3 Things I learned from author Jolene Gutierrez

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What a pleasure it was to chat with author Jolene Gutierrez who was recently a guest at the Bilingual Book Buddies podcast & webcast where I'm one of three hosts!


Something extra special about Jolene is that she has had the opportunity to work closely with her two teenagers in the creation of two of her picture books!  That's right, collaboration with her own teenager children!  🫠  You'll learn more about it during the episode.  But for now, here are there important things I took note of during our interview:

#1 — Write the books you wished you had when you were a child.  


That's right.  How often you say, "I wish I had had that book when I was ________."?  If you're like me, then that's many times!  Even today when it seems like every possible topic has been on a book or more, there is always room for one more done in a new way.


#2 — Through books we can help young people understand the bigger world outside of their doors.


I always feel like I understand or know a person, creature, or thing better after reading something about it and stories are the best as it makes the reading interesting for me.  


#3 — People need to see their experiences mirrored in books.


I think this is why books are NEVER out of fashion!  We love stories and understand better through them.  And when we can see ourselves or our experiences in characters of those stories, we feel seen, we may feel understood or at least hopeful that what we're going through is real and can be overcome.  


You can watch Jolene's full interview at our YouTube channel at:



https://youtu.be/EjkIdbqoZ1I?si=KoDEmoQ7CCD2NW39


or listen to it in your favorite podcasting app!


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