Pat Mora: On the Web and in Print

Many poets writing for young people maintain rich and lively web sites. They offer interesting biographical information, current booklists, and ideas and strategies for connecting kids with poetry, even for promoting poetry writing. Plus, they have an appealing look that engages kids. Some even provide opportunities for interaction and communication with the poet. There are book covers, photographs, and even audiofiles. These sites help budding poets see how poets live and work. Conversely, they can also help the poetry-phobic (teacher or librarian) feel less intimidated about poetry. It seems so friendly on the web. Pat Mora has such an exemplary web site with many resources to support poetry sharing. Not only does she offer information about all her books (for all ages) including activities and lesson plans, but you’ll find a wealth of resources for educators and librarians, too. Her site has even been recognized as one of the "Great Web Sites for Kids" by the Association of Library Service to Children!

Plus her blog, ShareBookjoy, is a gem of inspiration and information—always new and updated. Check out the current interview with Jeanette Larson (fellow Texas and UberLibrarian) talking about her connections with Pat and with the growing El dia de los ninos/El dia de los libros movement, the annual celebration of children and books on April 30. Jeanette has a new book about this coming out with ALA in the spring: El día de los ninos/El día de los libros: Building a Culture of Literacy in Your Community through Día (ALA, 2011). Pat also mentions a brand new grant opportunity for public libraries that want to promote Día. Check it out!



And just in case you’re not familiar with Pat’s body of work, here’s a compilation of all her books for children and young adults. Each one has such a fond place in my heart—I have a “brown bag book report” for Tomás and the Library Lady that I think I have used a million times!

• A Birthday Basket for Tia
• A Library for Juana: The World of Sor Juana Inés
• Abuelos
• Agua, Agua, Agua
The Bakery Lady/La señora de la panaderia
• Book Fiesta
• Confetti: Poems for Children
• Delicious Hullabaloo/Pachanga Deliciosa
• Dizzy in My Eyes
• Doña Flor: A Tall Tale About a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart
• Hands; The Ways We Celebrate Life
• Listen to the Desert/Oye al desierto
• Love to Mama: A Tribute to Mothers
• Maria Paints the Hills
• ¡Marimba! Animales A-Z
• My Own True Name: New and Selected Poems for Young Adults, 1984-1999
• Pablo's Tree
• Piñata in a Pine Tree: A Latino Twelve Days of Christmas
• Song of St. Francis
• The Desert is My Mother/El Desierto es Mi Madre
• The Gift of the Poinsettia: El regalo de la flor de noche buena
• Gracias- Thanks
• The Night the Moon Fell
• The Race of Toad and Deer
• The Rainbow Tulip
• This Big Sky
• Tomás and the Library Lady
• Uno Dos Tres, One, Two, Three
• Yum! Mmmm! Que Rico!: America's Sproutings

***Plus, her “My Family--Mi familia" series of bilingual easy readers

Finally, a student of mine led me to this YouTube videoclip of Pat talking about her beginnings as a writer, the role of culture in children’s literature, and about the creation of her ingenioius food-focused haiku, Yum! Mmmm! Que Rico!: America's Sproutings. It was created by the book’s publisher, Lee and Low (a terrific publisher of multicultural books for children).

If you have any questions for Pat, post them below in the COMMENTS area and I’ll post her responses Monday, November 15, just before the NCTE conference session. Next week, I’ll be featuring new poet Jame Richards, also a member of our fantastic poetry + bloggers panel. Meanwhile, hop over to the weekly Poetry Friday gathering at Teaching Authors hosted by author JoAnn Early Macken.

Image credit: PatMora.com