Poet and author Pat Mora was born on January 19, 1942. Her birthday is the perfect time to celebrate her work and works.
A poet and author equally skilled at writing for both youth and adult audiences, Pat Mora has written a number of children’s books and collections of poetry. She is the founder of Día: El día de los niños/El día de los libros, Children’s Day/Book Day, an initiative aimed at spreading what Mora calls “bookjoy” to all young readers. Mora is a champion of multilingual expression, as evidenced by many of her books and poems.
Living Voices: Multicultural Poetry in the Middle School Classroom offers middle school English language arts teachers material for teaching poetry by Nikki Giovanni, Li-Young Lee, and Pat Mora; the text includes graphic organizers and other resources.
Pat Mora’s poem “Echoes” demonstrates that our senses are powerful tools for literary analysis and comprehension as students use their senses to discover new ways to read and write. Learn more in this lesson plan.
Pat Mora, a writer whose work crosses the boundaries of audience, genre, and language is profiled by department editor Rosalinda Barrera in this article from Language Arts.
In this Reading Rockets interview, Pat Mora discusses her work and heritage, including her views on the need for more diverse voices in literature for children.
Pat Mora, in this letter of praise to educators from English Journal, suggests that teachers need to be writers to better teach writing. Helping students “bring themselves to the page” through their writing is one way to get them to know the joy of books.
Read more about bringing “bookjoy” and cultural awareness to children nationwide in this profile from the Council Chronicle.
Want to hear more from Pat Mora herself? View this 2021 celebration of Children’s Day, Book Day as well as the Member Gathering hosted by Mora.
Curious about the NCTE and Library of Congress connection? Through a grant announced by NCTE Executive Director Emily Kirkpatrick, NCTE is engaged in ongoing work with the Library of Congress, and “will connect the ELA community with the Library of Congress to expand the use of primary sources in teaching.” Stay tuned for more throughout the year!
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