A poem for Summer Reading

Here's the perfect poem by Pat to celebrate summer reading! Print and share this poem about Tomás!

Library Magic
“¡Vamos! Let’s go to the library!”
Tomás said to his family.
He showed them his favorite books
and his cozy reading nooks.

“¡Vamos! Let’s go to the library!”
Tomás said to his friends. “Hurry!”
They saw libros in stacks and rows.
They laughed at funny puppet shows.

“¡Vamos! Let’s all go to the library!”
Join the fun, a treasure house that’s free.
Bring your friends and family.
Stories, computers, maps and more,
facts, fun. Enter the magic door.
Like Tomás, open books and soar.
Be a reader. Explore galore.

© Pat Mora, 2005
Reprinted by permission.
All rights reserved.

In memory of the leader, educator and author, Tomás Rivera

Coming Soon: New Bookjoy Logo

In April 2008, with the help of Laurina Cashin, I began this bookjoy blog. We include what I said then in the right hand column: I’m not sure when I coined the word “bookjoy.” I’ve been delighted, though, at how readers smile when I use it. For about a year, I’ve been working on a logo that we could use for this blog and on my web site, etc. Good news: it’s done, and soon we’ll be posting it.

Soon I’ll also be able to happily say that my book on seven creativity practices for educators and their students is also finished. I’m working on the final edits trying hard to include all I want to share about how important educators are, how developing our creative side enriches our teaching and life, and about how our students also need us to foster the seven practices in them.

I hope that you’re enjoying a good summer. What are you reading?

NCTE Writing Gallery Promotes Bookjoy!

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)project The National Gallery of Writing "is a virtual space — a Web site — where people who perhaps have never thought of themselves as writers — mothers, bus drivers, fathers, veterans, nurses, firefighters, sanitation workers, stockbrokers — select and post one thing they have written that is important to them. The Gallery accommodates any composition format — from word processing to photography, audio recording to text messages—and all types of writing — from letters to lists, memoirs to memos.”

The curator of the project, R. Joseph Rodriguez, Ph.D., has created a gallery, Memories of Libraries and Bookjoy which honors Pat and her concept of bookjoy.

Writings can be submitted online at: http://galleryofwriting.org/galleries/47159.