Nuestra Hermosa Familia follows two siblings who take readers on a bilingual adventure to meet their family and celebrate diversity. What was the inspiration for your story?

Several things that I’m passionate about inspired this story: my family, my love of the Spanish language and my love of reading, teaching and learning. I firmly believe that in today’s world, being multilingual is a big advantage if not a necessity and according to experts the best time to introduce a foreign language is when a child is between three and seven years old. Being trilingual has enriched my life; it has expanded the conversations I can have, the people I can interact with, the places I can navigate; it has allowed me to gain an understanding of other cultures in a way only understanding the language can. My hope with Nuestra Hermosa Familia (and others to come) is to ignite a love for languages, culture and learning in young people.

The art in this book is fantastic. What was the art collaboration process like with illustrator Medie Big?

The collaboration with Medie Big was an amazing experience. I start by creating a dummy book complete with character profiles, indicating who’s on which page, what they are saying and what the scenes look like in my head. From these Medie does their magic, they are genius at turning my stick people and mishmash ideas into something special. They begin with several initial sketches to ensure we’re on the same page, once we agree on a direction, all the sketches are created and approved before Medie does the colouring. The whole process is very collaborative, Medie is a very talented artist who is also great at receiving and acting on feedback and delivering for her clients, wait till you see what she’s done for my new book!

What were some educational aspects that were important for you to include in this children’s book?

This book was written around one of the units in the English KS1 & 2 Spanish national curriculum – (for children aged 4+ to 7 years old). I learnt (and continue to learn) Spanish as an adult. Drawing from this experience and from my experience as a teacher, I didn’t want my readers to simply have a compilation of pictures and words; I wanted them to understand and be able to use these words in context.  There’s a lot of subtle repetition, keywords are used in sentences and then highlighted within the sentences, the illustrations really help bring it all to life. I have also created a several resources, including a read along video, flashcards and worksheets to complement the book. These are all available for free on my website: www.missjoseph.com

Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out, and what can your fans expect in the next story?

Yes, Nuestra Hermosa Familia is the first of twenty planned books. My next book, Pelotas Deportivas, is all about sports and colours and it’s fab. Look out for it from July 2024. In this next book, you can expect more fun adventures with Juan and Maria as they explore the world of sports and learn about different colours in both English and Spanish. And of course beautiful illustrations from Medie!

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