Interviews

Dear Readers,

This book was made with you in mind. When Adriana and I toured our first book around the country, we kept meeting young readers who wanted to show us their awesome rock friends and finds. We were invited to a “rock party” in Sacramento, introduced to a rainbow of crystals in Tucson, and met many a mountain and canyon along our epic road trip back to Texas.

Then, we met curious minds in places like Philadelphia, Albuquerque, Evanston, and Miami, who continued asking, “What about Grandma?” See, our first book featured “Grandpa” (images of my father, along with my daughter), so Adriana was eager to paint my mother this time. And my nieces were thrilled to join the fun!

In real life, “Grandma” is great at wondering. She finds questions where most would never think to look. She collects rocks, shells, and other treasures from trips, placing them around our gardens. Over time, her daughters and granddaughters have added to the memories with crystals, meteorites, fossils, you name it. They are not all technically rocks, of course, but we loved the ideas of animating a diverse rock garden — all those that seem to be non-living objects. Because it is only when we open our eyes to every part of the living earth’s gifts that we really learn to listen and to care.

Another thing I love about my mom is that her curious mind is also open to many ideas — especially when it comes to natural healing ways, such as herbal remedies, qi gong, crystal healing, and sweat lodge ceremonies. She welcomed both Adriana and I into our first sweat lodge, where we learned about the “grandfather” rocks. The customs we practice there come from our own Coahuiltecan family, as well as Lakota traditions. As in many Native American ceremonies, this one involves the four elements of fire, earth, water, and air. They can also be found within these pages!

Finally, you might like to know that the pictures for this book came before the words. Sometimes creation works in unusual ways, and in the end, there is not just one path to telling a story. Thank you for joining and for inspiring this one.

Xelena