Mary Louise Page, is a loved children’s book writer who uses the pen name Marisa Bonilla. She is the author of “Rimas Infantiles”, a collection of Spanish nursery rhymes which she translated into English from the oral traditions of the Spanish-speaking people from Latin America and Spain.

Marisa Bonilla will be signing books Saturday April 9th, 2011 from 2-4 PM at the Worm Book Store in the Oak Creek Factory Outlet Mall, 6601 W. Highway 179 (VOC), Sedona.

She will begin reading at 2:30 PM from her newest children’s book, “Coyote Rings The Bell”, a charming tale that will delight the child in all of us. It is beautifully illustrated by Tony De Luz, a local Village of Oak Creek Artist, Illustrator, and Teacher.

The importance of Bonilla’s work goes beyond a well thought and delightful story. Such stories are often passed down from generation to generation through relatives. The tales are used as teaching tools for young and old alike, creating or reaffirming the foundation of daily values, and preserving the rich cultural heritage that we can all enjoy.

Upon graduating from Los Andes University in Bogota, Columbia, Page (Bonilla) relocated to Los Angeles where she began her graduate work at UCLA, focusing on oral language development for children who did not learn English as a first language.

Tony De Luz, the illustrator of Bonilla’s new book “Coyote Rings The Bell” paints a captivating background to the tale in the setting of our beautiful Sedona landscape. His medium is a water color known as Gouache.

Tony’s work has an eloquent style that captures an “All American” people and their past times through unique depictions of Vegas Lights, Sixties Classic Cars, Rich Art Deco Hotels, Diners, Carnivals, and other diverse subjects, local spots where one might have found the people of America.

His paintings have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions including the Coply Society, and the Fort Point Artists’ Community in Boston, Massachusetts.  De Luz has been locally featured in both Impressions Fine Art, and the Kauffman Clark Gallery in Sedona.

Having bilingual abilities is an important advantage especially in the Southwest. Cultural languages cannot be expressed the same way in the English language. There are beautiful descriptive words in each language that one has to experience to be able to express, and understand. These tools give a colorful experience to our world.

This article is third in a series of Eye on Sedona Lifestyles by Heather Kay. Email Heather at Editor@SedonaEye.com today. Be sure to social network this article for others to share and enjoy!