Page 123 – Pat Mora

Passionate Commitment

Sunset clouds over Race Point, Cape Cod. Photo by Sally Lindsay.

I never saw Sister Wendy when she was a TV star sharing her love of art. Organizing some of my books on spirituality yesterday, I saw her four small books on peace, silence, love, and joy. I try to have some meditative quiet time in the morning, and read her book on peace today. I particularly liked the sentence, “Peace does not reject our longings, it is warm, not cold – a passionate commitment to becoming a full person.”

Sister Wendy in Conversation with Bill Moyers

Watching The Buddha

I had the good fortune to see the 2010 PBS video about Buddha recently. It’s available online.

We are all weary of our violent, fast-paced world. This evocative video with lovely visuals, images, and informative and inspiring interviews, reminded me of the importance of Waking Up! to the wonder of the present moment, of striving on in a compassionate and gentle manner, of cherishing our world and its creatures.

Photo by Sally Lindsay. Cloudcliff Buddha, Santa Fe NM

Nominate your Día for the 2013 Mora Award

The deadline for the 2013 Mora Award is approaching — it’s August 15. Lupita Vega, chair of the REFORMA Mora Award Committee, writes:

If your library, school, educational institute, or youth-serving organization hosted a fantastic celebration of El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day), consider nominating it for REFORMA’s 2013 Estela and Raúl Mora Award.

The Award has been presented annually since 2000 to the most exemplary program celebrating El día de los niños/El día de los libros, also known as Día. It consists of a $1,000 stipend and a plaque to be displayed by the winning library or school.

For more information about the Mora Award and to download an application, visit the REFORMA website and click on “Awards and Scholarships.” To learn more about Día, visit What’s Día.

National Children’s Book Day in the Philippines

Congratulations to all those who celebrated the 30th National Children’s Book Day in the Philippines on July 16. Events continue throughout the month including the awarding of illustrator and writer prizes, forums about reading, children’s theatre, and a seminar on library activities and book reviewing. You can read details on the Paper Tigers blog and Tarie Sabido’s blog Asia in the Heart, World on the Mind.

Talking About Books and Reading

Listen and watch Pat and her daughter Libby (and new co-author!) talk about books and reading.

Latinas for Latino Literature features this video as their Video of the Week as part of their Summer Reading program.

Pat and Libby’s first picture book together is I Pledge Allegiance with illustrations by Patrice Barton. It’s published by Knopf/Random House and will be available in April 2014.