Alma Flor Ada

My grandmother taught me to read before I was three by writing the names of plants and flowers on the earth with a stick. Reading and nature became very intertwined for me. The joy of reading a book was increased if I could read it outdoors, especially high up in the branches of a large tree. From that favorite hideaway I could also observe the river down below and the world of small animals living in and around the river.

My grandmother and one of my uncles were great storytellers. And every night, at bedtime, my father told me stories he invented to explain to me all that he knew about the history of the world. With all these storytellers around me, it is not a surprise that I like to tell stories. And it was a great joy when one of the bedtime stories that I made up for some of my favorite nieces became a beautiful book, The Unicorn of the West!

My growing-up years were a fun and exciting time. I have compiled some of the stories of my childhood in Cuba, as well as stories that I heard from my family when I was a child, in the books Where the Flame Trees Bloom and Under the Royal Palms.

Besides writing children's books, I am a professor at the University of San Francisco. I also work in schools with teachers, children, and parents. The feelings that children experience when teachers do not acknowledge their real name led me to write My Name is María Isabel. All my life I have had a difficult time getting people to acknowledge that my first name is Alma Flor, so I know personally how this feels.

I enjoy writing many different kinds of books. I Love Saturdays y Domingos portrays a young girl who has two very different sets of grandparents, like my own grandchildren do. I also enjoy retelling the old tales that I loved so much as a child. That is why I wrote The Three Golden Oranges, so that children in the United States can get to know one of the most beautiful of the traditional Spanish stories.

Knowing two languages has made the world richer for me. I believe that all children should be given the opportunity of learning two or more languages when they are young, and can do so easily. For that reason I am delighted that most of my books are published both in English and in Spanish. And it makes me even happier that my own daughter has done many of the translations of my books.

Glassvisage : If you love to write and you have met an author, you know the thrill it brings. It's like being a music lover and watching your favorite artist not in a concert, but in the studio. I listened to a radio DJ speaking after a live performance of Melissa Etheridge in the studio and the sensation he got from it, the chill with every note groaned with her head laid back, even the feeling of her spit against his arm.

Well, listening to an author speak about the craft of writing isn't quite so raw as what I just described, I think, but the inspiration and wonder is still there.

There is something about an author that sparkles with a humble glow... that mundane wisdom, that intuitive curiosity. These are qualities I certainly saw in Alma Flor Ada, children's story and folktale writer.

She happened to be the grandmother of a student in a writing class I volunteered in this past week. The teacher was thrilled to hear the news, as an avid reader and a fan of Ada. I admit that I had never heard of her before, but the response of the children to the mention of her book "The Gold Coin" stirred interest in me.

It was by a slim chance that she was able to visit at all, having come from the airport after a trip to Brazil just when her granddaughter asked her to drop by the class. Alma arrived with her daughter to the classroom, and I thought they were there merely to observe.

Do you know the story of "The Gold Coin"? Like I said, I hadn't heard of her nor her stories before, but as quickly arrived to the end of her brief description of the story, as if it were nothing, the lesson hit me suddenly like a hiccup. A good hiccup. How fascinating. I would hate to ruin the story for you if you haven't read it already, so I will leave it to you to do yourself.

She refused applause. She smiled constantly. She spoke with intense honesty. When she explained how her story came to her, she described how the lesson hit her herself with enough force to bring tears to her eyes. She cried as she drove home, she wrote the story immediately upon arrival, and she fell asleep. She dreamed of her story and was again saddened when she awoke, lamenting the dissolution of a glorious vision. However, she spied the papers she had truly written the night before and regained hope. The story hardly required revision, and it was published to great success.

Alma also shared with us her book of childhood stories "Where the Flame Trees Bloom (Allá donde florecen los framboyanes)", reading only a few lines at which the teacher sighed peacefully.

She was eager for questions, composed and full of roundabout answers. To a student inquiry concerning the length of time it took for her to complete books, she began with the quick jotting of "The Gold Coin," then mentioned her current two-year project: her memoir, which began as a one-book production, then three books, then back to one (the complexity of her memoir led to her turn to self-publishing).

Her willingness to connect with students and share her love for writing was captivating, though she seemed like a simple woman with short, grey hair, a silken scarf, and soft features. Introducing such a pleasant and fascinating author to a class of students full of potential is rare and yet all too powerful.

Interview with California Readers : MEET ALMA FLOR ADA, by Bonnie O'Brian

What did you most like to do when you were a child?

