Larson Library

I am thrilled to be joining the fabulous folks at ReaderKidz. I'll be blogging there about a variety of different topics each month.

Hummingbirds has been nominated for the Cybils Award, the Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards.

The Texas State Library selected Hummingbirds to represent Texas at the National Book Festival. The book is featured on the poster, "Discover Great Places Through Reading" and was highlighted in the Pavilion of the States. The festival was held in Washington, DC on September 23-24, 2011.

I was delighted to learn that Hummingbirds was named to the SB&F Summer Reading list! Check out the guide for this and many other wonderful science-related books for all ages.

To book school and library programs, I've joined Authors and More, a full service provider of authors and storytellers.

My first children's book, Hummingbirds: Facts and Folklore from the Americas, has been published by Charlesbridge. I'm really looking forward to meeting hummingbird enthusiasts as well as young people who are interested in science, biology, and folklore. The book takes a scientific look at the biology of hummingbirds but also links the science back to stories and folklore from indigenous people of the Americas. Did you know that hummingbirds only exist in the Americas? They are not found on any other continents!

The American Library Association has published my book El día de los niños/El día de los libros: Building a Culture of Literacy in Your Community through Día. I've been involved with this wonderful celebration of bilingual literacy since its inception and was thrilled to be asked to develop a book to help librarians and teachers prepare programs for the event.

I'm part of the Texas Sweethearts & Scoundrels writers group. The Sweethearts have made quite a name for themselves in the children's literature community, so I'm especially honored to have been invited to join the group. We support each other in our writing, visit schools, encourage kids to read, and have fun!

Author and poet Pat Mora named me as a Día Dynamo for my work on behalf of El día de los niños/El día de los libros. Although my ability to speak languages other than English are pretty limited (I can speak some Spanish and some German), I love words and support bilingual literacy. I'm honored to be considered a Dynamo!