Children’s book author has strong ties to Benicia

By Keri Luiz
Assistant Editor

Growing up Benicia gave artist, teacher and author Heidi Joulios many fond memories, and she credits her local upbringing with making her who she is today. Those local ties were key to her decision to celebrate the release of her second children’s book, “Color My Coral,” at Bookshop Benicia on Saturday.

“I’m an old Benicia kid,” Joulios said. “It was fun. The influences of growing up there, because it was an artist colony — it still is — had a tremendous impact on molding and shaping who I am today.”

Much of Joulios’s childhood was spent in Benicia: She attended city schools from fourth through 10th grade. And the Davis resident still has family ties to the city: Her mother, artist Pam Dixon, is founder of downtown’s Gallery 621.

“There was so much creativity in that town. And there still is,” Joulios said.

An artist and actor, she taught for 17 years before writing and illustrating her first book, “Snow Cones Are Forever”; it was released in May 2009. “It is about the environment and the impact of pollution on our environment,” she said.

While doing research for “Snow Cones Are Forever,” she learned about the phenomenon of “coral bleaching,” where ocean coral expel the algae living in their tissues and turn completely white.

The process makes the coral vulnerable and often leads to death; it has been observed as one of the causes of distress in the Great Barrier Reef, and pollution is a major culprit, Joulios said.

“It really fascinated me, and I discovered how important it (coral) is to our oceans and our marine life. It truly is the rainforest of our ocean,” she said.

Her research led to her second book, “Color My Coral,” which she wrote and illustrated in a lighthearted way to help children understand the important topic.

The story is about Loretta the Crab, who mistakes human garbage for “treasure” and injures her coral home when she uses it for decoration. The book also has an accompanying coloring book.

“I wanted to … convey a message to children of the importance of our coral reef habitats, and the impact that pollution has on them,” Joulios said.

“It’s fun, but it also has a lot of fun, little silly facts that I thought that kids would enjoy.”

Irwin the sea cow is a good example. “Not that many people know that sea cows are vegetarians,” Joulios said.

The author continues to educate not only through her books but in school assemblies, which she has been doing since the release of her first book in 2009. In fact, she’s working on bringing her appropriate-for-all-ages assembly program — which highlights her talents as an artist and educator — to Benicia schools.

She’d especially like to come to Mary Farmar Elementary School, which she attended, she said.

“Educating children is a passion of mine,” Joulios said. “I take a portion of the proceeds to help support my school assembly visits, therefore making school visits available to schools at no charge.

“I do a presentation using a large screen so kids can see the story on the screen, and watch the story unfold while I read. Following that we have an interactive session. We follow up with storybook highlights, then I talk about the process of writing, as an author, and the process of doing illustrations as an artist — hopefully inspiring future readers … and artists,” she said.

“I love kids. I always love to open their eyes to something that will sparkle, and really inspire them. You never know what date it is going to take, but when a child is hooked it can totally change their lives.

“My approach to challenging topics is always a lighthearted touch, a little bit of whimsy, a little bit of surprise. There’s nothing like discovering something on your own. Then you take ownership as a child, and you want to become involved and learn more.”

If You Go
A book launch and meet and greet with author Heidi Joulios will be at Bookshop Benicia, 636 First St., Saturday at 10:30 a.m. For more information contact Jodie Stake-Hedlund at 707-450-5215 or Jodie@MartinPearl.com; to learn more about Joulios visit www.heidijoulios.com.