Pat Mora's Blog, page 42

Creative Día Dynamos to be thankful for

I would like to introduce our new Día Dynamos, Christy Vasquez and Thom Eberhart. Californians now living in Santa Fe, they first heard about Día a few months ago. Librarian Elizabeth Martinez introduced me to Christy, a retired librarian who had worked with Elizabeth in CA, and to Christy’s husband Thom, a retired screenwriter. To assist in promoting Día’s 20th Anniversary nationally, as Sky City Productions, they created and filmed wonderful short Día video spots that visually convey bookjo...

November’s Poetry Pause

Take a Poetry Pause

Listen to Pat read “Ode to Sunflowers” from her book Adobe Odes .
http://www.patmora.com/images/pause4-sunflowers.mp3

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Gracias for new Día Dynamos

November: the month for giving thanks. This year, as we prepare for Día’s 20th Anniversary next April, I am deeply grateful to each of you, our creative and persistent Día Dynamos. Gracias.

I’m pleased to introduce our new Dynamos, my friends, Dr. Dan Moore (Vice President-Programs Retired, W.K. Kellogg Foundation) and Dr. Kay Moore (Dean and Professor Emerita, North Carolina State University, Retired), both long-time Día supporters. I’m sure they wonder if we’ll ever have a visit when we do...

Congratulations Duncan and Margarita!

Congratulations to Duncan Tonatiuh at having his FUNNY BONES: POSADA AND HIS DAY OF THE DEAD CALAVERAS selected as one of the 10 Best Illustrated Children’s Books for 2015 by the New York Times, and to my friend Margarita Engle for a fine review of her middle-grade memoir, ENCHANTED AIR, in the same paper.

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A fun and inventive idea for Book Fiesta!

Norma Diaz and her fellow first grade teachers at Ramirez Elementary in Edinburg, TX used Book Fiesta! Celebrate Children’s Day/Book Day/Celebremos El día de los niños/El día de los libros as the theme for a hallway contest. After the book was read aloud to the students, they were asked to create a diorama of a place where they enjoy reading. They were then displayed in the hall for all to see. Great idea!

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El día de los muertos, All Souls Day

This is the first year that The Remembering Day/El día de los muertos is available to families and those who work with children. I hope this origin myth is a helpful way to create the tradition of remembering and honoring the family and friends who are no longer with us.

Cultural humor can at times be hard to understand. El día de los muertos which can include the Mexican humor of laughing at death has produced and produces a rich array of folk art including a special Day of the Dead bread. M...

Family Remembrances at the Lan Su Chinese Garden

Last summer, my husband and I visited Portland. I was going to have the pleasure of speaking to educators which I always enjoy. We had been to beautiful Portland a number of times, and because I love gardens, we had visited the Japanese Tea Garden. This year we discovered the Lan Su Chinese Garden and was I pleasantly surprised when we entered a room that had a family remembrance.

Click to see larger image

Click to see larger image

As I say in the author note of my new book, The Rem...

Traditions: Oct. 31, Halloween, Nov. 2, Remembering Day

Oct. 31, Halloween. It’s debated whether this began as a Christian tradition, All Hallows’ Eve on the night before All Saints’ Day, or as Celtic tradition. In the United States, it inspires costumes for all ages and candy for the little ones—and not so little ones. Many of us have happy memories including Trick-or-Treating for UNICEF.

El día de los muertos, observed on Nov. 2 as a day for remembering our departed is NOT the same as Halloween. Many countries have traditions for remembering the...

Get ready for Halloween with a poem from Pat

Listen to Pat read “Halloween” along with “Leaf Soup” from Confetti: Poems for Children.

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A wonderful resource for ALL parents, available in English and Spanish

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) “Learn the Signs. Act Early” initiative aims to educate parents of young about the milestones that mark a child’s development. They’ve developed a FREE book that entertains children and educates parents. It’s called Amazing Me – It’s Busy Being 3! (Soy Maravilloso!)

Visit the website, where you can:

Order a free print copy, in English or Spanish View an interactive version online Download the free iBook Download and print a PDF version D...