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National Poetry Week Goings-On...

If you're looking for ways to get your daily shot of the poetic during April (which, of course, is National Poetry Month) here are two great options:

• GottaBook's 30 Poets/30 Days. Poet and blogger Gregory K. Pinkus has put together quite a National Poetry Month celebration. Every day in April on GottaBook he'll be posting a previously unpublished poem by a different children's poet, including Jack Prelutsky, Mary Ann Hoberman, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Douglas Florian, Nikki Grimes, Jane Yolen, Pat Mora, Nikki Giovanni, Adam Rex, Jon Scieszka, and many many more. Click here to read the full list.

• Poetic Asides' Poem-a-Day Challenge. Poet's Market editor, blogger (and my super-duper co-worker) Robert Lee Brewer is holding his annual Poem-a-Day Challenge on the Poetic Asides blog. Throughout April Robert will post a daily poetry prompt and poets are encouraged to post their prompt-inspired work on the blog (every day if they're up to the challenge). In May Robert's 50 favorite poems will be offered in an e-book. It's all free and there's no registration to complete--poets simply write and post.
  

Guest Blogger Rachael Walker is the Outreach Consultant for Reading Rockets, a national multimedia initiative which aims to inform and inspire parents, teachers, childcare providers, and others who touch the life of a child by providing comprehensive, accessible information on how to teach kids to read and help those who struggle. Rachael began her career in literacy outreach at Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), has also served as a consultant to the NEA’s Read Across America campaign, and was most recently the Executive Director of Reach Out and Read of Metro DC.

It’s Tuesday!  On Tuesday, he ate through two pears, but he was still hungry. Know who “he” was?  The Very Hungry Caterpillar!

If you’re hungry for a reading adventure, celebrate the 40th anniversary of the publication of Eric Carle’s classic picture book The Very Hungry Caterpillar with Reading Rockets’ free Family Literacy Bag.  What Happens Next? The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one of seven activity packets designed to help educators and caregivers use fiction and non-fiction titles to support reading activities at home and encourage families to go on a reading adventure together.

This Friday might be an excellent day to take such an adventure. Philomel Books, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, has named March 20—the first day of spring—The Very Hungry Caterpillar Day.  They offer a very celebratory activity kit (PDF) ideal for classroom and library use.

Spring is a great time to celebrate reading and there’s no shortage of opportunities to do so in April and May.  Are you ready for the following reading events?

National Poetry Month: Celebrate poetry throughout April and end the month with Poem In Your Pocket Day on Thursday, April 30.

National D.E.A.R. Day: April 12 is author Beverly Cleary’s birthday and National Drop Everything and Read Day.  Send this e-card to all the readers you hold dear!

National Library Week: The annual celebration of the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians is April 12-18.  Celebrate with the theme, “Worlds connect @ your library.”

El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Day of the Child/Day of the Book): This April 30 celebration borrows from the traditional Mexican holiday and expands it to include literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds.  Hear what children’s book author Pat Mora has to say about the founding of Día.

Get Caught Reading Month: Celebrated in May, but the Association of American Publishers’ nationwide campaign to remind people of all ages how much fun it is to read is promoted throughout the year.  You can order their free posters of celebrities caught reading or make your own!

Mexico is currently in the midst of its Día de los Muertos celebrations and there are some wonderful pictures appearing on various blogs, which highlight the color and exuberance of the festival – such as this at Zocalo de Mexican Folk Art; while Sue at Cottage in the Cedars recalls a past visit to Mexico and gives lots of background information. There are some great children’s books around – I blogged about some last year (including author René Colato Laínez’ as yet unpublished Magic Night, Noche Mágica). My Readable Feast has a new post about the Global Wonders dvd, with an extract to view about The Day of the Dead –it’s also worth scrolling down through the tag to her previous posts too, both for suggestions for children’s books and to see some very impressive home-made sugar skulls…

A new book, Abuelos, by Pat Mora and illustrated by Amelia Lau Carling (Groundwood, 2008), explores a less well-known tradition which carries traits of both Spanish and Pueblo cultures, and which is celebrated further north, in the mountains of New Mexico, around the time of the Winter solstice.

“Los abuelos” are not only grandfathers, in this context they are scary, sooty old men who come down from the mountains once a year to make sure the children have been good. At the time of the abuelos’ visit, villages have a big party, sharing music and food around a huge bonfire, and men dress up to tease the children.

