Books & Bugs with Alexia Lopez
You might have seen Easonite Alexia Lopez and her son Luke last year when they starred in a commercial for Brookfield Residential at Easton Park. You might have met her at Easton Made, our annual holiday market and extravaganza, or at the neighborhood bake and craft sale co-run with Marissa Maldonado, where Alexia bakes traditional empanadas and buñuelos. You might have just run into Alexia at the park, or around neighborhood coffee joint Cenizo, where she loves their chai. Now, this local mom is a published author. We recently sat down with Alexia to hear how her first children’s book, Read a Bug a Book, was inspired by life here in Easton Park.
EP: Thanks for doing this interview! Have you always been a writer?
AL: I’ve always enjoyed writing, and for my day job I am a Communications Manager. Writing has always been a big part of who I am and what I do.
EP: How did you come up with the idea for Read a Bug a Book? It’s so cute! Did Luke help you write it?
AL: Luke definitely inspired the book. About two years ago, Luke was just learning to talk, and he loved reading books. My grandfather built us a Little Free Library and we put it on our porch — it’s still out there, right across from Skyline Park. He also built the one at Cenizo! Luke loved to take a book out, and if he saw a bug, he always wanted to read the book to it. He loved roly polys, butterflies, ladybugs. So that became the inspiration for the book.
EP: That’s wonderful! And living across from Skyline Park, you guys must spend a lot of time there! I loved the list of bugs and bug facts at the end of the book.
AL: With spring and summer coming, it’s a great way for kids to get out and explore nature. They can have a scavenger hunt and find the bugs in real life. It keeps the adventures going!
EP: How long have y’all lived in Easton Park? How did you find the neighborhood?
AL: Since 2020! During Covid, we had a friend who had just bought a house in Union Park East, and she was telling me about the home and all the community amenities. It sounded like the perfect place for us and just what we had been looking for. Two days later, we came to check it out, and it was literally the perfect place that we had been waiting for. We got on a waiting list, and about six months later, we got our house. Angie was our rep with Brookfield, and she was super great at communicating with us and understood our passion for the area.
EP: What were your favorite things about the neighborhood, then and now?
AL: Back then, we weren’t parents yet! We’ve always loved the trails and The Union, but now with an (almost) four-year-old, we love how close everything is! We walk to Cenizo; we walk to the mobile library to get books. And there are a lot of unspoken amenities, like we’re right across from the elementary school and the park. And the people here are wonderful — there’s a strong reading culture and lots of places to read! It’s really an amazing community! I’m even in the Easton Park Romance Book Club started by fellow neighbor and friend Yesenia.
You can grab a copy of Alexia’s book on Amazon or at Easton Park’s upcoming Friends of Nature Market on Saturday, April 12 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm where she plans to do a storytime, too! Want to live in a community with awesome people who love books and bugs (and books about bugs)? Come be our neighbor! Browse our builders or come out and see the model homes for yourself!
