Illustration by Pixote Hunt for the book Telegrams to Heaven, by René Colato Laínez

Based on the life of Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero (1917-1980), the new children’s book  “Telegrams to Heaven,” by Salvadoran writer of children’s literature René Colato Laínez, narrates the life of Óscar as a child. The son of the telegraph operator in a small town in El Salvador, Óscar learns how to send telegrams from his heart and discovers early on that his vocation lies in serving and giving himself to others.

Aided by the illustrations of the Dominican artist Pixote Hunt, Colato’s story manages to create in the reader a bond of empathy and interest in the life of a man who stood out for his commitment and active participation in defense of human rights in El Salvador.

With “Telegrams to Heaven,” Colato assures us of the certainty that everything we desire from our heart, always receives an answer, and that there is nothing more sincere than the wishes of a child. Likewise, the Mission District-based independent publisher Luna’s Press, delivers a bilingual (English and Spanish) edition of a story that deserves to be told in more than one language.

“Telegrams to Heaven” is a children’s story that adults should know about, and so Luna’s Press has made special effort to present this book in various venues such as book fairs, libraries, schools and cultural spaces, such as the reading of the book at Acción Latina’s Juan R. Fuentes Gallery, located at 2958 24th St., in San Francisco.

It should be noted that the Luna’s Press publishing house, founded by another award-winning writer, Jorge Argueta and his partner Holly Ayala, works under the precept of mainly promoting reading among children and young people, as well as to spread the value of the Latino culture and to promote the literary and artistic work of new talents. Luna’s Press has several award-winning books, which are published in English and Spanish and, recently, in Nahuatl.

“Telegrams to Heaven” can be found in San Francisco bookstores, and for more information on  public events, you can consult the author’s website: ReneColatolainez.weebly.com. To order the book online, visit LunasPressBooks.weebly.com, or contact its publisher Holly Ayala at hayala02@yahoo.com, or call (415) 260-7490.

Didi Sedano has a degree in Hispanic Literature from the University of Guadalajara, and is headquartered at CUSur in Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco, México. She is a cultural promoter, host of a radio program on that campus, and is currently conducting research on the life and work of a prominent 19th-century Jalisco author.