Maria Satterfield's first book was published in September on her 76th birthday, but the story has been in her head since she first told it to her only grandchild more than a decade ago.
It was long before that, during Satterfield's years as an elementary school teacher in El Salvador, that this East Side resident learned not only how to make up stories on a moment's notice, but also how to draw.
As a result, her book, "The Curious Little Star," is both written and illustrated by Satterfield.
There wasn't much money for El Salvador's teachers, Satterfield said, and so she often made up stories and drew pictures to educate and entertain her young pupils.
"You don't have supplies. You don't have many books. You have to do it all yourself on the blackboard,'' she said.
Satterfield moved to the United States when she was 38 to work as a nanny. After a few years, she was given the chance to learn English and to become a U.S. citizen. She went on to work for 22 years as a secretary for various federal agencies.
People are also reading…
The idea for her book started when her grandson, Kenneth, grew tired of stories he'd heard many times before and asked her to make up something new.
They were outside at her daughter's home in Illinois, Satterfield said. She looked up at the sky and asked her grandson, then 4, if he could see the little star.
She told her grandson that the star he was looking at was a good girl, but she was nosy. One day, while she was gazing at the planet Earth, she leaned too far out a window and fell through the sky to a forest floor on Earth.
The star was very scared, but fortunately, the animals were very friendly. Together, after some failed attempts, they were able to help her return home. In turn, they received some kindness that has stayed with the animals ever since.
"It has been in my mind for years, but I did not have enough courage to write it for publication," she said.
When Satterfield wrote the book, she named the star Estrellita, which is her middle name.
Today, "The Curious Little Star" is for sale online at Amazon.com and is also available through Barnes & Noble and Borders, Satterfield said. The book's first version is in English, although Satterfield is now writing a Spanish version as well.
It took about six months to write the book and Satterfield kept it a secret. "Not even my husband knew," she said.
John Satterfield said he found out when he heard his wife talking on the phone. Then she started crying.
"I had no idea what was going on," said John Satterfield, 78. He said it took some time to figure out what she was saying.
"Then I said, 'Well, let's go out to lunch,' " he said of finally understanding what his wife had accomplished.
Her friends at Far Horizons East, a mobile-home park on East Speedway and South Kolb Road, also found out about Satterfield's book after she had written it.
"I was walking by one day when she said, 'Kate, you've got to come in. I've got to tell you a secret,' " her neighbor Kathleen McDonagh recalled.
Another neighbor, Sophie Hoolbrook, said she's bought several copies for her young relatives.
"What I like are all the different animals, the bugs and birds, all the animals kids should be learning about," Holbrook said.
Satterfield said many friends living in her community have bought the book for their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
She has already written another children's story — this one about an old tree.
"I was going to name it after Kenny and he said, 'No, no, no. I don't want to be an old tree,'" she said of her grandson, who is now 15.
Instead, Satterfield has decided to name it after her husband, "John, The Old Tree."
East side
