THE PERSON, THE PURPOSE, THE PROCESS
A little historia
about how this
all began.
Mis Raíces began during my maternity leave, with a baby in my arms and a question I couldn’t quite put down.
How could I help my son, Lucas, feel connected to a part of himself that lived so far away?
It started
with Lucas.
Australia is his home. English will shape much of his everyday world. But Spanish carries his abuelos, family lunches, songs, comforting words and jokes that never sound quite the same in translation.
I wanted books he would love in the language that came most naturally to him, with Spanish woven into the adventure. Books full of characters, sounds, sorpresas and reasons to ask for the same story again.
¡PUM! An idea became a notebook full of possibilities. Then a story. Then many, many late nights.
JOURNALIST · WRITER · MARKETER · MUM
The woman
behind the pages.
I’m Daniela: journalist, writer, marketer and Lucas’s mum.
Mis Raíces brings those parts of my life together. The journalist asks questions and researches the person behind the story. The writer looks for the moments a child might remember. The marketer thinks about how words and pictures work together.
And the mum keeps asking: would I want to share this with my own child?
Our books grow from that combination of curiosity, care and a very personal wish: that children like Lucas can feel proud of every part of who they are.
Made with imagination,
technology and a
very human purpose.
I want to be open about how these books are made: I use AI in my creative process.
I’m not an illustrator. When Mis Raíces began, I was on maternity leave and didn’t have the funds to commission one. AI gave me a way to explore whether the world I imagined could become something children could hold.
The illustrations are created with ChatGPT, following a process of defining the characters and their identities: their appearance, expressions, colours, personalities and the visual world they belong to.
From there comes a great deal of direction, revision and checking. Does this still look like Gabriel? Does Sancho feel like Sancho? Does the picture help tell the story?
ChatGPT also helps me develop our digital experiences. I bring the ideas, guide each revision and decide what is ready to share.
This tool helps me make the work. I choose the direction, review the results and take responsibility for what becomes a Mis Raíces book.
A SEAT AT THE CREATIVE TABLE
Meet Charlie.
Somewhere along the way, ChatGPT became “Charlie.”
Giving him a name probably tells you something about the number of nap times and long nights we’ve spent on this project.
Charlie is technology, of course. But when you’re working through an idea, trying another version and finally getting something to click, the process can feel surprisingly collaborative.
Before becoming a mum, I worked in marketing automation at a consulting firm. I already understood that technology could open doors. Making this book helped me understand just how much the outcome still depends on the person using it: their judgement, patience, curiosity and willingness to keep improving.
A future I’m excited
to help shape.
I know some parents have questions and concerns about AI. Those deserve an honest conversation, and I respect that families will make different choices.
I’m enthusiastic about these tools and the opportunities they can create. I see something of the internet’s early promise in them: more people getting the chance to learn, experiment and bring an idea into the world.
For me, embracing that possibility goes hand in hand with being transparent about the process and thoughtful about the result.
Mis Raíces has taken many hours of research, writing, choosing, revising and starting again. Hours fitted between naps, feeds and the rest of family life.
My hope is that you’ll find that care in the pages.
And that somewhere between a familiar English sentence, a new Spanish tesoro and a small blue bird, your child will find a little more room to belong.
That bird is Sancho. He shares his name with one of my dogs and resembles the guacamayas of my beloved Caracas. A little piece of my own casa, flying through these pages with us.
Con cariño,
Daniela