International Blog Event: The Next Big Thing #nextbigthing #literacy #mexico #folktales

 

The Next Big Thing is an awareness blog campaign that began in Australia and became international. It features authors and illustrators of books for kids and young adults and their recently published books and/or those that are slated to be released this year. Thank you to picture book author Patricia Newman (http://www.patricianewmanbooks.blogspot.com/2013/01/new-energy-books-for-next-big-thing.html) for the invitation to participate by answering the following questions:

1) What is the working title of your next book? My next book is called Whiskers, Tails and Wings-Animal Folktales from Mexico and it was illustrated by Fabricio VandenBroeck.

2) Where did the idea come from for the book? I've always loved folktales and I've published quite a few in Spanish and in Mexico. This is my first book with folktales in English that features five stories with animals as the main characters.

3) What genre does your book fall under? It's a picture book.

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition? It would have to be an animated film!

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? Wh¡skers, Tails and Wings has five fun folktales from Mexico with information about each of the native groups that tell them: the Tarahumara, the Seri, the Huichol, the Triqui and the Tseltal.

6) Who is publishing your book? Charlesbridge is publishing the book and it has been delighful working with them.

7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript? A very long time since I wrote some of the stories years ago and others when I presented the project to the editors at Charlesbridge.

8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? Hmm, tough question but I'd say folktales written Alma Flor Ada and Isabel Campoy, Tomie DePaola, and Yuyi Morales, all whom I admire.

9) Who or what inspired you to write this book? There are over 60 native groups living in Mexico, each with their own language, traditions, songs, stories, and way of looking at life. I'm fascinated by the lovely stories they tell especially those about animals.

10) What else about the book might pique the reader's interest? Perhaps they might learn something more about Mexico, a lovely country with wonderful traditions, warm, friendly people, great folk art, and some of the best food in the world.

Visit Patricia Newman's blog to learn about her two new books  and, next week, visit Anna Levine's blog (http://www.annalevine.org/blog.htm ), Raquel Castro's blog (http://www.facebook.com/l/kAQHsLP3PAQEUfh0WWlvYst81ojofzS7ddJ4DCkmEECQrjw/www.raxxie.com   ) which is in Spanish, and Lawrence Schimel's blog (desayunoencama.livejournal.com).