Children’s author Angela Cervantes talks books, bravery and belonging

Kansas City’s award-winning children’s author Angela Cervantes is on a roll and shows no signs of slowing down.

Beyond Cervantes’ popular junior novels like Gaby, Lost and Found, Lety Out Loud, The Cursed Moon and her most recent release, The Mystery of the Stolen World Cup Trophy, she’s also authored the adaptations of beloved Disney films Coco and Encanto. Last year, she added to the long line of American Girl Doll stories with The Diary of Raquel Reyes, based on her own Mexican-American experiences growing up in the KC area. Later this month, on July 28, Cervantes will release Anomalies 53 #2: Dragon Dreams, now available for preorder from most booksellers. 

Your newest book, Anomalies 53 #2: Dragon Dreams is a middle grade fantasy adventure that picks up where the first one, Anomalies 53: Into the Shadows, leaves off. Tell us about the story?

I really love this book, so it’s fun to talk about. Book one started the Anomalies 53 series, [introducing] the main character, Ollie Robles, and his best friend, Garen Jackson. [These] two kids have grown up in a secret government science compound known as Area 53. It’s like Area 51 but with mythical creatures instead of extraterrestrials. They’re finding cures for all sorts of things when suddenly the world suffers from lightning storms.They follow these creatures into a mythical land called Shadowland, home of the mythical creatures. Once they get there, they realize that the mythical world is also suffering from the same lightning storms so it’s all connected. 

What value do you find in writing from a younger point of view? 

Madeleine L’Engle says, “When I have something to say that I think will be too difficult for adults, I write it in a book for children.” Adults have gone through a lot in their lifetime. They become a little bit more sheltered in their lives. Kids are braver than we give them credit for.

You have said that you started writing when you were very young because it was hard to find characters that shared your Mexican-American experiences. How did that happen?

In fifth grade, I had a wonderful teacher at Our Lady of Guadalupe School in Topeka named Sister Judy. I read a lot, and one day she said to me: “You’ve read all the books in my reading corner. I’m going to find more for you.” I wanted a book about a girl like me, a girl with the last name Cervantes or Garcia or Munoz who celebrates the holidays like I do or goes to a quinceanera. After the weekend, she said: “Angela, I’m so sorry I couldn’t find a book for you. I looked everywhere. I went to bookstores and libraries.” She pulled out this blank notebook and said, “I think you’re going to have to write the kind of books you want to read.” It’s one of those key moments you feel your life shift. This fire in me started growing. 

Can you remember any of the stories you wrote when you were nine? 

I loved to tell scary stories to my friends. If they didn’t call their mom begging to be picked up because they were too scared to walk home, I felt like I had failed. 

You wrote a mystery about the World Cup. Did that have something to do with the games scheduled in Kansas City?

I am a massive football fan. I am Mexican-American—it’s part of our cultural identity. When I found out the World Cup was going to be played in North America, I started getting little moments of a book and going down a research rabbit hole. I found out that the original World Cup trophy went missing a few times in its history and that gave me the inspiration for The Mystery of the Stolen World Cup Trophy. It was really fun to write. 

You wrote the Coco and Encanto novelizations for Disney. How did you end up working on those projects?

Coco was the first one. It was a miracle that it happened. They sent me a very simple email—they were familiar with my first book, Gabby, Lost and Found, and thought I had the perfect voice to tell the story about Day of the Dead that they were working into a movie. I thought it was a scam. I almost deleted it. Working with them was such a wonderful experience because that holiday means a lot to me. They liked my work, and they came back and asked me to write the junior novelization for Encanto. I’d be happy to work with them again anytime because they’re such a warm group of people.

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