As a child I loved to read, to spend time in nature, both among the trees and in the ocean, to swim and to explore.

What books influenced you most when you were growing up?

So many… I read all the books, not only the best well-known, of Louise May Alcott and of Johanna Spyri. Louise May Alcott’s books made me think of feelings and personal interaction, those of J. Spyri of the wonders of the world of nature around me, as well as love among people. Jules Verne invited me to imagine the unimaginable, Emilio Salgari invited me to think of brave adventures, while Charles Dickens made me see, even more clearly, the poverty, the great differences, and the injustices that existed in my country. I was particularly moved by Edmundo D’Amicis book, CORAZÓN {Heart: A Boy’s Diary] which included some very poignant stories and reflections on every day life in Italy, by the books of two Argentinian writers Constancio C. Vigil and Germán Berdiales. I loved the poetry of José Martí, the stories and essays in the wonderful LA EDAD DE ORO. Besides books I was greatly influenced by my grandmother’s stories: folktales, legends from the Greek tradition and factual stories about the Cuban struggle to gain its independence from Spain.

What was your first job when you graduated from college?

I was already a teacher before finishing my doctoral studies. And I am proud to have been an educator ever since!

When and where was your first book published?

My first books were published in Lima, Peru, before I finished my graduate studies. They were text books with the lessons that I had created for my High School students.

What are the topics are some of your books?

I write books in many genres, and I really like them all. It depends on the moment.Some of my books are books of poetry. In Spanish I love to play with the language, its sounds and its multiple meanings. In my picture books there are frequently many animals, probably because I grew up in a farm and loved the nature that surrounded me. The topics that keep reappearing, whether the characters be animals, people, or even geometric shapes are the joy of family, the surprises of discovering friendship among those who apparently are different from us (THE MALACHITE PALACE, FRIEND FROG, FRIENDS) our capacity to change our environment and thus our life for the better (JORDI'S STAR) and the power in not-giving up (THE LIZARD AND THE SUN, THE KITE). My respect for farm-workers led me to write Gathering the Sun.

Do you focus on fiction or nonfiction? Which do you prefer? Do you find one easier than the other?

I write both fiction and non-fiction, as well as poetry and plays. The desire that all children learn more about the richness of the Latino culture, in order that they can appreciate it more, has led me to write many non-fiction books.I enjoy all forms of writing, but I probably have more fun writing fiction.

Where do you get your ideas?

Ideas are all around us. I can get inspired for a story by seeing something, or by hearing some words… but at the end it always seem that the stories reflect something that is deep in me.

What gave you the idea for “EXTRA! EXTRA! NEWS FROM HIDDEN FOREST?”

I enjoyed very much seeing how much children liked my books DEAR PETER RABBIT, YOURS TRULY, GOLDILOCKS AND WITH LOVE LITTLE RED HEN, and I liked to see that teachers were using them to show their students how to write letters in a fun way. The great illustrations that Leslie Tryon has made for these books made the Hidden Forest world come alive… and that led me to believe they needed a newspaper.

Have any of your books earned special recognition?

Yes. I have been very fortunate that many of my books have received awards/For example, THE GOLD COIN won the Christopher Award Medal, THE LIZARD AND THE SUN received the gold medal from Parenting Magazines, GATHERING THE SUN won the Once Upon a World Award, HALF-CHICKEN/MEDIOPOLLITO was given an Aesop Accolade. TALES OUR ABUELITAS TOLD received The Literary Guild Medal, DEAR PETER RABBIT is a Parent’s Honor book. Four of my books: HALF-CHICKEN/MEDIOPOLLITO, GATHERING THE SUN, THREE GOLDEN ORANGES, and DEAR PETER RABBIT have been in the California Collections. Many of my books have received recognition by having been included in many lists, including state lists.

How did your life change when you had children?

I feel that not only my life, but myself changed completely. Life was not any more about me, but first and foremost about them. I became more cautious, because I wanted to make sure nothing happened to me, so I could be there for them. I worked much harder, because I wanted to make sure they would not lack anything. And they became a constant presence in my mind and heart. And yes, it made it a lot easier to write, because they have inspired many of my stories and added so much to my life that I have both greater interest in writing and their help and support.

Have any of your fiction stories been about real people or events?

I love to explain that I am Field Mouse in my story FRIEND FROG.  They want to know where ideas come from, and I like to tell them that they are both all around us, and within us.

