Miguel Alvarez spent seven years of his life working for one thing. To most students, he’s their calm, funny art teacher, but some students noticed him work on a specific project over time. A month ago however, the project was finally complete, as he published his first book The Village Under the Tree.

It all started when Alvarez viewed the popular play The Nutcracker for the first time and was impressed by the story and overall design of the show. He began to think about how he could create his own story similar to the play.

“It’s one of those things that really didn’t quite make sense at all, but it was really captivating,” Alvarez said. “I just kind of wanted to create something of my own.”

Alvarez graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelor’s Degree in art and wanted to pursue a career in the comic industry. He discovered the field was extremely competitive, however, and he couldn’t land a job in the industry. He decided to begin teaching, and work on his own book on the side.

The process of creating it wasn’t so easy though. He wrote and illustrated the entire story himself, which was one reason it took seven years to create. Alvarez struggled with trying to find time for the book, as being a teacher and father of three took up a lot of time.

“The challenging part was finding time to do it,” Alvarez said. “Thankfully, as a teacher, you get the summers and all these vacations off. I used a lot of that time to work on it.”

While Alvarez was following his passion and creating the story, his family watched him create it. He wanted something that one day his kids could eventually read and enjoy, just like the other books they’ve read before.

“It was just the thought of one day being able to hold a book that I wrote, their own father,” Alvarez said. “I mean, that’s a cool thing to try and accomplish.”

Even with him spending countless hours on his book, he kept his focus on his job as a teacher. At work, he pushed students to their best and encouraged them to try new things. He said he loves to help them fix mistakes and work on improving them.

Senior Abbey Papadimitriou has spent four years in Alvarez’s classroom. She loved the lessons she gained, and she loved watching him create the book over the years.

“I think it’s awesome because I’ve seen how hard he’s worked on it,” Papadimitriou said. “I’d see him working on it, and it’s very intricate. He put a lot of effort into it.”

Just as he helped Papadimitriou improve her art skills, she said Alvarez created a classroom culture that encouraged everyone to take chances. Junior Fernanda Fuentes, who has spent two years in Alvarez’s class, said Alvarez has helped her strengthen her passion for cartooning and designing.

“My favorite part about the class is that Mr. Alvarez plays music, and he’s really nice,” Fuentes said. “He always helps me when I’m struggling on how to do something.”

A year ago, Alvarez reached out to book agents last year in search of publishing his book and made a deal with publisher Riding on Clouds. It’s now available on the Barnes and Noble website, and is available on hardcover and paperback.

When Alvarez finally got his first hard copy of his book last month, he sat and read it aloud to his advanced students – many of whom watched him work on it over the past few years.

Alvarez is just glad his seven-year project has finally come to a close. He hopes to continue working on books. And through the process of writing, drawing and coloring, Alvarez hopes he has helped inspire his students to find their passion as well.

“It doesn’t come overnight,” Alvarez said. “It’s going to take a lot of work and sacrifice, but if you have an idea or a dream, pursue it.”

This story was originally published on KP Times on November 27, 2024.