Pat Mora
By Lee Bennett Hopkins

Pat Mora is a master at bilingual poetry for kids.

After a successful career as a writer for adults, Pat Mora began creating books for children. Her first picture book, Tomás and The Library Lady (Knopf, 1997, ISBN: 0-679-80401-3), is a tender story of a young migrant worker who unearths new worlds when he discovers the magic a public library holds. The text, cleverly interspersed with foreign words, became a trademark of Pat's writing. "Quien habla dos lenguas vale por dos/If you speak two languages, your value is doubled," she says.

A musical surprise
Born January 19, 1942, in El Paso, TX, poetry came into Pat Mora's life at any early age. "It came in all the poems teachers, many of them nuns, had me memorize in school," she says. "I couldn't resist the magic of poetry. I still can't."

"Writing poetry improves all writing. It is an ultimate challenge. It makes you conscious of the weight and sound of every word. Poetry is one of my sources of delight; it provides avenues for learning about the human heart including my own. Poetry is words woven together to create a musical surprise."

Confetti (Lee and Low, 1999, ISBN: 1-880-00085-7), a book of 13 verses reflecting Mexican American customs in the southwest, was Pat's first collection of poems for children. Several titles followed, including This Big Sky (Scholastic, 1998, ISBN: 0-590-37120-7) and more recently, The Song of Francis and the Animals (Eerdmans, 2005, ISBN: 0-802-85253-X), a lyrical text reflecting St. Francis' affinity for animals. She also edited Love to Mamá: A Tribute to Mothers (Lee and Low, 2001, ISBN: 1-584-30019-1), a poetic tribute to mothers and grandmothers written by contemporary Latino poets.

Pat Mora even offers advice to young writers through her poetry, as in the opening lines from "Jazz Duet/Dueto de Jazz" which begins, "Play/Juega/with sounds/con sonidos/Improvise!/¡Improvisa!/Slide into the river of music/Resbaia a un río de música…"

Bringing book joy
In addition to writing, Pat is founder and an active force behind El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children's Day/Book Day) celebrated annually on April 30. This year marks the tenth anniversary of Pat's efforts to promote literacy for all children to honor home languages and culture. "I am committed to this program," she says, "because bringing others book joy is a thrill!"

She is the mother of three grown children and lives in Santa Fe, NM, with her husband, an anthropologist. Further information on her life and work can be found on her website, www.patmora.com

Lee Bennett Hopkins is a distinguished poet and anthologist. Recent collections include Got Geography! (Greenwillow, 2006).