A poetic depiction of the desert as the provider of comfort, food, spirit, and life.

"A gentle text and innovative artwork depict a pivotal summer in a boy's life when he and his family leave their Texas home for farm work in Iowa. One morning, while his parents pick corn, Tomás visits the imposing town library and meets a kindly librarian who gently coaxes him inside. Throughout the hot days thereafter, she offers Tomás cool drinks of water and adventurous escapes into books; on slow days he teaches her Spanish until it's time to return home to Texas: 'I have a sad word to teach you today. The word is adiós. It means good-bye.' . . . While young readers and future librarians will find this an inspiring tale, the end note gives it a real kick: the story is based on an actual migrant worker [Tomás Rivera] who became chancellor of a university--where the library now bears his name."--Publishers Weekly

It's dinnertime. Look at all the food Es la hora de cenar. Cuanta comida

There are beans, tortillas, Hay frijoles, tortillas,

cheese, and even a green salad.queso y hasta una ensalada de lechuga.

Enough for the whole family.Suficiente para toda la familia.

Let's sit down and enjoy it together.Vamos a sentarnos y disfrutarla juntos.

Let's eat A comer

This first book in the new bilingual My Family/Mi familia series will charm readers with its close-knit family--a family that is grateful for its many blessings.

Este es el primer libro de la nueva serie My Family/ Mi familia. Los lectores quedaran encantados con esta familia unida que se siente agradecida por todas sus bendiciones.

"Exemplifies the best of recent multicultural publishing". -- The Horn Book

When her great-aunt, her tia, turns ninety, little Cecilia lovingly gathers together a basket full of memories. "Vibrant, detailed cut-paper illustrations portray family warmth and individuality with verve and panache". -- School Library Journal

A young multiracial boy celebrates family, friendship, and fun by telling about some of the everyday things for which he is thankful.

Dona Flor is a giant lady who lives in a tiny village in the American Southwest. Popular with her neighbors, she lets the children use her flowers as trumpets and her leftover tortillas as rafts. Flor loves to read, too, and she can often be found reading aloud to the children.
One day, all the villagers hear a terrifying noise: it sounds like a huge animal bellowing just outside their village. Everyone is afraid, but not Flor. She wants to protect her beloved neighbors, so with the help of her animal friends, she sets off for the highest mesa to find the creature. Soon enough, though, the joke is on Flor and her friends, who come to rescue "her," as she discovers the small secret behind that great big noise.
The creators of "Tomas and the Library Lady," Pat Mora and Raul Colon, have once again joined together. This time they present a heartwarming and humorous original tall tale--peppered with Spanish words and phrases--about a giant lady with a great big heart.

Monica, who wants to be a baker like her grandmother, finds the doll hidden in the bread on the feast for the Three Kings and thus gets to bake cookies for the next fiesta.

Always amigos!" My Singing Nana is a compassionate tribute to families dealing with Alzheimer's Disease. This story celebrates the ideals of family, heritage, and happy memories, showing kids that no matter how their loved one might change they always have ways to maintain their special connection.

Pat Mora, an award-winning poet and author and a frequent guest speaker in schools, colleges, and libraries, has lead popular workshops on literacy and teacher creativity. Her workshop, Nurturing Creativity: Seven Practices for Educators and Students provided the foundation for this book as a response to numerous requests from teachers who were driven by the need to express themselves creatively and to nurture the creativity of their students. Each practice for nurturing personal creativity has a corollary practice for nurturing student creativity. Throughout the book, Mora reaffirms her conviction that creative teachers are more effective teachers and emphasizes that every child's creative self must be valued-regardless of a child's cultural and linguistic background. Written in the form of letters to teachers, Zing! Seven Creativity Practices for Educators and Students is a moving and inspirational volume that serves as a reminder to teachers that their work is important and that they are, indeed, community leaders.

As a Chicana, educator, poet, mother, lecturer, and native of El Paso, Texas, Pat Mora is a denizen of "nepantla"--a Nahuatl word meaning "land in the middle." In her first collection of essays this award-winning writer negotiates the middle land's many terrains by exploring the personal issues and political responsibilities she faces as a woman of color in the United States. Characterized by a keen sense of community, "Nepantla" is an important contribution to the growing body of Chicano nonfiction.

Mora explores the issues of cultural preservation--preservation of her own Mexican American culture as a source for her creativity and for her sense of self. She then remembers her encounters with other cultures, which have taught her both to appreciate and to spotlight the stunning riches and injustices of her own country. Mora's insights on bilingualism, education, women, and family are sometimes barbed and always exact. Sprinkled like blossoms on a springtime cholla, excerpts from Mora's own poems crystallize her thoughts and insights into unforgettable images.

En este encantador libro-álbum, un ratoncito, Chico Canta, salva a su familia del pequeño pero astuto Gato-Gatito, gracias a su agilidad mental y su conocimiento de otro idioma. Chico Canta, el menor de doce hermanos, es un ratoncito travieso y temerario que vive con su familia en un viejo teatro. A todos les encanta subir al palco. Desde allí miran los espectáculos y luego gritan, “¡Bravo, bravo!� con el público, cuando cae el telón. La señora Canta vive arreando a todos sus hijos de un lado a otro, y a Chico en particular. Siempre les dice: “¡Pronto! ¡Pronto! Hurry! Hurry!� Ella habla muchísimos idiomas: español, inglés e italiano, pero también araña, grillo y polilla. También anima a sus hijos a desarrollar sus propias capacidades lingüísticas: “¡Bravo, bilingüe!� les dice siempre. Una noche, después de una maravillosa puesta en escena de Los tres cerditos, la familia de ratones está a punto de caer entre las garras del Gato-Gatito. Una vez superado el susto, los ratoncitos se animan a montar su propia versión de la obra. Sigue una actividad intensa: el señor Canta supervisa la costura de los disfraces y la construcción de la escenografía, mientras la señora Canta dirige a las grillos músicos, a las arañas escenógrafos y a las polillas acomodadoras del público. Pero cuando al fin llega la noche del estreno, la verdadera estrella resulta ser Chico Canta. Desde la escena, el ratoncito detecta al Gato-Gatito en la sombra y enseguida utiliza su maravilloso don para los idiomas para evitar el desastre. Las tiernas ilustraciones de Amelia Lau Carling, reflejan todas las emociones que viven Chico Canta y su familia: sus alegrías y hazañas, sus temores y triunfos. Todo esto, contra el telón de fondo del viejo y elegante teatro. Una nota de la autora Pat Mora describe cómo ella y su hija Libby escribieron esta historia, inspiradas en un chiste bilingüe que leyeron en un libro de cuentos méxico-americanos.