Happy 4th of July!

Pat Mora

My daughter Libby Martinez and I wrote I Pledge Allegiance, inspired by our aunt Ygnacia Delgado, whom my siblings and I (and our children) called Lobo. In this book, Libby asks Lobo why she wants to be a citizen. Lobo answers, “The American flag–red, white, and blue–wrapped itself around me to protect me…The flag made me feel…(s)afe and warm.” May we strive to live up to the ideals of our country. Happy 4th of July!

Pat

Illustration from I Pledge Allegiance by Pat Mora and Libby Martinez

Illustration from I Pledge Allegiance by Pat Mora and Libby Martinez. Click to see larger image.

How Do Stories Help Celebrate Citizenship?

Pat Mora

First Book Pledge giveaway
Just in time for Independence Day, First Book is giving away four Summer Reading Sets of I Pledge Allegiance by Pat and daughter Libby Martinez.

Comment on their Facebook page with an answer to the question, “How do stories help celebrate citizenship?” for a chance to win a set of 35 hardcover copies of I Pledge Allegiance!

For complete giveaway rules (and a special message from Pat), visit http://bit.ly/2t4wQXg

Summer Reading

Pat Mora

Children’s Day, Book Day is often known as Día, meaning day for our daily commitment to celebrating all our children and to motivating them and their families to be readers, essential in our democracy. As part of their daily commitment, many of our Día partners share resources to promote summer reading to teachers, parents and children:

Summer Reading and Fluency: Tips for Parents, from Reading Rockets.

For teachers, AFT’s Share My Lesson offers thousands of lesson plans to support summer reading assignments and reinforce the skills and strategies that students have developed during the school year.

First Book’s A Simple Bag of Books Can Help Beat Summer Slide shows that giving kids a chance to choose books that interest them is especially powerful during the summer when they are out of school and at risk for summer slide.

ALSC’s 2017 Summer Reading Lists are free downloads that libraries can make available to patrons.

June 8: World Oceans Day

Pat Mora

“Our Oceans, Our Future” is the theme of the 2017 World Oceans Day, celebrating the beauty, the wealth and the promise of the ocean.


From Pat’s Author’s Note in Water Rolls, Water Rises
“Water fascinates me, perhaps because I’ve spent most of my life in the Southwest desert region of the United States. The sound of rain is welcome music on a dry and thirsty landscape. Creeks and rivers refresh desert dwellers, and lakes–so much water–seem a surprise. Lightning and downpours startle. Snow softens mountains, hills, cactuses, rocks. I’ve also had the good fortune to travel to and savor varied landscapes, cultures, and water features in the United States, and in India, China, Holland, Peru, Finland, Canada, Greece, and Mexico. Oceans always astound me.”