In this delightful story, the preparations and the party are seen through the eyes of Amelia, our narrator, and her older brother Ray, who have only recently moved to the village. Amelia’s feelings are mixed – she loves the excitement but she’s not completely convinced that the abuelos are wholly mythical. Her father reassures her that it’s fun to be have a scary feeling sometimes – like at Halloween – because actually “No one is going to hurt you”. Ray teases and scares Amelia unmercifully but at the actual party, she’s the one who courageously leaps in to push an abuelo away from him…

The writing and the illustrations together perfectly capture both the magic of this tradition seen through Amelia’s young eyes and the warmth of the village community set against the cold, winter landscape. Monsters loom large, whether in caves up in the snowy mountains, or in the form of masked villagers – certainly all enough to convince Amelia to do anything her mother asks her straight away!

This is a great new addition to the bookshelf, whether for a cosy winter’s bedtime or for those in hotter climes wanting to escape the mid-December heat – as Pat herself says in her author’s note at the end:

Since I’m easily frightened, I chose to write a gentle version of how I imagine a spunky little girl responding to a visit by “los abuelos.” Enjoy!

If you’ve had a chance to savor Yum! Mmm! Que Rico! America’s Sproutings, or any of the books in this year’s Américas Award list of winners, honor books and commended titles, you will understand how spot-on this award’s committee is in recognizing and honoring accurate portrayals of our Americas’ rich cultural heritage.

As this year’s winners, Pat Mora and Rafael Lopez’s Yum! Mmm! Que Rico! and Laura Resau’s Red Glass will be honored tomorrow (Oct 4), at a ceremony at the Library of Congress, in Washington D.C. Hosted by the Library of Congress’s Hispanic Division and the Center for the Book, the event is free and open to the public, so don’t miss it if you are in the area!

Yuyi Morales’ Little Night, Jorge Argueta’s Alfredito Flies Home and Carmen T. Bernier’s Frida: Viva la Vida! are among the honored and commended titles selected by the award’s 2008 committee.

What better way to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month than by giving these books the recognition and readership they deserve?

Speaking of pirates… today we celebrate Poetry Friday with a sea song. Or the hint of one, at least.

“And silver the coins and silver the moon, / Silver the waves on the top of the sea…” starts Jane Yolen’s The Ballad of the Pirate Queens, an adventure that sings the history of Anne Bonney and Mary Reade, the only two women of the twelve pirates aboard the legendary Vanity ship, in 1720.

Jane Yolen never disappoints. Neither does Poetry Friday, today at Miss Rumphius Effect. This installment unveils priceless treasures, such as Sylvia Vardell’s reviews of new poems by Gary Soto and Pat Mora, in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. So hurry up and check them out, mi hearties. They are worth their weight in gold!

Guest Blogger Lydia Breiseth is the manager of the bilingual English-Spanish website Colorín Colorado, whose mission is to provide educators and parents with information about teaching English language learners to read and succeed.   Ms. Breiseth began her career teaching English to adults in Ecuador with the educational exchange program WorldTeach, and has subsequently taught English and Spanish in a variety of educational and family literacy programs to students of all ages. Prior to working at Colorín Colorado, Ms. Breiseth served as the Community Affairs Liaison at Telemundo Washington DC, managing outreach initiatives to the region’s Hispanic community.

Each fall, we have the opportunity to celebrate the contributions and accomplishments of Hispanic and Latin Americans during Hispanic Heritage Month.  For some fresh ideas on how to mark this month, take a look at Colorín Colorado’s Hispanic Heritage pages in English and Spanish for booklists, ready-to-use tools for the ELL classroom, and many multimedia resources.  From bilingual stories and author interviews to lesson plans, there are lots of great resources online to get the celebration started at home or at school!

