Hello! Nohra & Rubén here and this is our story
From our kitchen table to an empty nest, A journey of faith, love, and God’s faithfulness
I’m a first-generation Christian, a first-generation immigrant, and a professional musician by trade. Like so many of us, fatherhood showed up long before I felt ready. This is our story.
My wife and I decided to homeschool our three boys when every voice around us said we were crazy. It turned out to be one of the greatest gifts God ever gave our family.
When the boys were eight, six, and two, I was accepted into the Yale School of Music master’s program. We packed up and stepped into the wild, unpredictable world of immigration.
For the first time, our kids walked into a school, a public school. They had to learn English on the fly. My wife was building a home from nothing, and I was buried in practice rooms, late nights, and on-campus job shifts.
But here’s what never stopped: every single day we opened God’s Word together. Not perfectly. Not always with deep theological insight. Just honestly. At the breakfast table, on the walk to school, at bedtime, kicking a soccer ball in the yard, stirring a pot of soup, and every Sunday at our little church.
Those ordinary moments became holy ground.
Fast-forward to today. Our oldest got married last year to a young woman who loves Jesus with everything in her. Our second son graduated college and is now a strong, independent man of God. Our youngest is thriving halfway through college, his faith growing deeper every year.
The nest is empty now, and my wife and I are more convinced than ever: the same God who carried us through those hard, beautiful years is still calling us to use every gift He gave us — music, art, words — for His glory.
That’s why we pour our hearts into these books. Because we’ve seen firsthand what happens when parents simply open the Bible with their kids, day after day. Lives are changed. Legacies are built. And the next generation falls in love with the God who never leaves them.
the team
Rubén Rodríguez Ferreira
Author & Illustrator
Husband, father of three adult sons, and a multi-talented composer, illustrator, musician, and educator. He is the award-winning creator behind children’s books such as The Elephant in the Room and Sometimes Music, and the illustrator of celebrated titles like The Child and the Tree, Together, Rimas Geométricas, and A is for Abrazo—all published alongside his wife, Nohra.
Ruben and Nohra’s collaborative literary work has been recognized with the Skipping Stones Honor Award, the International Latino Book Award, and the Campoy-Ada Award.
Alongside his career in literature, Ruben serves as Director of the Yale School of Music’s Music in Schools Initiative, is a founder of youth music programs across Latin America, and is a classically trained trombonist with a career spanning France and the US.
Together with his wife, Ruben spent years building campus ministries at universities across Bogotá and preaching on the streets of Colombia to reach young people with the Gospel. Today, they publish books for families under the imprints Arreboles and One Flock Books. Behind every page is a simpler, profound purpose: creating books that turn off screens and light up the family altar.
As a first-generation Christian and former homeschool dad, he is passionate about raising children in the faith and building a solid foundation on God’s Word—a legacy he pours into every book he creates. They have lived on the coast of Connecticut since emigrating in 2009.
Nohra Bernal
Editor
Nohra studied psychology and modern languages at universities in Colombia, France, and Spain, with additional coursework in biblical studies, apologetics, Hebrew, and creative writing. She homeschooled her three sons until the family emigrated to the US in 2009 to begin anew. For over 25 years, she has translated and edited Christian literature. In Colombia, she served underprivileged women through a microcredit NGO, and in New Haven has advocated for multilingual early childhood literacy by leading story times at the public library, and as a Mellon Foundation grantee with her project “Hispanic intergenerational empowerment and cultural ownership through literacy.”
As a teaching artist, she enjoys storytelling, poetry, and dance—notably Dance for Parkinson’s Disease and Israeli Dance.
Since 2020, she has co-authored award-winning books with Ruben, her husband and creative partner. She loves books, trees, and sunsets by the shore. More than anything, Nohra loves Jesus and delights in following Him. Since her youth she has ministered; first, as a Sunday school teacher, and throughout the years in evangelization and discipleship, campus ministry, counseling, and various church service teams.
One of her favorite verses is Psalm 63:3,
Your loving kindness is better than life.
nohrabernal.com
Lulu & Fufu
Support & Cuddles
Of a three-egg Easter batch, these two hatched and survived. When we adopted them, they still commuted by foot rather than wing. After a brief phase of flying backwards, they evolved into a formidable air force and an inseparable team. While they maintain their wildness and strong will, we respect and love them anyway. Their favorite foods are millet and pão de queijo, and foraging plants from the backyard. Daily activities include feather maintenance, vocal performances, riding on human shoulders, synchronized napping, hiding in cupboards, mutual teasing, and joining the human flock for breakfast. They sing bedtime lullabies in their hammocks.
They show us how to live—free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God (Matthew 6:26 MSG).
