A Passion for Children’s Literature: An Interview with Christianne Meneses Jacobs

 

By Daniel A. Olivas

Christianne Meneses Jacobs is passionate about encouraging children to love books. She has written a collection of books for young children in Spanish and bilingual editions. Christianne teaches Spanish, and English to English Learners. She received her undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University, and holds a Master of Arts degree in Education: Curriculum and Instruction. She is a certified Reading Specialist, and has endorsements in Spanish language, Bilingual Education, and Early Childhood Education. Christianne is also the producer and host of the podcast Latino Book Chat where she has conversations with Latinx writers and illustrators. Listen to episodes at LatinoBookChat.com.

Christianne was born in Managua, Nicaragua, and moved with her family to Los Angeles. She has been featured in the books Successful Americans of Central American Heritage and Biography Today. She is the President of NicaGal Media. To learn more about NicaGal Media please visit NicaGal.com.

DANIEL A. OLIVAS: What inspired you to start your podcast, Latino Book Chat?

CHRISTIANNE MENESES JACOBS: I believe it is essential to establish that Latinx creators, authors and illustrators contribute to American literature through their culture, heritage, and experiences. I would like Latino Book Chat to be a medium to broaden the reach of the stories of our people in order to change the narrative about Hispanics in America. We come from all Latin American countries, each with a rich history, culture, and traditions. As an educator and editor, and now podcast host, I am trying to add to the growing movement changing the narrative about Hispanics in America. Latino Book Chat strives to expand the reach of the stories of our people and be a voice for our creators to promote their work, and find validation. That their work matters. I encourage your readers to listen and subscribe to Latino Book Chat on their favorite streaming platform.

DAO: Ten years ago, Cricket Media acquired Iguana, the children's magazine that you founded. Could you talk a little about what it took to produce a magazine, and what did you hope to accomplish with it?

CMJ: Iguana was born in 2004 from the frustration of not finding quality children’s literature written in Spanish in the United States for my daughters; and a desire to maintain the Spanish language at home by reading to them.

I acquired experience in the publishing industry as the editor in chief of my high school’s student newspaper. Conveniently, my husband is a graphic artist. Additionally, my husband is a graphic artist, which was convenient. I was the founder, editor and editorial director, and my husband served as the art director. The combination of both of our expertise allowed us to feel confident enough to embark on our own publishing adventure. We researched for a year and learned the various aspects of publishing. During that time, we analyzed and dissected all of the children’s magazines in the market, counted the words in each article, the amount and sizes of photographs and illustrations, and the variety of content provided in the various magazines. Finally, we felt confident that we could produce a quality magazine in Spanish. We put out a call for writers and illustrators, and were overwhelmed by the response. I began to assemble a team that helped Iguana find recognition and become an award-winning children’s magazine. My purpose was for Spanish speaking families like mine to have a resource to transmit their language and culture to their children, and maintain the Spanish language at home.

DAO: You are now back to publishing, but this time through Amazon. Thus far, you have published three books for children in Spanish and bilingual editions. What are the books about, and what kind of books are you looking to publish in the future?

CMJ: I have a passion for children’s literature and young children that stems from my years teaching Kindergarteners. I believe it is critical for children to read fantasy and fiction stories, but it is even more crucial for children to read and understand nonfiction stories. My nonfiction books target young children and early readers. I have created an Explore with Animals series because most children are attracted and fascinated by animals. In ABC Animales, children learn the alphabet while they acquire new knowledge and interesting facts about the animal kingdom. Los colores / Colors is for children to learn colors and start making a connection with real life. In 123 Animales, children learn the numbers from 1 to 20 and start developing numeracy and number sense skills by counting animals. My publishing company NicaGal Media plans to continue publishing nonfiction books for young children. We have a few fiction stories that are in progress, and are also working on books for young adults. Your readers can find more information about the books in Nuestra Tienda at NicaGal.com.