Celebrate Children's Day with a Book Sale!

Celebrate El día de los niños / El día de los libros (Children's Day / Book Day) with a special 50% discount off books purchased from Arte Público Press! This special offer is good on orders until April 30, 2012 for events celebrating El día de los niños / El día de los libros.

This sale is a great chance to pick up Adelita and the Veggie Cousins on the cheap! (Go ahead and collect other great titles from their catalog while you're at it!)

"On the first day of her new school, Adelita learns that vegetables can have similarities and differences, as can new friends. . . . The dual message of nutrition and diversity will probably find its place in today's curriculum and can certainly augment units on food, language and culture."

-Kirkus Reviews

"The last two pages have a recipe in both English and Spanish for the '1-2-3 Super Calabacita Soup.' The bold, colorful illustrations capture the action well."

-School Library Journal

To take advantage of this offer, call 1-800-633-ARTE or e-mail your order to bkorders@uh.edu. To see a sample of the book, click here.

Illustration Friday: Atmosphere

Happy Friday! I’ve been working on finishes for Adelita and the Calabacita Cousins but wanted to show something from one of my newest award-winning releases, Baseball on Mars, for this week’s Illustration Friday.  In this scene, Roberto and his Dad’s imaginations run wild as they enter the atmosphere of Mars on their homemade spaceship.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

A Book Award and a Sale

Arte Público Press is celebrating El día de los niños / El día de los libros (Children’s Day / Book Day) with a special 50% discount off books purchased for Día events!  From now until April 30^th 2010, you can buy a hardcover version of Baseball on Mars / Beisbol en Marte and other titles for only $7.98!  For more information or to place an order, please visit this link. 

Baseball on Mars also takes home the honor of being named to the 2010-2011 Tejas Star Book Award list!  This makes it the second book I’ve illustrated to be named to the list, behind Somos Primos / We are Cousins.

El día de los niños / El día de los libros (Children's Day / Book Day), known as Día, is a celebration of children, families, and reading held annually on April 30. The celebration was founded by author Pat Mora and emphasizes the importance of advocating literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

A book sale like this only comes around once a year, so stock up while you can!

My Interview on Houston Public Radio

I came back from taking my dog to the vet today (poor little guy needed his shots) to find that my interview with KUHF Houston Public Radio is available now as a podcast! You can download it or stream it online at their website.

I’m really honored to have been selected as the KUHF/Arte Público Press Author of the Month, especially since this is Hispanic Heritage Month and I’m the first illustrator to be featured on the show. My heartfelt thanks go to both organizations and the host, Eric Ladau, for featuring the newest bilingual book I illustrated, Baseball on Mars / Beisbol En Marte.

Ironically, I think I’m more scared now than my dog was at the vet – I can’t even bring myself to listen to the podcast! Forgive me, please, if I sound at all ridiculous, and just focus on Mr. Ladau’s dreamy voice. I’ll be over here burying my red face in my hands.

Have a great week, everybody!

Illustration Friday: Infinite

Roberto and his father travel to Mars through the infinite expanse of space. Sure, it’s only in their imagination, but it can still be fun!

My submission for this week’s Illustration Friday comes from the forthcoming bilingual picture book, Baseball on Mars / Beisbol En Marte.

Have a great weekend, everybody!