Here are five ideas for ways to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month:

1. Look for children’s books by authors such as Alma Flor Ada, George Ancona, Francisco X. Alarcón, Pam Muñoz Ryan, Pat Mora, Monica Brown, Lulu Delacre, Gary Soto, or Jorge Argueta.  While these authors write about a number of themes, many of them focus on culturally relevant stories, traditions, and events that students of all backgrounds will find engaging.
2. Talk about the biographies of important Hispanic and Latin American figures from history and look for children’s books about those figures. For example, César: Yes, We Can!/César: ¡Sí, Se Puede! by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand offers poems about César Chávez, while Harvesting Hope: The Story of César Chávez by Kathleen Krull and Yuyi Morales focuses on Chávez’s famous march on behalf of California’s migrant farmworkers.
3. With older students, talk about what it means to be Hispanic American in the U.S. today.  What are the opportunities and challenges for young Hispanic Americans and immigrants of different backgrounds?  What has their family experience been?  How might Hispanic Americans’ vote play a part in the upcoming presidential election?
4. Look for cultural events in your area that you can attend with students or your family.  During Hispanic Heritage Month, many schools, museums, libraries, cultural associations, and performance groups offer presentations with art, music, poetry, puppet shows, cinema, drama, or other activities for audiences of all ages.  You may even be able to do some taste-testing of yummy cuisine while you’re at it!
5. Local PBS stations are offering Hispanic Heritage programming, including documentaries, performances, and bilingual children’s shows.  Check out some of the special programs PBS will be showcasing.

Also check out local PBS listings for Reading Rockets’ newest television program, Toddling Toward Reading.  Hosted by country music legend (and First Book Board member) Reba McEntire, the show offers a look at how pediatricians are getting involved in bringing books to babies; the crucial need for family-support services to engage and involve parents of young children; and the benefits of inclusion for the special needs preschooler. The show also features master teacher Dr. Rebecca Palacios who runs a dual-language immersion preschool in Corpus Christi, Texas. While teaching her kids, she also mentors teachers-in-training on how to provide top-notch teaching in a preschool environment.

Find ways to connect babies, toddlers and preschoolers with books with these parent tip sheets on reading in both English and Spanish.  Hispanic Heritage Month is a great opportunity to introduce even soon-to-be readers to poems, stories, and traditional songs found in books.

Today is El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros also known as Children's Day/Book Day. For the annual April 30th celebration, both the Reading Rockets and Colorin Colorado Web sites are offering suggestions for library and classroom activities. The Association for Library Service to Children also lists Día events around the country. As the national home of Día, one of the things ALSC does is to provide a database where people can enter their Día events and/or see what else is going on near them and anywhere in the nation. It's wonderful to see everything that's going on, and to see how this initiative, originally conceived by Pat Mora, with REFORMA as a founding partner, has caught on and grown in the past 12 years.

In addition, Pat Mora, the Grande Dame of Día has established her own blog now-- ShareBookJoy-- which is a wonderful resource on Día and so much more. Pat is a gem and a giant, a force to be reckoned with, and an author, poet and advocate with a gift for storytelling AND empowerment. Be sure to check out her Web site, too.

In honor of Día, I would like to mention a new poetry collection just published by Bloomsbury: Come and Play, Children of Our World Having Fun. The poems are written by children under the guidance of their teacher, Ayana Lowe, in response to photographs that are provided by Magnum Photos, the “most highly celebrated photographic collective in the world.” The images of children come from around the world and from over the last 50 years. Thumbnails, captions, and maps in the backmatter let the reader know a bit more about each photograph. And the poems reflect the clever word coining and fresh abruptness of children’s language. Here’s one example:

A Tight Squeeze
(Accompanying a photo of a crowded beach scene in Wonsan City, North Korea, 1982)

Wet and happy.
The beach is hot.
I’ve saved you a spot.

From: Lowe, Ayana. Ed. 2008. Come and Play; Children of Our World Having Fun. NY: Bloomsbury.

Individual poets are not named, which gives the reader the impression of a collective voice of childhood speaking. (Their energetic signatures cover the end pages!) The oversized format juxtaposes a poem in a large colorful font on a black background on the left with a full-page black and white or color photograph on the right. Very dramatic and accessible. And I love the opening page featuring this quote from Poet Laureate Rita Dove:

“I think all of us have moments,
particularly in our childhood,
where we come alive,
maybe for the first time.
And we go back to those
moments and think, ‘
This is when I became myself.’”

It begs for imitation—gathering photographs from family, magazines, or the Web to prompt children’s own writing, and then creating their own collective books of poetry and pictures.

Happy Día!

Picture credit: http://sharebookjoy.blogspot.com and Amazon.

