Pat Mora

1. PAT MORA
Author, poet, and advocate for the Hispanic
community

2. Biography
 Born on January 19, 1942
in El Paso, Texas.
 Her family moved to the
United States during the
Mexican Revolution.
 Grew up in a bilingual home
and attended an English-speaking school.
 She realized that her Mexican heritage had never
really been welcomed at school.

3. Biography (continued)
 Re-discovers her Mexican
heritage and biculturalism
through her writing
 She has written more than 40
books in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction among
others
 She has won 10 adult book awards, 7 young adult
book awards, and 58 children’s book awards.
 Founder and promoter of "El día de los niños/El
día de los libros,"

4. Themes
 Family
 Desert
 Diversity
 Mexican-American culture
 Embracing different traditions
and customs

5. Her Poetry
 Free verse and rhyme
I say yo soy libre
I am free
free, free,
free as confetti.

6. Her Poetry
 Incorporates Spanish words with English text

7. Her Poetry
 Graceful repetition
 Colorful language that appeals to the senses, and
a feeling of love and respect for the desert
environment.

8. Snippet of "One Blue Door"
To make a poem To make a poem
listen: crow calls. you need to glide
Rain paints a door, on crow's back caw,
blue in the sky. skimming the trees.
To make a poem To make a poem
you need the door you need to taste
blue and lonely petals of rain.
swinging in the rain. Open you mouth…
To make a poem … Leap through
you need to leap one blue door.
through that blue
door onto a crow.

9. Illustrations
 Provide a vivid image of a diverse and dynamic
Mexican-American culture
 The use of bold reds, blues, and oranges
illustrate traditional Latin art
 Colorful

10. Some Titles
 Young-Adult and Adult
 Dizzyin Your Eyes:
Poems About Love
 Pat Mora My Own True
Name
 Poetry
 Agua Santa: Holy
Water
 Borders
 Communion
 Chants
 Adobe Odes

11. Some Titles
 Children’s
 The Rainbow Tulip
 The Desert is My Mother
 The Race of Toad and Deer
 A Birthday Basket for Tía
 A Library for Juana
 Book Fiesta
 Love to Mamá
 Uno, Dos, Tres, One, Two, Three
 Yum! ¡Mmm Qué Rico!
America’s Sproutings

12. Use in the Classroom
 Can easily be used in Social Studies instruction
 Read a poem from Confetti and have students prepare a
Me Bag that contains different items about their culture
and have them share with their classmates
 After reading Delicious Hullabaloo and learning
about indigenous foods of the Americas,
 Have students prepare their own
“pachanga deliciosa” and share their
own culture’s traditional foods
 Introduce students to Latin music
and instruments and have them share
their own music and dances which
they can perform for their classmates