Is there anything about yourself that you’d like to share - hobbies, where you were born, special talents other than writing/illustrating,

Recently I have had two books published, ALMA FLOR ADA AND YOU, Volume I and Volume II[ Libraries Unlimited] where I have shared everything you can possibly want to know about my life as an author of children’s literature.

English Interview with Colorín Colorado  (Video)
Alma Flor Ada is the award-winning author of more than 200 books for children. She is also a poet, storyteller, educator, mother, and grandmother. With a Ph.D. in literature and a lifelong love for stories, Ada has mastered the art of retelling traditional folktales and nursery rhymes from across Latin America. A native of Cuba who has also lived in Spain, Peru, and the United States, Alma Flor Ada writes poetry, picture books, and novels that offer rich, multicultural perspectives for all children.

Alma Flor Ada grew up with her extended family in a big house on the outskirts of Camagüey, Cuba. As a young girl, she loved to read, play outside on the farm, and listen to her mother sing old ballads at bedtime. Alma Flor's grandmother used to recite poetry and tell her traditional folktales. After studying English and attending bilingual schools, Alma Flor Ada earned a scholarship to a college in the United States at the age of 17.

For many years, Ada followed her academic interests around the globe. In Spain she earned a degree in Hispanic Studies. In Peru she received a Ph.D. in Spanish Literature. After conducting post-doctoral research at Harvard University, Ada became a professor at the University of San Francisco, where she directed the Center for Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults. Over the years, Ada has been an influential leader in the field of bilingual education in the United States.

Alma Flor Ada's career as an author first began when she started developing text books for her high school students in Peru. Her first children's book, which she originally wrote for her daughter, became required reading for tens of thousands of Peruvian school children. Since moving to the United States, Ada has developed educational materials, retold folktales, and written original picture books and middle grade novels. Among her many awards are the Christopher Award for The Golden Coin and the Pura Belpré Award for Under the Royal Palms.

Alma Flor Ada lives Mill Valley, California and is a Professor Emeritus at the University of San Francisco.

A blessed childhood
I had a blessed childhood. I lived with my extended family in my grandmother's house, and she's the person who taught me to read - taught me to read in a very amazing way. Even though she was a teacher and there was plenty of paper at home, she taught me to read by writing words on the earth, with a stick, as we walked around our farm. Whenever there was something that caught my attention or that she knew was of interest to me, she'd spell the name, and she'd tell me that. And so, in a way, it made reading so organic and so related to nature, to the outdoors, to the world, that it's - it was fascinating.

And I've written about this, and I won't tell you now all these stories, but I do remember when she taught me the word for "rose" in - in a way to teach me the letter "r" and how she wrote it in her cursive with a little - with a little loop up there and told me that that was a rose that wanted so much to see the world and was climbing the wall of the garden because of the wonders that exist in the world outside.

And I can even remember her voice right now. And I was only three years old, but it impressed me so much - that idea of seeing the world, that it's something that stayed with me. The love for roses also stayed with me, and the love for words.

But I must say that before learning to read, I learned to enjoy words. My mother used to sing me all these old, ancient, medieval ballads to put me to sleep, and I loved listening to these words, some of which I understood and some which I did not, but which had such a resounding charm to me. And my grandmother used to sing me verses that she put her own music to. And my own father, who was not very musical, he would still sing me songs.

And all of these words I kept during the day, and I kept remembering them. I memorized them. My grandmother taught me poem after poem that I memorized when I was very young, so finding them in books, then, was a revelation. It was like, "I can hold on to them; they are here, for me."

But the love for words was essential, and it began so early.

From Cuba to Colorado
I came first to the United States when I was 15. My parents gave me the option of having a quinceañera party and spend money on that, or send me to the United States for a summer to learn English, and I decided that it'd make much more sense to come to the States for a summer than to have a lavish party. And I came to Pennsylvania to a girls' school for summer, where I learned some English. And then when I was - when I finished - I was 17 when I finished high school - I was able to get a scholarship to a college in Colorado, where I was asked to be the assistant to the Spanish department teachers, who knew the language grammatically and knew a lot of the literature, but really had not the fluency with it. And it was - this is pre language labs technology, so they wanted somebody that would actually read the lessons and practice the exercises and give a pronunciation model to the students. And that was my first experience on becoming a teacher, because as fate would have it, the sweet nun that was supposed to be the professor of the course had a stroke a couple of days before classes began, so they didn't have a replacement, and they said, "Well, let's put the Cuban girl there to just take over the classes for a few days until we get somebody." And then they decided, "Well, she's doing it so well, she can stay." So, at 17, I found myself teaching Spanish 101 and Spanish 201.

