Page 27 – Pat Mora

Hooray for Three Winners of CSMCL’s Día Grants!

Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature (CSMCL) is pleased to announce the three winners of the CSMCL 2018 Día Grants with an African American Focus.

Dr. Claudette S. McLinn, CSMCL Executive Director, said “The persons who wrote the winning grants were just thrilled…their grant programs are awesome!” I think that Día is becoming more and more important. Día is still young. I see it as an essential part of the fabric of America.”

The winning programs are:
Boston Public Library, Connolly Branch in Jamaica Plain, MA. The Día event theme is: “Neighborhood Literacy: Connecting Libraries, Hair Salons, and Barbershops as Literacy and Confidence Centers.” The Día event will be held on April 30, 2018 from 7:30 a.m.– 4:00 p.m.

Logan Heights Branch Library of the San Diego Public Library in San Diego, CA. The Día event theme is: “Legacy of Our Community: African American Artists from San Diego.” The event will be held on April 30, 2018 from 3:00 p.m.– 5:00 p.m.

Zion Benton Public Library in Zion, IL. The Día event theme is: “El Día de los Niños/Libros: Yo Soy Afro-Latinx.” The Día event will be held on April 30, 2018 from 4:00 p.m.– 6:00 p.m.

The three winning libraries each will be awarded $500 in selected multicultural children’s books. Congratulations!

This is the seventh year the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature (CSMCL) has awarded the Día grant and has been in partnership with the Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC) and Pat Mora.

CSMCL winners

International Women’s Day: #PressforProgress

International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.

This year’s campaign theme is “Press for Progress.”
Find videos, resources, articles and more on the IWD website.

Let’s each Press for Progress for Women in the work we do. Onward together!
Pat

Introducing the Cover of Bookjoy, Wordjoy

Later this year Lee & Low Books will release Bookjoy, Wordjoy, a collection of Pat’s poems that celebrates engaging with words and books. Bookjoy, Wordjoy is illustrated by Raul Colón with captivating images in a style influenced by Mexican muralists. We’re excited to share the beautiful cover:

Raul previously illustrated Pat’s Tomás and the Library Lady and Doña Flor: A Tall Tale about a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart. You can read more about his process for Bookjoy, Wordjoy on this blog post at Latinxs in Kid Lit.

Pat’s previous poetry collections for children are Yum! ¡Mmm! ¡Qué Rico! America’s Sproutings, Confetti: Poems for Children, and This Big Sky.

Interior scene from Bookjoy, Wordjoy

Celebrate Diverse Readers on March 2, Read Across America Day

The National Education Association’s Read Across America is a year-round program that focuses on motivating children and teens to read through events, partnerships, and reading resources. This year’s theme is “Celebrating a Nation of Diverse Readers.”

To celebrate, the NEA is inviting educators, parents, students, and supporters to share which childhood book meant the most to them with a #shelfie: Take a picture with the book (or bookshelf) of your choice and post your “shelfie” on social media using the #shelfie and #ReadAcrossAmerica hashtags. See some #shelfie examples.

Read Across America 2018

Communion: Poetry That Resonates

Published in 1991, Pat’s third collection of poetry, Communion, resonates today as it provides a healing voice and an international perspective in considering the art of poetry itself, male/female relationships, separation from children, homeland and tradition. The concerns of our domestic culture in the U.S. are seen here from within the framework of the Third World in Asia and Latin America.

"Mora’s collection is aptly titled: her poems often reveal a communion of sorts between poet and subject that inspires the poet’s empathetic, imaginative response."—Betsy Colquitt, Texas Review of Books

"This collection is rich, spirited and promising, and it makes me want to read more of her work."—Hurricane Alice, A Feminist Review

Listen to this 1988 recording from VOCA, the University of Arizona Poetry Center’s Audio Video Library, as Pat reads some of the poems from Communion as well as from Chants (1984), Borders (1986) and Agua Santa: Holy Water (1997).