Pat Mora, one of my favorite authors has entered the wonderful world of blogging. Her Bookjoy Blog is all about finding the joy in books. She's hoping that we all contribute and comment on ideas for El día de los niños. What gives you bookjoy? Visit Pat often at She'll be a permanent link on the sidebars of both Cuentecitos and AmoXcalli. http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

From Cuentecitos and AmoXcalli, welcome to the kidlitosphere Pat!

STORMING HEAVEN'S GATE -- photo by Graciela Iturbide

Creatively and personally, I needed to engage the Goddess in a Latin context. In doing so, I found freedom from restrictive ideas of female identity that have been Catholicism's and colonialism's legacy. It is precisely the idea of sin, of the inherent pollution of women’s bodies, that had to be broken through for me to fully claim my creative energy and direct it.

As I continue to try to make new work, I have to reach out for connection in an ever-deepening way. My personal spirituality is being plumbed for imagery, for language, for a way to connect with something larger than myself.

Ironically, and in a way I can only begin to comprehend, this spiritual connection is plumbing me as well. What I mean here is that I can't forget that writing is my tether to something divine. Personal success, critical or audience acceptance needs to remain a secondary consideration, as much as care about those things. ‘What is being worked though me?’ is the question that I have to ask myself, the question that demands an answer at the end of the day.

In 'brothers, part 6,' Lucille Clifton cries out to a silent God who turns a deaf ear to suffering. She asks:

tell me why
in the confusion of a mountain
of babies stacked like cordwood...
tell me why You neither raised your hand
nor turned away...why You said nothing. (p.28)

Attend me, hold me in you muscular arms, protect me
from throwing any part of myself away. (p.67)

• ISBN-10: 0452276217

• ISBN-13: 978-0452276215

Yesterday was Peace Day – thousands of people around the world stopped to stand together for a world without conflict, for a world united:

PEACE is more than the absence of war.
It is about transforming our societies and
uniting our global community
to work together for a more peaceful, just
and sustainable world for ALL. (Peace Day)

There is an ever-increasing number of children’s books being written by people who have experienced conflict first hand and whose stories give rise to discussion that may not be able to answer the question, “Why?” but at least allows history to become known and hopefully learnt from.

For younger children, such books as A Place Where Sunflowers Grow by Amy Lee-Tai and illustrated by Felicia Hoshino; Peacebound Trains by Haemi Balgassi; and The Orphans of Normandy by Nancy Amis all focus on children who are the innocent victims of conflict. We came across The Orphans of Normandy last summer. I was looking for something to read with my boys on holiday, when we were visiting some of the Normandy World War II sites. It is an extraordinary book: a diary written by the head of an orphanage in Caen and illustrated by the girls themselves as they made a journey of 150 miles to flee the coast. Some of the images are very sobering, being an accurate depiction of war by such young witnesses. It worked well as an introduction to the effects of conflict, without being unnecessarily traumatic.

The story of Sadako Sasaki, (more…)

Manuel Ramos



AGUA SANTA/HOLY WATER
PAT MORA
University of Arizona Press, September 2007

The University of Arizona Press has announced that it will make available again Pat Mora's celebration of the spirit of women, Agua Santa/Holy Water. As the New York Times noted when the book was first released (1995), "[These] poems are proudly bilingual, an eloquent answer to purists who refuse to see language as something that lives and changes." Texas Books in Review said that these poems "celebrate women, women who are immediate and eternal, serious and humorous, sacred and profane. But always sensual."




Desert Blood: The Juárez Murders Alicia Gaspar de Alba
Arte Público Press, August 2007

Meanwhile, Arte Público announces that the acclaimed mystery novel about the series of murders of young girls around Ciudad Juárez will be released in paperback later this year. This novel won the 2005 Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian Mystery and the 2006 International Latino Book Award for Best Mystery Novel. "Gaspar de Alba not only crafts a suspenseful plot but tackles prejudice in many of its ugly forms: against gays, against Hispanics, against the poor. An in-your-face, no-holds barred story full of brutality, graphic violence, and ultimately, redemption." Booklist




PONIATOWSKA TAKES SPANISH-LANGUAGE PRIZE
My bloga comrade Gina Ruiz recently passed on this announcement:
Mexican writer Elena Poniatowska won the biennial Romulo Gallegos literature prize for a Spanish-language novel for El Tren Pasa Primero (The Train Passes First) (Alfaguara, 2005), which the AP says "tells the story of a railroad worker who becomes immersed in the struggle for labor rights in Mexico." The prize honors the best Spanish-language novel. (Among recent winners, Roberto Bolaño took the prize in 1999.)