An organic process
It's been such a blessed life, but it's happened - you know, now I have - I've written more than 200 children's books. I mean it's - and it's even a little bit scary to say that. But I never set out to do it. I never said, "I'm gonna be an author." "I'm gonna win awards." "I'm gonna be" - none of that. I- -- it was all organic. I wrote the first books, because I wanted my students to have that material. I wrote these sort things. I wanted my daughter to have it and then other children to have it, and - and it has all happened a little bit at a time. It's like - and I tell kids when they comment on this, and I go, "Look, I never set out to be a grandmother of nine kids. I can tell you I first had a daughter and then a son and then another. And, you know, today, here is where I see myself."

And it's the same with these books. They - they were all born out of real experiences. I mean you take Gathering the Sun on the table, which is one of my most well known and most beloved books. These were poems that I would write at night when I came from working with field - farm workers in the fields in California, and I would just - these ideas would just come, and I would write. And I wrote other poems that were far more complex and I haven't made those into a book. But one day, I was given the opportunity to put these poems together, and they got shortened so that you could have it in two languages when you need two languages on a page, and because I wanted these wonderful illustrations of Simon Silva.

But the reality is that I never set out to do this. I did it a bit at a time - one here, one there. And that's true of so many other things. I write when - when I get an idea, and sometimes I don't even know I'm making a book.

The Gold Coin
And it's a story that was very difficult to get published. Most publishers told me that American children would not be interested in such a story. I have all this series of rejection letters, but eventually Athenaeum picked it up, and then they published it, and it won the Christopher Award. And that really opened doors for me to be able to submit other manuscripts for publication.

But it's a story that just came to me one night after working with farm working parents, talking to them about the importance of education, what they could do for them — and all of that late at night, because it was summer, and they work on the fields until ten o'clock. I'm returning by myself, through the fields, on my car, and I began seeing this story as if you were seeing it in a movie on the windshield. I mean the story was just there, passing by. It was just all there.

So, I cried all the way home. When I got home, I went to the basement, where I had my desk, and I sat down and wrote the whole story and just left it there, because I knew I would forget, otherwise. And I went to bed and went to sleep, and when I woke up in the morning, I said, "Last night I had a dream of a story. I only wish I could remember what it was." And when I found the papers, I couldn't believe it. And it was, you know, all there.

So, sometimes they just come.

A bilingual author
Well, I have written very different kinds of books. It seems part of it is the fact of being bilingual. For example, poetry and writing poetry is one of my most significant creative things, but I can only do that in Spanish. I can't really do poetry in English, so I have a world of poetry with many books, an A, B, C - an animal A, B, C - which has poems about animals whose name begins with the letters, but poems about the letters themselves, which is very well known among the Spanish-speaking children. And whenever I go, they will tell me back their favorite, and they know them very well. I have another ABC of the ocean that was recently published. I have just collections and collections of poems in multiple anthologies, so that the author in me.

But in English, I found that I needed to depend more on the story — on the power of the story, because I can't do the playful things that I do with the language in Spanish, the puns, the rhymes, the alliterations - those things. I don't have that skill in English, so I need to depend on strong characters, strong plot, a good narrative, a good pace to get the kids interested. So, then I become a different person and a different writer in the other language, and that's, you know, part of the richness of being bicultural.

A source of unity
The folktales have been a source of unity. Again, it's a wonderful thing to be together with groups of parents that have different backgrounds, and when one mentions one of those stories, they will know it — maybe with variations. Many of the stories have different endings and different developments, but they have the same characters, and so that's a wonderful source of commonality; as are the nursery rhymes. And that's why those two books Pio Peep! and Mamá Goose are so important to me, because they are not only rescuing for other generations the nursery rhymes that we learned and our grandparents knew, but it's also showing the children that, regardless of what part of the Spanish-speaking world they come from, some of these are the same. And others have evolved and now have many different versions, but that's also part of the richness.

You know, people make a lot of issue about the Spanish language, saying, "Oh, but that's Mexican Spanish," versus, "That's Colombian Spanish," or, "Castilian Spanish," as if it wasn't the same language. And I try to emphasize the fact that all these variations are synonyms and that what makes the Spanish language rich in that respect is precisely that there may be multiple ways of saying the same thing.

