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 Entertainment | Books | June 2005 
Kids & Books Passion for Husband and Wife Team
 Karen Mahabir - The Herald Mexico
Long before Linda Lowery and husband Richard Keep, an award-winning team of children's book writers and illustrators, thought of moving to Mexico, they received a foretelling gift.
A day before his death, a cancer-stricken friend struggled out of bed to give the couple a Day of the Dead kit that included a booklet and ornaments. A year later, the couple was living in San Miguel de Allende, and each has since written a book about the holiday, dedicated to their friend.
"Somehow Joe knew something before he died," said Keep, from the couple's studio in the 16th century town they've called home for more than three years.
With 40 books to their names ranging from picture books for 2-year-olds to fantasy novels and biographies they are now incorporating Mexican themes into their work with the hope of enlightening students in the United States about Mexico's history and culture.
Just last month, Lowery released "Cinco de Mayo," which relates the history and traditions of the holiday for kids aged 9 to 12, and is available in English and Spanish. Meanwhile, Keep has written and illustrated "Clatter Bash! A Day of the Dead Celebration," for ages 4 to 8, in which joyful skeletons emerge from their graves and party into the night.
Featuring Keep's vibrant cut-paper designs, and complete with an appendix that explains details of the holiday, the book has been named a Children's Choice 2005 by the International Reading Association. It was also recognized as a Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People 2005 by the Children's Book Council and by the National Council for Social Studies.
The couple first arrived in Mexico to research Lowery´s book, "Day of the Dead," which she said she felt compelled to write after noticing the lack of connection between the actual holiday and its festivities in Denver.
Now living in a three-story stone casita in San Miguel, the former Colorado residents say they have no intention of leaving anytime soon. Like many other visitors, they say, they immediately fell in love with the town and are overwhelmed with the incredible inspiration and creativity they feel here.
"There's magic in the air," Lowery says. "The Mexican people still tap into this sense of wonder about life, the way children do…And it's the same place you go to when you're creating a children's book."
"Here I don't have to struggle to go there. It's just there," she says.
For Lowery, writing has always come easy. Throughout her life while working as an international flight attendant, an English teacher in Athens and even a cook in Florence she filled stacks of journals, she said. But it wasn't until her son Kris was born that she decided to stay home and give writing a try.
And so, she spent a summer writing her first book a fantasy novel entitled "Spell of the Winter Wizard" which an author friend took to her editor. Three months later, her friend announced that her editor had loved the book.
"I was so excited," said Lowery. "That's how I started, and I never turned back."
She continued producing fantasy books, as well as picture books and more serious books. Then, in 1987, Lowery wrote "Martin Luther King Jr. Day," the first book ever about the holiday. Now a classic, it can be found on school library shelves across the United States.
Yet her most acclaimed book to date is the first one she co-authored and co-illustrated with Keep, a former high school teacher. Entitled "Trick or Treat, It's Halloween!" the book, for ages 3 and up, landed a place on the New York Times Bestseller list in 2000.
The alphabetical rhyme book was truly collaborative, the couple says, and started when Keep suddenly came up with the first line: "Apples dunked in caramel goo."
"And that was it!" said Lowery. "Bats out playing peek-a-boo! And then it just started going."
As for the art process, she added: "I'll start making the people, and then he'll put in the eyes, or he'll change the clothes…We just pass it back and forth, back and forth, until it's right."
The couple has done three holiday books together, and look to each other for input on their individual projects. Right now, Keep is awaiting the fall release of "A Thump From Upstairs: Starring Mr. Boo and Max," his second written and illustrated book. The book follows Mr. Boo, a timid scholar and collector extraordinaire, as he investigates a loud thump upstairs, and features richly detailed scenes of Mr. Boo's Victorian home.
Meanwhile, Lowery's next book will focus on the issue of fathers working and living away from their families. It will be told through the eyes of a 12-year-old Denver girl named Pip, who's learning about herself and life.
The idea, she said, was sparked by a news story about a group of stonecutters from Queretaro who were stranded at a quarry outside Boulder, Colo., without pay, after months of working there. Then, after moving to San Miguel de Allende just 40 miles from Queretaro she met children whose fathers were working in the United States and, she said, "it all gelled for me."
"These weren't just men who had nowhere to go," said Lowery. "These were dads with families who were waiting for them."
Tapping into emotional issues is nothing new to Lowery. Also part of her collection are two books that address child abuse, including "Laurie Tells," about sexual abuse, and "Somebody Somewhere Knows My Name," which was commissioned by Catholic Charities and deals with abandonment.
That book is available to every child who is removed from their home, or found abandoned, and becomes part of the social services system in Minnesota. Ontario, Canada is also looking to provide the books for its social services program.
To write it, Lowery boldly asked to be put through the system herself.
"I flew to Minneapolis. They picked me up in a police car. They brought me to the shelter," she said. "And I stayed for three nights, and wrote the book while I was there."
For years, Lowery has also been delving into the little-known life of Clara Brown, a former slave who became a wealthy entrepreneur after opening the first laundry business in Central City, Colo., and is known to have aided dozens of other slaves.
To research Brown, Lowery and Keep followed her trail from Leavenworth, Kansas to Central City, sifting through newspaper articles and diaries for any information they could find. Lowery has since written "One More Valley, One More Hill, The Story of Aunt Clara Brown," for grades 5 to 8, and "Aunt Clara Brown, Official Pioneer," for grades K to 5, which was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award.
She's even begun work on the Clara Brown Roots Project, which is planned for the Denver area in 2006. The initiative will have students serve as interns to locate living descendants of Brown, and to uncover details of Brown's life, as well as the lives of those Brown helped. The research will also be filmed for a documentary for educational use.
In addition, Lowery has recently been credited with providing the first written voice of Barbie. She's written two diary books so far, which place Barbie in 1964 and 1976 and aim to teach kids about contemporary history.
Relating to kids, while also educating them, is what fuels much of the couple's work.
The couple recalled a "Day of the Dead" presentation they did in Denver, in which a shy 6th grade girl corrected Lowery's Spanish. The girl then asked to participate in the couple's afternoon show.
At the end of the day, the girl's teacher approached Lowery and Keep and said they had performed a miracle. The girl was deaf and had been reading their lips in English and Spanish. Lowery and Keep were amazed.
"You just never know what kind of influence you're going to have," Lowery said. |
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