It’s hard to believe that it’s been ten years since the first celebration of El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros, (The Day of the Child/ The Day of the Book) on April 30, 1997, sprung from an idea that poet, author and literacy advocate Pat Mora had, and that REFORMA supported. It has since mushroomed into a grassroots effort on a national scale. And this year for the first time, a Día event is planned for the U.S. Senate. Senators will read to children from the nearby Oyster Bilingual School, ALSC President KT Horning and a representative from La Raza will speak, and children in attendance will receive goodie bags filled with books donated from publishers, plus bookmarks, stickers, and magnets.

Pat Mora continues her efforts as a literacy advocate in promoting El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros held every April 30th. Many of her own works are written in two languages (English interwoven with Spanish words and phrases), and in bilingual editions. She reflects her own feelings and experiences growing up in the Southwest in her poems in This Big Sky (Scholastic, 1998), creates rhyming ABC and counting books for younger children with ¡Marimba!: Animales from A to Z (Clarion, 2006) and Uno Dos Tres, One, Two, Three (Clarion, 1996), and writes for middle grade kids and teens with Confetti: Poems for Children (Lee & Low, 1996/1999), and My Own True Name: New and Selected Poems for Young Adults (Arte Publico Press, 2000). Mora has also created an anthology of poetry by other Latino/Latina poets in Love to Mama: A Tribute to Mothers (Lee & Low, 2001).

Start planning now for your own Día celebration for next April 30! Look for poetry that celebrates the unique cultures and languages in your own community. And for connecting with communities across the globe, look for these collections of poetry for young people by poets OUTSIDE our U.S. borders:

Agard, John and Grace Nichols, ed. 1994. A Caribbean Dozen: Poems from Caribbean Poets. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
Benjamin, Floella, comp. 1995. Skip Across the Ocean: Nursery Rhymes from Around the World. New York: Orchard Books.
Brenner, Barbara. 2000. Voices: Poetry and Art from Around the World. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society.
Cashman, Seamus, 2004. Something Beginning with P; New Poems From Irish Poets. O’Brien Press. (See entry for March 17)
Delacre, Lulu. 2004. Arrorró Mi Niño: Latino Lullabies and Gentle Games. New York:
Lee & Low Books.
Gunning, Monica. 1998. Under The Breadfruit Tree: Island Poems. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press.
Ho, Minfong. 1996. Maples in the Mist: Poems for Children from the Tang Dynasty. New York: Lothrop, Lee, & Shepard.
Lee, Dennis. 1999. The Ice Cream Store. New York: HarperCollins.
Mado, Michio. 1998. The Magic Pocket. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books.
Nye, Naomi Shihab, comp. 1998. The Space Between Our Footsteps: Poems and Paintings From the Middle East. New York: Simon & Schuster.
___, comp. 1992. This Same Sky: A Collection of Poems from Around the World. New York: Four Winds Press.
___, comp. 1995. The Tree is Older than You Are: A Bilingual Gathering of Poems and Stories from Mexico with Paintings by Mexican Artists. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Orozco, Jose-Luis. 2002. Diez Deditos: Ten Little Fingers and Other Play Rhymes and Action Songs from Latin America. New York: Dutton.
Pomerantz, Charlotte. 1982. If I Had a Paka: Poems in Eleven Languages. New York: Greenwillow.
Prelutsky, Jack, comp. 1997. Dinosaur Dinner with a Slice of Alligator Pie: Favorite Poems by Dennis Lee. New York: Scholastic.
Rosen, Michael, comp. 1992. Itsy-bitsy Beasties: Poems from Around the World. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books.
Schmidt, Annie M.G. 1981. Pink Lemonade: Poems for Children. Translated and adapted from the Dutch by Henrietta ten Harmsel. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
Yolen, Jane. 2000. Street Rhymes From Around the World. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press.
For more suggestions, see also posts for April 2: International Book Day and Sept. 22: Poetry Around the World

Every poet is a big child.
And every child is a little poet.
Childhood is the poetry of life.
Poetry is the childhood of the world.
Boris Novak, Poet

[From: Kordigel, M. (1995). "Every poet a big child": The Slovene poet Boris A. Novak. Bookbird. 33, 1, 36-37.]

