company of Duopress. Her illustrations for
the books The Girl Who Heard the Music, Dinosaur Lady and Shark
Lady really impressed me: they are lyrical, expansive and very child
oriented. I wrote the text and I was overjoyed when Mauricio said that Marta,
who comes from a village close to Jose Andres’s birthplace, WANTED to
illustrate my book, for obvious reasons. I am the beneficiary of her amazing
talent.
Q. I can see on Facebook you have already taken the
book into schools etc. How has it been received both in schools and in the
media.
A.It has been a wonderful experience to present the book,
primarily in book store presentations. There is nothing greater than feeling
the enthusiasm of young readers—their responses are always uncensored and quite
electric. Younger kids respond more to the illustrations, but 7- and
8-year-olds understand the narrative that Marta has illustrated and ask quite
interesting questions.
Q.what are you working on now? Do you plan any more collaborations with Marta?
A.I have written a couple of other children’s book texts,
but haven’t found a publisher. I would love to collaborate with Marta or with
Marcela Calderón, the illustrator of my previous kid’s book called Topo
pecoso/Moley Mole. Both are so talented, but publishers decide what is
printed and who illustrates text.
