Starred review by Kirkus for Whiskers, Tails and WIngs!/¡Muy buena reseña de Kirkus de Whiskers, Tails and Wings!

I'm thrilled that Kirkus gave my book a starred review!

¡Me da mucho gusto que Kirkus le otorgó una estrella a mi libro!

WHISKERS, TAILS & WINGS [STARRED REVIEW!]
Animal Folktales from Mexico
Author: Judy Goldman
Illustrator: Fabricio Vanden Broeck

Review Issue Date: July 1, 2013
Online Publish Date: June 12, 2013
Publisher:Charlesbridge
Pages: 64
Price ( Hardcover ): $16.95
Price ( e-book ): $9.99
Publication Date: August 1, 2013
ISBN ( Hardcover ): 978-1-58089-372-5
ISBN ( e-book ): 978-1-60734-617-3
Category: Folklore

Five animated, traditional tales are enhanced by ethnographic information about the indigenous peoples who still tell these stories.

The author has selected tales not from the well-known Aztec or Mayan tradition, but from the Tarahumara, Seri, Huichol, Triqui and Tseltal peoples. Each short tale is followed by a description of the group’s traditional customs and their contemporary lives, including their use of cars and computers (and, in the Huichol chapter, ceremonial peyote by chosen adults). The stories attest to the ingenuity of the cricket, Señor Grillo, over the force of Señor Puma’s army and to the steadfastness of Mosni, the sea turtle, whose journey to bring sand from the ocean floor enabled Hant Caai, the Seri god of creation, to create land that humans would inhabit. The Huichol story explains why the opossum has a bare but prehensile tail. The humorous Triqui tale describes insects invented by their god of creation to make Man and Woman do some real work, and the last story recounts the scary encounter between a large buzzard and a small frog. The book is handsomely designed, with full-bleed acrylic-and-watercolor paintings on heavily textured papers starting off each story. Realistic vignettes emphasizing folk art and intricate clothing illustrate the informational sections. Comprehensive glossaries (with pronunciation guides) accompany each story, and a scholarly bibliography and index round out the volume.

One of the most satisfying folklore collections in recent memory. (Folk tales. 7-11)

¡Estaré en la conferencia de la American Library Association en Chicago!/I'll be at the American Library Association in Chicago!

Attending the ALA Annual Conference this month?  You are invited to attend  "Cuentame un Cuentito,"  a cross border look at Spanish children's books from Mexico and the U.S.  The panel will be part of the REFORMA program on Saturday, June 29th. 

Presenters include:
Judy Goldman, children’s author from Mexico who has published a number of books in both Mexico and the U.S.
René Saldaña, Jr, children's and YA author and associate professor of language and literacy at Texas Tech University.
Tim Wadham, Director of the Puyallup Public Library and author of  School Library Journal column “Libro por Libro."
Pam Fochtman, President of Lorito Books, will moderate.

The panel will discuss how authors create stories that inspire and how to identify the materials that engage young Latinos.  It will look at children's and young adult materials published on both sides of the border and contrast the type of books published for Latinos in the US with Spanish children's materials in Mexico.  In light of the recent articles in The New York Times and Publishing Perspectives, this panel should be informative and thought-provoking. 

Details:
Saturday, June 29th, 4:30-5:30pm
McCormick Place Convention Center
Room N227a

Please join us!

¡Por favor acompáñenos!

Maurice Sendak

Hoy Maurice Sendak hubiera complido 85 años. En mi opinión, fue uno de los grandes de la literatura infantil y juvenil pues escribía e ilustraba, an algunos casos, sin miramientos y si colorear todo de rosa. Por eso, sus libros siguen gustando a legiones de niños que los descubren por primera vez o que los siguen leyendo años después con tanto gusto. Sus personajes, como Max y los monstruos, los llevas siempre en el corazón. En los libreros de mi casa hay varios de sus títulos y, aparte de Donde viven los monstruos, uno de mis favoritos, también están Swinelake, Mummy?, un libro pop-up de Arthur Yorinks, y otros pero los que más cuido son dos que ya casi no se encuentran porque fueron de los primeros que el ilustró. Fueron escritos por Ruth Krauss: A Hole is to Dig y Open House for Butterflies. Los dos recogen divertidas definiciones hechas por niños en edad preescolar y son un deleite. Tuve la suerte de comprarlos usados hace varios años y me di cuenta, después, que son primeras ediciones. Son unos de mis tesoros aunque no están en óptimas condiciones. Eso no me importa porque me parece que los niños que los leyeron lo han de haber hecho tantas veces que los dejaron así. 

Libros así son libros amados.

Hoy no nos queda más que agradecer la vida y la imaginación y talento de este hombre. 

Today Maurice Sendak would have celebrated his 85th birthday. In my opinion, he was one of the greats in kid's lit because he wrote and illustrated, in some cases, without being oversweet or producing literature that saw everything through rose-colored glasses. I believe this is why his books are still being enjoyed by legions of kids who discover them for the first time or are still reading them years later with so much pleasure. His characters, like Max and the wild things, will always be in our hearts. My bookshelves are home to many of his books and, besides Where the Wild Things Are, you'll also find Swinelake, Mummy?, written by Arhtur Yorinks; and others but the ones I take care of the most are two written by Ruth Krauss and illustrated by him: A Hole is to Dig and Open House for Butterflies. Both have definitions made by preschoolers and are delighful. I had the good luck of buying them used a few years ago and later found out that they're first editions. They're treasured though they're not in excellent condition. That doesn't bother me since the kids who read them must have done it so many times that they left them like that. 

Books like those are loved.

Today we can but thank Sendak for his life, imagination, and talent.

 

Exhibición de fantasía/Fantasy exhibit

Yo soy fan de la fantasía y no me da pena decirlo. Crecí con los libros de Narnia y Mary Poppins, devoré los libros de Harry Potter y amé la serie de Philip Pullman que empieza con Las luces del Norte.

Me acabo de enterar de esta exhibición y cómo me encantaría verla en persona. Como no es posible, porque no tengo una escoba mágica que me lleve a Inglaterra, vean de qué se trata en esta liga: http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/whats-on/online/magical-books 

Ojalá la trajeran a México, donde hay muchos fans como yo. Yo sería la primera en la fila para entrar.

I'm a big fan of fantasy and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I grew up with the Narnia books and Mary Poppins, I devored the Harry Potter books, and loved Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy which begins with The Golden Compass.

I just found out about this exhibit and how I'd love to see it in person. SInce that's not possible, because I don't have a magic broom to take me to England, visit this link and learn what it's about. http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/whats-on/online/magical-books

Hopefully, they'll bring it to Mexico, where there are a lot of fans like me. I'd be the first in line to see it.