Page 165 – Pat Mora

Our World of Books

I’m excited to have agreed to serve on the USBBY Board. I have always admired the history and work of this organization which is the United States section of IBBY, the International Board on Books for Young People. Just recently, Betsy Bird of Fuse#8 fame, interviewed the President-elect of USBBY,John Mason, Scholastic’s Director of Library and Educational Marketing. It’s a great interview with lots of information including how members can be involved with various book committees like the Hans Christian Andersen Awards.

Tempted to join? A brochure and membership form is right here.

Busy Holidays

EEK! Are we all feeling: how can it be December, 2008? I hope that you enjoyed a happy weekend with family and friends. I am so grateful for the pleasure I find in being a writer and speaker. Next year at this time, two new picture books will be out: Gracias/Thanks (a boy reflecting on what he’s grateful for), illustrated by John Parra, and then Piñata in a Pine Tree: A Latino Christmas (a Latino version of the popular “Twelve Days of Christmas,”) by first-time illustrator Magaly Morales. Both illustrators are new for me, and I’m excited about their work. Grateful too.

Sorry to have been so silent. I’ve been finishing a book of teen love poems due out for Valentine’s Day 2010, enduring a kitchen renovation :0, and I spoke at NCTE on, “Our Community: Creative, Connected, Committed.” Inspiring attendees.

My wonderful web managers, Bobbie Combs and Laurina Cashin, nudged me to start this blog because they knew I wanted to promote excitement about sharing bookjoy. I share bookjoy at this time of the year by giving books, of course, and trying to find the right book for the recipient. How do you share bookjoy as holiday sounds and thoughts of the coming year swirl in the air?

Wishing you happy holidays,

Pat

Making Books

Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord’s website, Making Books with Children, is a fantastic resource for parents, teachers, librarians and anyone seeking ideas for fun, creative projects to make with kids. I’ve been receiving her e-newsletter, Making Books Monthly, for over a year now and I love its hands-on flavor. (You can easily sign up for the newsletter via a quick link on the site’s homepage.)Susan stresses the use of accessible materials and her directions are straight-forward. Recently she shared how to make a Sticker Poem Book using a brown paper bag, the plastic hanger piece from a pair of socks, and stickers!

Election History

November 4, 2008 was the historical culmination of a historical election. What some of us have known for years was said often last night: the face of America is changing. We each have different talents, networks and styles. May we work together, with renewed vigor, to insure that the children’s books of our country will soon reflect the beauty and diversity of America’s children. Día is part of that work.

Recent Library Visits

Greetings from Cincinnati, Ohio. The Américas Award ceremony on October 4 in DC was a lovely event. I’m particularly grateful to Julie Kline from CLASP at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the award coordinator, as well as to the award committee and the Library of Congress. It was wonderful to listen to YUM’s illustrator, Rafael Lopez, speak. The children with me in the photo above are Talbot de St. Aubin and Andy Kline (the boy.)

After a day of enjoying DC museums, I then flew to Flint, Michigan where I was royally treated by Janet Trosino and the rest of the staff at the Flint Public Library. Some of the middle and high school teachers asked their students who wanted to attend my presentation to write a page about their interest. The library had sent copies of my books to these schools and to the elementary schools that also attended a presentation. What a pleasure to be with students who were prepared, well-behaved and interested. My deep thanks to Flint teachers and librarians.

In front of a home on Paxton Avenue here in Cincinnati, I saw this cute Halloween scene today, a circle of little ghosts holding hands. It made me think of one of my fall books, Join Hands. I smiled at a recent review that said that another of my fall books, Abuelos, though set in December, lends itself to sharing at this Halloween season because of the costumes and suspense.

Wishing you autumn bookjoy.