SAN BENITO — A bench is not your typical story narrator, but Nedia Lee Espinoza thought otherwise.
She said she remembers sitting on a bench in Fiesta Texas and realizing there are benches everywhere.
After 33 years in education, Espinoza retired and decided to pursue her dream of becoming a children’s book author. Her book, “The Adventures of Peter the Park Bench,” is now available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and a few other websites.
Espinoza began her journey in education as an elementary and middle school teacher, then became an administrator as an assistant principal and eventually as a principal.
Espinoza said she helped turn around an elementary school that needed help at the time, but what she loved most was helping the students, parents and teachers.
“There were challenges. There was a parent who told me, ‘Ma’am, I fought you all the time, and now I understand what you are doing here,’” Espinoza said.
“It took me a while for people to understand we had to have discipline,” she said.
Throughout her career, Espinoza thought about writing books for children.
She noticed children were not reading as their main activity, or she saw students struggling with reading.
“Children need to put reading first; they have to. Even though it is a technological age, they cannot forget about books,” she said.
“Throughout the book, it is interactive. It asks questions,” Espinoza said.
The inspiration for her book came from realizing benches are everywhere – parks, beaches, zoos, hospitals, etc.
She wanted a character that children could relate to, and it could also be used in different scenarios and places children visit.
Her first book has Peter the Park Bench narrating from a park. In the book, Peter explains what animals can be found in parks and what color the leaves are, introducing children of different races and even giving a message to not talk to strangers.
“They learn about colors, shapes; it brings the leaves to life. And I mention how they cause a beautiful array of colors, and I use the word array to help them learn these words. They need to be expressive at a young age,” she said.
Espinoza explained the name of the bench will change in future books, always starting with the first letter of the location. Her next book will feature Zoe the Bench, which will take place in a zoo.
Espinoza has already written nine other bench books with various environments she wants children to explore.
She has five grandchildren, and she has tested her books on them. So far, she noticed her grandchildren pay attention and are engaged by the stories.
“It makes me feel good it is reaching children, and they are interested in what is there. I feel good about it. I don’t plan on getting rich from this. I just want to get books to kids. I want them to read,” she said.
“Maybe they will one day want to write a book,” Espinoza said.