Family wisdom
It started in the struggle for bilingual education in 1970. So, you see, it's been a long time. It's 36 years of seeing one generation after another, after another, of parents who want the best for their children, who dream about their children being able to enjoy that American dream that they will never be able to be quite a part of, that hope for their children to have a better future and a fruitful life. Because I do ask the parents - and I have tons and tons of answers from the parents - "What are your goals for your children?" And you'd be surprised. None of them really say that they'd be rich. They say, "We want them to not struggle as hard as we have, but we want them to be honest. We want them to be respectful. We want them to be kind to other people. We want them to be part of the other community in a healthy way." I mean everything they want for their children is so admirable.

But I also see how so many of those children don't really make it through; how they don't finish high school; how they end up in the menial jobs, and how many of them do get involved in gangs, in problems. And all we have to do is look at statistics of our jails. I mean it's horrible how much delinquency there is in our nation, and we have to prevent that from happening. And I'm convinced that one of the ways to prevent that is to strengthen the family, is to strengthen the role of the parents in the eyes of their children, is for the schools to ask something from the parents not on the terms of, you know, "Come and help us with a potluck," but, "What is the wisdom?" "What have you learned through life?" "What is your best advice for your children?" "What are your dreams and goals for your children?" "What is a proverb that has been useful to you in life?" "What is a saying that you remember in" - "in moments of significance in your life?" "What is the moment that changed your life?" "What is a meaningful contribution you've made to life?" "What is something you know how to do well, and how did you learn to do that?"

Those kinds of reflections — this is the work I do — aside from writing children's books: is to work with parents and schools into developing a home-school connection in which the parents become the authors of books where this is the content - books that are published by the teachers, books that are collected by the teachers. Many times, it's the children that are bringing in the information to the classroom, but that we like to call our families' wisdom, and where we want to recognize that these parents, who may not have a formal education, who may sometimes not even know how to read or write very well, do have a knowledge gained from life and from their struggle and from the heritage of having listened to the stories of their ancestors, and having listened to how other people in their family have gone through life. And rescuing that is really my mission.

Spanish Interview with Colorín Colorado  (Video) : Alma Flor Ada es una autora galardonada con varios premios y ha escrito más de 200 libros para niños. Además es poeta, cuentista, educadora, madre y abuela. Con un grado de doctora en literatura y un amor por los cuentos de toda la vida, Alma se ha destacado por recontar los cuentos y las rimas tradicionales de toda Latinoamérica. Es originalmente de Cuba pero ha vivido en España, Perú y los Estados Unidos de América. En sus poesías, cuentos y noveles, Alma Flor Ada ofrece perspectivas multiculturales y divertidas para todos los niños.

Alma Flor Ada se crió con su familia extendida en una gran casa en las afueras de Camagüey, Cuba. De pequeña le encantaba leer, jugar afuera en la granja, y escuchar a su mamá cantar viejas baladas a la hora de dormir. A los 17 años, y después de estudiar inglés y asistir a escuelas bilingües, Alma logró obtener una beca para ir a la universidad en los Estados Unidos.

Durante muchos años, Alma viajó alrededor del mundo siguiendo sus intereses académicos. En España obtuvo un título en Estudios Hispanos. En Perú, alcanzó un doctorado en Literatura en Español. Su próximo paso fue llevar a cabo investigaciones en Harvard University, después de lo cual se trasladó a la University of San Francisco para dirigir el Centro para la Literatura Multicultural para Niños y Adultos Jóvenes. Con el correr de los años, Alma ha sido reconocida como una líder influencia en el campo de la educación bilingüe en EE.UU.

La carrera de autora de Alma Flor Ada nace cuando comenzó a desarrollar libros de texto para sus alumnos en Perú. Originalmente escribió su primer libro para niños para su hija, pero rápidamente se convirtió en una lectura requerida para miles de alumnos en Perú. Desde que se mudó a los Estados Unidos, Alma se desarrollado materiales educativos, recontado cuentos tradicionales y escrito libros de imágenes originales, al igual que novelas para estudiantes de nivel medio. Entre sus muchos galardones se destacan el Christopher Award por su libro The Golden Coin y el Pura Belpré Award por Under the Royal Palms.

Alma Flor Ada vive en Mill Valley, California y es profesora emérita en la University of San Francisco.

