Pat Mora's Blog, page 27

Book Anniversary Celebrations in 2017

We’re celebrating many publication anniversaries
of Pat’s books in 2017!

5 years
The Beautiful Lady: Our Lady of Guadalupe

10 years
Yum! ¡Mmm! ¡Qué Rico! America’s Sproutings

15 years
A Library for Juana: The World of Sor Juana Inés
Maria Paints the Hills

20 years
Tomás and the Library Lady
Aunt Carmen’s Book of Practical Saints
House of Houses

25 years
A Birthday Basket for Tía

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Apply for a 2017 Día Program Grant with an African American Focus

Día Partner, The Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature (CSMCL), has opened the application process for their 2017 Día grant. Libraries who have a Children’s Day, Book Day/El día de los niños, El día de los libros program with an African American Focus are eligible to apply. The award consists of a $500 grant in selected multicultural children’s books for the winning library.

The application must be received by February 28, 2017. Applications are available on the CMSCL we...

Enjoy a Poem from Borders

"Mora confronts the clash of cultures in a courageous, tough tone that masks a gentle sensibility. What finally gives this book its healing power is the mesmerizing honesty of Mora’s celebration of herself as a woman, mother, lover."

—The Bloomsbury Review

Desert Women
Desert women know
Fierce heat and cold
have burned and thickened
our skin. Like cactus
we’ve learned to hoard,
to sprout deep roots,
to seem asleep, yet wake
at the scent of softness
in the air, to hide
pain and loss by sile...

January 6: The Feast of the Epiphany

I love words and epiphany (of Greek origin) is among my favorites. In a religious context, January 6 is the Feast of the Three Kings, the arrival of the Magi symbolizing that the Christ Child was revealed to the world. The tradition of making (or buying) a Three Kings’ Wreath or rosca de reyes inspired my book, The Bakery Lady: La señora de la panadería. The closeness of family is also a theme in this and a number of my books. I am blessed to have known such closeness in my own life.

As a wri...

New Year Reflection

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Light

I have been re-reading The Names of Things: Life, Language, and Beginnings in the Egyptian Desert. Susan Brind Morrow is a gifted writer. I’m a child of the desert, a major theme in my writing, so traveling to another desert is intensely interesting. I was intrigued by the words, “May God fill you with light.” The blessing is connected, of course, to my hopes for the New Year: May God fill you with light.
Pat

Visual courtesy of Freepik.

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The Gift of the Poinsettia/El regalo de la flor de nochebuena

"This popular title introduces readers to a Mexican tradition and inspires them to think about gift-giving in a different way. The authors take children through each of the days of the posada (“inn”) tradition in which celebrants take figurines representing Mary and Joseph from one inn to another as they look for a place to rest. Carlos worries that he has no money to buy a special gift to offer the Christ Child, but his grandmother urges him to pick a flower along the way. This humble flower...

A Piñata in a Pine Tree: A Latino Twelve Days of Christma

"In trading a partridge for a piñata and intertwining English and Spanish, Mora has created not only a fun adaptation of a classic Christmas carol but also an introduction to many elements of holiday celebrations for families across the U.S. and Latin America … The illustrator is the sister of Belpré Award-winning illustrator Yuyi Morales, and these acrylic paintings share a similar colorful and vibrant style as they integrate words, numbers, Spanish pronunciations, joy, and excitement throug...

Pat’s Hope for 2017

Print the poem.

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What comforts you?

In preparation for an interview about Our Lady of Guadalupe, I re-read my children’s book The Beautiful Lady in English and Spanish editions. I also decided to explore where else I had written about her. I don’t have as good a memory about my own work as my good friend Joseph Rodríguez does.

Our Lady appears in three of my poetry collections. She speaks in “Cuarteto Mexicano,” a section of Agua Santa: Holy Water (1995); the sacristan Aunt Carmen speaks to Our Lady in Aunt Carmen’s Book of Pra...