Author Turns Venezuelan Stories Into Support for Children in Caracas

The Book Echando Cuentos de Venezuela

Disponible en Amazon y Kindle

Ricardo and daughter read to children in Boston

Through Dec. 31, author Ricardo Aranda donates royalties from every copy of his bilingual children’s book to Hogar Bambi in Caracas, Venezuela.

MIAMI, FL, UNITED STATES, October 23, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — For millions of Venezuelans living abroad, memories of home often live on as bedtime stories. Boston-based Venezuelan author Ricardo Aranda Falvay turned his fondest memories into a book that kids of all ages can enjoy, including the grown-up ones. Through December 31, 2026, every copy sold carries a bigger meaning: it helps children affected by the earthquakes in Venezuela.

Ricardo is donating $5 from every copy of Echando Cuentos de Venezuela sold on Amazon worldwide to Hogar Bambi, a Caracas-based children’s home.

From the Dinner Table to the Page

Ricardo’s path as an author began at home. For years, as a Venezuelan living in the U.S., he wrote down the things his children said while growing up between English and Spanish: Spanglish mix-ups, unexpected questions about their heritage, and the everyday moments when multiple cultures meet at the dinner table. That collection became his first book, The Things Kids Say Growing Up Bilingüe, which received a 2025 International Latino Book Awards Honorable Mention for Best First Book.

Writing it revealed something he hadn’t expected: his children knew Venezuela almost entirely through his stories. That realization became Echando Cuentos de Venezuela, a book written for the nearly 9 million Venezuelans who have left the country and for the children they are raising far from home. It is told as if narrated by kids who have never lived in Venezuela but know it through the stories their parents tell them. The stories come to life through the illustrations of artist Jean Carlos Estevez Tarriba (@art_doot), whose artwork captures the colors, places, and traditions that Venezuelans carry with them always.

Recognized Among Thousands of Latino Books

Shortly after its launch, Echando Cuentos de Venezuela became a Venezuelan best seller on Amazon, reaching readers across the diaspora. It also received an International Latino Book Awards Honorable Mention for Best Immigration Themed Book. Founded in 1997, the International Latino Book Awards are the largest awards in the United States celebrating Latino literature. In 2025, the awards drew around 5,000 books in 87 categories, all read by more than 200 volunteer judges. For a self-published bilingual children’s book, being honored among them was a meaningful validation of stories that started at the dinner table.

A Family of Storytellers

The book is available in paperback, on Kindle, and as a digital audiobook read by Ricardo’s own children. The next generation is, quite literally, giving voice to the stories of a home they’ve never seen.

The storytelling didn’t stop there. Inspired by watching his father write, Ricardo’s son, Ricardo Luis Aranda, wrote his own children’s book at age 11. Sunrise in the Amazon looks at the threats people pose to the Amazon rainforest and suggests ways anyone can help stop deforestation. To bring it to life, the young author worked with Victor Kuripora Ikuju de Arruda, a Guaraní artist in Brazil, whose illustrations carry an Indigenous perspective on the forest. With the help of his families and friends, he’s been able to translate it into Spanish and Portuguese.

“My kids know Venezuela through the stories I tell them,” said Ricardo. “Those of us who left may be far away, but we don’t feel absent. This is our family’s way of helping all children see Venezuela through their parents’ eyes, even if they’ve never been there themselves.”

How to Take Part

Echando Cuentos de Venezuela is available on Amazon in the United States and in Amazon stores worldwide, from Mexico and Spain to Japan, with more platforms in Latin America coming soon. In Venezuela, the book is sold at Hecho en Venezuela stores in Caracas and at Aeropuerto Internacional de Maiquetía.

Every copy purchased on Amazon through December 31, 2026 adds $5 to the donation for Hogar Bambi. For Venezuelan families abroad looking for a meaningful holiday gift, the book is a way to share their roots with their children and help children in Venezuela at the same time.

About Ricardo Aranda Falvay
Ricardo Aranda Falvay is a Venezuelan author based in Boston who writes bilingual books for families raising children between languages and cultures. He is the author of The Things Kids Say Growing Up Bilingüe and Echando Cuentos de Venezuela. He is also the co-founder and CEO of Setú^® Personal Care for Men, a dermatologist-developed men’s skincare brand made with Latin American ingredients that he built with his sister, board-certified dermatologist Dr. Jennifer Aranda.

Ricardo Aranda
Growing Up Bilingüe
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