This article is part of Palabras, the Latin Post Latino Author Series.

As a child, Kid Lit author Angela Cervantes loved reading books, but mourned the moment the books came to an end. So, when it was time to shut the cover, she lifted her own pen and wrote additional adventures for her favorite characters. Now, as an adult, the author of "Gaby, Lost and Found" has employed her love of writing to pen the influence of friendship, animals, immigration and hope in the lives of children, by use of diverse and strong characters.

While growing up in the Mexican-American community of Oakland in Topeka, Kansas, Cervantes eagerly read the works of C.S. Lewis, Beverly Cleary and many other others. Her early affection for stories, reading and books manifested into a love for writing, and triggered questions about identity.

"Why wasn't I seeing books with girls like me in them? Yes, I saw girls who were spunky, funny, adventurous and smart, but they didn't have last names like Garcia, Cervantes and Dominguez," Cervantes said to Latin Post. "I always wondered, 'Hmm, why don't they have books like that? Where are those girls?' Even the friends of main characters were all non-Latino and weren't diverse at all. I remember being 8 or 9 years old, asking my teachers, 'Are there any books about Mexican girls like me?' I just wondered if those books existed. That consciousness hit me really early on. My mother knew I was going to be a writer because I was always questioning things like that. But, it didn't turn me away from books -- just because the characters weren't Latinos or Hispanic or diverse in any way -- I still loved to read, but I was always just looking for myself in those books."

In high school, Cervantes could count on one hand the number of Mexican-American children or children who had Latino heritage. The fewness of Latinos meant that she was often stereotyped, but she fought furiously against those stereotypes by being the editor of her high school paper, graduating on time, graduating from college and motivating herself to be the opposite of everything they expected of her. She frequently reminded herself, "I come from a Mexican-American culture that's very strong in the arts. We have lots of heritage and writers. Why couldn't that be me as well?"

It wasn't until college that Cervantes was introduced to Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, Sandra Cisneros and Ana Castillo. She was thrilled because it was the first time she had books like that in her hands. Because of those books, Cervantes found that there was a world out there for diverse writers, and knew that she could possibly have a place in that world as a writer.

Cervantes has a folder called her "Inspiration File," and in that folder, she deposits inspirational news clippings and leftover scraps from abandoned stories. She visited the folder before she ventured to write her debut novel, "Gaby, Lost and Found," an incredible, bittersweet book that tells the story of a young girl, Gaby Ramirez Howard, whose mother is deported to Honduras and she's left with an inattentive father. Nonetheless, Gaby, a caring and thoughtful girl, dedicates her time volunteering at a local animal shelter, helping strays find their forever home -- aware of what it's like to be rootless. Yet, hope remains, as Gaby frequently communicates with her mother over the telephone, hopeful she'll find a way home.

"[Within my 'Inspiration File'] I found an intro, the beginning of a chapter with two girls, Alma and Gaby, who are in the book. I looked at that intro I'd originally written a long time ago, and I started from there," said Cervantes. "That beginning has completely changed from what you see now in the book. But, it was enough to get me going on the characters."

"Gaby, Lost and Found" has many themes: deportation and separation, and its impact on children. Also, Gaby, although she's suffering the loss of her mother, she begins to gain her own power. She helps animals at the shelter and finds her voice, finds what she's good at, and she becomes empowered in that way. Additionally, friendship is an important theme.

"In so many books I've read, girls always seem to be at odds with each other, and I never had that relationship with women at all. The girls I grew up with, we were always together and close, and always like, 'those are the boys, we are girls ... and we stick together,'" said Cervantes. "I really felt like that outlook was in my book a lot. Gaby and Alma are friends, and they are strong young Latinas who back each other up or support each other, no matter the silly mistakes they make throughout the book."

"Gaby, Lost and Found" draws female fans, as well as male fans, said Cervantes, who shared that boys and girls have communicated their interest and connection to the book. Boys named Gavin, John and Miguel are just as likely to send letters as girls named Maya, Ashley and Kylie. Cervantes believes things are changing, and boys are becoming more interested in books where girls are the lead protagonist; particularly young boys connect with presented themes.

Cervantes commits herself to responding to EVERY child who writes to her, whether the letters are written by hand or sent via email because she remembers writing letters to her favorite authors as a child. She's happy to do so because she knows how important the role of authors and their books are in the lives of young children. Books offer children guidance, and it teaches them "how to become themselves."

Cervantes' second book, "Allie, First At Last," a spin-off of "Gaby, Lost and Found," will be released spring 2016. Also, "Gaby, Lost and Found" will be released in Español in September 2015.

Learn more about Cervantes and "Gaby, Lost and Found" at Cervantes' website.

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