Gloria Fuertes

Hello there. My name is Gloria Fuertes, and I want to tell you my story. I was born in a fun neighborhood in the big city of Madrid, Spain, on July 28th, 1917. Even when I was a very little girl, I loved words more than anything. Before I even knew how to write, I would make up poems and stories inside my head. The world felt like a big, wonderful book, and I wanted to fill it with my own rhymes. I would look at the sky, the people in my neighborhood, and the games we played, and turn them all into little songs and poems in my imagination. It was my favorite thing to do.

As I grew up, my dream was to become a writer and share my words with everyone. I worked very hard, and something exciting happened in 1935. When I was just 17 years old, a magazine published my very first poem. Seeing my name and my words printed on a page for others to read was one of the happiest moments of my life. A few years later, in 1938, I started a new job that was perfect for a book lover like me. I began working in a big library. I was surrounded by thousands and thousands of wonderful books. Every day, I saw stories of adventure, history, and imagination. Being around all those books gave me so many new ideas for my own poems and stories.

My greatest joy was always writing for children, just like you. I believed that poems and stories shouldn't be difficult or boring. I thought they should be fun and easy for everyone to understand and enjoy. Words are like toys, and I wanted to show children how to play with them. In the 1970s, I had a wonderful new way to share my work. I started appearing on television shows in Spain. On TV, I could read my funny poems and tell my silly stories directly to kids all over the country. I loved seeing their happy faces. My goal was to make them laugh with my rhymes but also to make them think about the world around them. I wanted every child to know that poetry was their friend.

I lived a wonderful life filled with words and laughter. I lived to be 81 years old. Even though my time on Earth came to a peaceful end, my poems and stories live on. I am remembered as a friend to all children who love to read, laugh, and dream. My words are still shared in schools and homes all across Spain and even in other parts of the world. I hope my rhymes continue to bring smiles to faces for many, many years to come.