Alice Flores Euceda, a second grader at Mineral Springs Elementary School, joined a proud tradition of published authors from Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools with the release of her first children’s book “Sé Feliz Siempre”.
Translated to “Be Happy Always” in English, “Sé Feliz Siempre” provides advice from the author on how to lead a happier life. She shows the reader vignettes from her own life centered on being kind to others, practicing healthy habits, setting and working towards personal goals, and being mindful and thankful about the good things in life. Happiness is important to Euceda, not only for herself, but for everybody around her, so she wanted her book to spread as much joy to her community as possible.
“I like for people to be happy,” Euceda said. “I wanted to tell a story that would make people happy.”
Euceda loves reading books from her school library and has long recognized them as a way to brighten up someone’s day, so once the idea of writing her own book was in her head, the rest came naturally. She wrote the story, partnered with her mother to handle editing and visual designs, and soon enough, she had a finished edition of the book up for sale on Amazon, independently published through Sello. Her mother says that watching her daughter pursue a passion like this from such an early age has been a joy to behold.
“I’m so excited, so proud, so happy for her,” said Josselin Euceda Martinez, Alice’s mother. “My heart is so full.”
The book has generated a lot of attention around school at Mineral Springs Elementary, and Euceda looks forward to completing an English translation of the book so that she can share it with more of her friends. The ESL program at Mineral Springs has given her the confidence she needs to write professionally in both languages, and some of her friends and family have shown an interest in taking English classes themselves because of the example she’s setting as an author. Parent and Family Engagement Coordinator Lucy Gordon believes that students like Euceda who commit to their education and take it a step beyond with projects like this have the potential to encourage deeper learning for everyone around them.
“It gives you hope to see,” Gordon said. “She’s such a smart girl to be doing something like this. I think everyone is going to be really inspired when they see what she can do.”
One of the most important pieces of advice Euceda gives in her book is to relentlessly pursue dreams. She had a dream of writing a book that would make people happy, and achieving it has made her feel better than ever. She hopes that every student who reads her book will be encouraged to take their own ambitions to heart just like she has.
“I dedicate this book to all the children of the world,” reads Euceda’s foreword to the book. “May they always find happiness in following their dreams and in being themselves.”