Picture credit: http://www.texasdia.org/

Dear Luis y Pat ---

In many ways this letter has been a long time coming. I've sent small thank you notes, sung your praises, although I suspect I am one voice among many. You've both cast a long shadow in my life, but as I sit here writing, una sombra is not really an accurate description. Light, you have been light, incandescent in your own right, shining with the fire of your own words, and with the generosity you've shown to me and others time and time again. And because I'm a poet, and a romantic, I think I'll run with the metaphor.

You’ve both lit my way back home to myself, to who I am as a writer. For better or worse, gave me your support without hesitation,without expectation, and now I finally have some way to let others know how life changing it was Luis, it's been over 15 years now, but I will never forget sitting in a coffeeshop/bookstore on Milwaukee Avenue here in holding my breath as you read my first poetry chapbook. Amazing thing is that I'd been a few times to the Guild Complex while you were still based out of there, I didn't know you, or more importantly, you didn't know me. You met with me after I looked you up in the phone book, basically stalked you, leaving phone message after phone message with Trini. (God bless her for putting up with that! As I sat there, palms sweaty, heart rattling in my chest, you read through the manuscript, telling what you liked and why, what phrases captured you, what could be sharpened.

When it was all over, I told you that I wanted to be a writer. "You already are," was what you said. We never met again like that face to face, although I came to see you read several times after that. It didn't matter to me, in my mind and heart, I called you friend. In the intervening years, we stayed in touch by e-mail, you leaving for Califas, writing more books, me continuing to establish myself. You never hesitated to produce letters of recommendation for me, for projects I hoped to fund, to offer generous quotes for chapbooks, even one recently for Sister Chicas. What is amazing is that a couple of weeks ago, before general public knew about losing the Tía Chucha space, I asked you to be a reference for me for a job I really wanted. What you wrote back was that things were a little hectic, but that you'd do what you could, not that the bookstore had to move, nor that you were incredibly stressed, busy, or hassled. Typical. And an object lesson for me.

And Doña Pat, you too, have been the victim of my stalking, responding with kindness to a stranger. Several years back, I stumbled across your masterful poem, 'Coatlicue's Rules,' was entranced by its layers, the way it blended domestic work with Aztec myth. I was struggling to find something to excerpt for a performance piece I was working on, this seemed perfect. Through a barrage of e-mails to your publisher, with sample of the work-in-progress-attached, no less, I finally secured a way to contact you.

Like the sinvergüenza I am about these things, I mailed you the whole kitchen sink. What I got in return was a lovely letter supporting what I was trying to do and rights to use the piece I wanted. When Sister Chicas was in its final stages, I wrote you again, asking you to read it, and if you could, give a book cover quote. My co-authors and I got one that moved us to tears, as well as e-mails from you that made our hearts sing about the characters, about the recipes in the book, about who which 'girl' you identified with the most. And one of my singular blessings has been your offer of friendship, inviting me to your home when I visited New Mexico. Over lunch you provided me with sage advice about publishing, marketing, academia, as well notes when I got back to Chicago about taking care of myself as my marriage ended. That you made time for me, when you're still deep in your own work, in securing a place in the public's mind for Día de los Niños. Amazing. I could end this here, just saying I send my love and respect, but it seems necessary to say what I've learned.

That what we do is more than our body of work, however beautiful and deeply moving. That we stand on the shoulders of all those who've come before, that we give back because they still live in us. More importantly perhaps, that the seeds with which they live again are within us, that they can only burst forth and blossom in what we offer others. With your example before me, I can only hope to be of use.

Blogmeister's Note: La Bloga happily recognizes our expansion to six regular columnists occupying the five weekdays. Rudy Garcia has taken a sabbatical owing to requirements of his professional responsibilities as a public school educator. Lisa Alvarado now appears on Thursday, in Lisa's spot.

As La Bloga regularly reminds readers, we welcome guest columnists. Lisa joined us first as the subject of a book review, next as a guest columnist, and today as a regular La Bloga Bloguera. If you're interested in sharing an idea, a review, an experience, an event or happening, please click here and send your material along with a bio and a mugshot.

And comments! We welcome and encourage your comments! Please, share your responses to stuff you read here at La Bloga. We love the sight of comments in the morning, it reminds us of... community!

Hasta, les wachamos, and Read! Gente.