April 6, 2005

 "Meet Lydia" now available at local bookstores
The author of new book about a native girl from Southeast Alaska and her subject were guests on KINY's Capital Chat this morning. (Wednesday)

Miranda Belarde-Lewis wrote the book about her cousin Lydia Mills.

Miranda grew up in New Mexico, but her mother's family is from Juneau and she visited Hoonah each summer as a child.

Lydia lived in Hoonah until age three and then lived in Juneau with her mother and visited her father in Hoonah during the summer and school breaks.

Belarde-Lewis wrote the book at the request of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian where she was an intern. Its third book in a series.

She's now Lydia since she was born. The other two authors are also native and she says the museum wanted connections to the museum and the young persons.

The first author wrote about her cousin and the second about her niece.

She says the museum wanted the third book to be about the Northwest coast.

Lydia thinks its "pretty cool" being in the limelight. She didn't think the book would be that big, so she says its something she'll have to get use to.

The book is now available at Hearthside. The target audience for the whole series is 9 to 12 years, but Belarde-Lewis says it appeals to a younger and older audience as well.