by Jolene Gutiérrez

It’s 2025. We’ve been through dark times, and there could be more coming. How do we brave the darkness? How do we find a creative spark when we’re also sad, worried, or busy? And how do we craft stories that will shine a light for others

Twenty-five years ago, I was pregnant with our first child, our daughter Shaian. As a school librarian and book lover, I began searching for books that honored my unborn baby’s Mexican heritage. Slowly, I gathered a small collection, but our family struggled to find well-written, joyful stories with characters of Mexican heritage.

Fast-forward to the pandemic. Shaian, then 19, was taking college classes from home. I was teaching from home. Shaian’s uncle José and my dad/Shaian’s grandpa had both recently passed away. Our ofrenda, an altar with offerings for Día de Muertos, had always been important, but now, it was even more so. Shaian loves decorating our ofrenda with papel picado, alebrijes, and sugar skulls, and as I thought about the layers we add when building our ofrenda, it reminded me of the old nursery rhyme, “The House that Jack Built.” So Shaian and I wrote a cumulative story about a family working together to create their ofrenda and honor lost loved ones. That story, The Ofrenda That We Built, was illustrated by Gabby Zapata and published by Chronicle in 2024. Creating a book about remembrance and celebration felt so powerful. It gave us joy and hope.

And then, my husband was telling me about an all-female mariachi group he’d heard about on NPR. I misheard him and thought he said, “Mamiachi group.” Mami is a Spanish word for mommy, so that made me wonder: had that name ever been used in a book? Because if it hadn’t, it was the perfect name for a little girl to call her mami. This made me think of my son, Dakota, who was 17 at that point and also learning from home. He had been active in choir, musical theater, and orchestra and was planning to join the mariachi band during his senior year, but all performing arts were put on hold at his school that year. Instead, we wrote Mamiachi & Me: My Mami’s Mariachi Band. It was illustrated by Mirelle Ortega and Abrams just published it on January 7. This story allowed us to focus on family connections, music, and strength as we created something beautiful.

Working together to create the books that we needed to see in the world gave us hope during dark times. And I was able to lean on my kids—I didn’t have to do it all on my own.

A couple of guiding questions:

  • What stories have you always wanted to see in the world?
  • Who might you partner with so you can lift each other up through story and/or art?

And then. . .the question of the hour:

  • How do we create a spark during times we have almost lost our sparkle?

My friend Annie Lynn (amazing musician and longtime Storystorm and kidlit supporter) and I were recently chatting about challenging times in our lives and how difficult it is to write when we’re carrying painful burdens. So in the hopes that our discussion and my experiences writing with my kids during the pandemic will be helpful to others, here are a few tips:

  • Don’t wait until you feel better to start creating. The act of creating may help improve your mood. Waiting for the perfect day is kind of like waiting until you’re in shape to start exercising.
  • Smile and laugh as much as possible. Trick your brain into happiness!
  • Celebrate often, reframe situations, and find gratitude whenever possible. From my Yogi tea bag: “Gratitude is not about what is received; it’s about how you receive what is there.”

Read and review great picture books! Surround yourself with mentor texts and give the gift of leaving reviews on places like GoodReads and Amazon.

View the world with a childlike gaze. Find wonder, joy, and beauty everywhere!

Be gentle with yourself. You are precious. Treat yourself as you’d treat your child or your best friend.

And, Annie’s best advice: “Eat a cookie or two in the sunshine with your eyes closed.”

The joy you find as you put these things into practice will surely infuse your writing. I can’t wait to see the light you bring to our world!

Jolene Gutiérrez is an award-winning neurodivergent teacher librarian who has been working with neurodivergent learners at Denver Academy since 1995. Jolene writes for young readers and hopes her books will help some readers feel seen and will help others learn and grow in compassion. Her books have been printed in 10 countries and 9 languages. Jolene is the author of Unbreakable: A Japanese American Family in an American Incarceration Camp (Abrams Childrens, 2026, co-authored with Minoru Tonai), Mamiachi and Me: My Mami’s Mariachi Band, The Ofrenda That We Built (a 2024 Golden Poppy Book Awards finalist), Too Much! An Overwhelming Day (Bookstagang’s Best Book of 2023), Bionic Beasts: Saving Animal Lives with Artificial Flippers, Legs, and Beaks (a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard book), and Mac and Cheese and the Personal Space Invader. Find her online a JoleneGutierrez.com or on Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram, or Threads @writerjolene.

Jolene Gutiérrez is giving away 1 copy of Mamiachi & Me: My Mami’s Mariachi Band and 1 copy of The Ofrenda That We Built (U.S. street addresses only, please) to two separate winners.

You’re eligible to win if you’re a registered Storystorm 2025 participant and you have commented only once below.

Prizes will be distributed at the conclusion of Storystorm.