Stella Díaz Has Something to Say is the first middle-grade novel written by bilingual author and illustrator Angela Dominguez. Dominguez will also have something to say when she makes a virtual visit to Essex Elementary School (EES) on Tuesday, March 9.

She plans to discuss what a professional career as an author entails.

“A lot of people think an author just magically writes a book and then it’s published and it’s really easy,” said Dominguez. “I try to demystify it, so that they know that it’s actually a lot of revisions, a lot reworking, working with the publisher to make something that is eventually sold in a bookstore.”

She’ll also dive into the writing process, to make it relatable to students who may be struggling with the concept and for ideas on what to write about.

“I try to empower them,” said Dominguez, who plans to let students know that, “If they are frustrated, I feel the same way and it’s a matter of them just sticking with it. I break it down into simple steps, so that they can figure, ‘Oh, I can do this, too.’”

Dominguez draws inspiration for her picture books and middle-grade novel series from her personal experiences. She was born in Mexico City and came to the United States as a two year-old. She currently lives on the East Coast.

“I love having books that showcase my experience and what is a lot of others experiences as well,” said Dominguez. “I love showcasing Spanish and bilingualism.

“I think that is such an important thing for kids because they are at the age where it is so easy for them to learn another language or have pride in their cultural heritage,” she continued.

The bilingual nature and multicultural aspect of Dominguez’s work were key reasons to invite her to the school as a featured author.

“It fits with our social development theme this year…the official title of it is, ‘Be here. Be you. Belong,” said Renee Mitchill, the school’s library and media specialist. “It really connects with the whole [concept of] accepting everyone, inclusivity, promoting diversity.”

The theme of “having empathy for kids of all different types of backgrounds,” said Dominguez, is a major takeaway from the Stella Díaz series, which features a Mexican-American middle school girl who is learning English as a second language.

“Those kids are often very shy and reluctant to speak out, but it doesn’t mean that they don’t care. They just need that extra help,” said Dominguez. “I think that if there are books like this and the teachers and educators can recognize that, then there could be more success stories.”

Mitchill, who is heading up a diversity in literature initiative at the school, said that books like those written by Dominguez are important because they offer students both relatable characters and other life perspectives.

There is “the importance of having diverse characters that kids can find someone that they can connect to, that looks like them, that has a culture like them, I think is very important,” said Mitchill.

“And then I also think the other great thing about having multicultural books is that it offers kids the ability to see life through another perspective. We live our one path and then books are one way that we can see through somebody else’s eyes,” she continued.

The EES Foundation provided approximately $2,400 in grant funds for the virtual author visit.

A portion of the funds have been used “to buy books for the classroom and the library that have been written and illustrated by the author so that the kids can read them ahead of time and be prepared for the day of the event,” said Mitchill.

More information on the EES Foundation is available at www.essexesf.org.