¡Colorín Colorado!
Colorín Colorado, este cuento se ha acabado y el tuyo no ha empezado. Así es como muchas veces terminaban los cuentos que yo oía cuando era niña. A veces el final era todavía un poquito más largo y decían: "Colorín Colorado, este se cuento se ha acabado y el tuyo no ha empezado. El cuento se entró por un caminito plateado, se salió por uno dorado y el tuyo no ha empezado."

Siempre nos hacia mucha gracia a los niños que nos dijeran eso y nos creíamos en la obligación de empezar nosotros también a contar nuestro cuento. No que yo contara cuentos de pequeña, pero quizá el haber oído tantas veces esto de "el tuyo no ha empezado" es lo que luego me ha hecho ser autora de tantos cuentos.

Escribiendo sobre nuestra herencia
Me llamo Alma Flor Ada y soy autora de muchos libros. Escribo libros para adultos, más que nada para profesores - hablándoles de cómo mejor enseñar a nuestros niños. Escribo libros para los padres, diciéndoles como podemos ayudar mejor a nuestros niños, y escribo muchos, muchos, muchos libros para los niños.

Trato de darles a los niños esa riqueza enorme de los cuentos maravillosos que oímos de nuestros abuelos, de nuestros tíos, de nuestros vecinos; dándole a los niños la riqueza de la poesía que existe en nuestra cultura, porque somos una cultura de poetas y tenemos poesías hermosísimas. Dejándoles a los niños saber los hermosos artistas que han creado bellísimas creaciones en nuestras culturas, y también dejándoles saber de las personas importantes; desde los científicos a los escritores, a los pintores, a las personas que han tenido el idealismo de guiarnos en la lucha, alguien como César Chavez en este país o Benito Juárez en México. Porque todo esto es la herencia a la que nuestros niños tienen derecho.

El éxito escolar y el papel de los padres
El éxito de los niños en la escuela, va a depender de cuan bien lea. El niño que lee bien va a tener éxito en la escuela. El niño que lee con facilidad, el niño al que le gustan los libros… Y la lectura depende del vocabulario - a más palabras que un niño conoce, mejor va a poder leer.

Entonces la primera tarea que los padres pueden hacer como los educadores que son de sus hijos, como los mejores y primeros y más constantes educadores que son de sus hijos es hablarles. Hablarles mucho. Contarles cuentos, todos los cuentos que oímos de pequeños; pero también hablarles de lo que ellos hacen cada día en el trabajo, de quienes son sus amigos y por que lo son. De cómo vivían ellos cuando eran de la edad que ahora son sus hijos, a que jugaban, que cosas hacían con sus amigos. Contarles de nuestros padres y de nuestros abuelos. Hacer que los niños sepan que no son traídos por el viento, que son partes, hojas, de un árbol familiar que tiene ramas y raíces.

Al hablar a nuestros hijos estamos consiguiendo dos cosas fundamentales: uno darles vocabulario, darle palabras que les van a ayudar luego para la lectura. Y también ganarnos nuestra confianza. Cuando conversamos con los niños cada día, y no sólo les contamos - también les preguntamos. ¿Y tú que hiciste hoy en la escuela? Y que no nos digan "bien" y se vayan a ver televisión. No, no, cuéntame, que aprendiste, ¿qué te dijo la maestra? ¿A que jugaste con tus amigos? ¿Qué pasó a lo largo del día?

La importancia de hablar y escuchar
Los niños se acostumbran a contárnoslo todo, y esa es la mejor garantía de que algún día cuando crezcan y se enfrenten con los múltiples peligros que inevitablemente se van a encontrar en este país, tengan la confianza de venir y contárnoslos. De decirnos, mira alguien me dijo que yo podía ganar dinero si hacía tal cosa, mira alguien me invitó a hacer tal otra. Y ahí tendremos la ocasión de orientarlos, de guiarlos, de protegerlos; porque desde pequeños hemos desarrollado esta confianza con ellos. O sea que es importantísimo hablar a nuestros hijos. Parece nada, y sin embargo, es lo que va a crearles el cimiento del éxito a la escuela.

Porque además el niño que habla con los padres, que oye cuentos en casa, o a quien el padre le lee un cuento, se acostumbra a escuchar. Como autora que visita muchas clases, les puedo decir en dos minutos con los niños cuando les empiezo yo a contar un cuento o leer una historia, si ese es un niño a quien en su casa le cuentan cuento o no. Porque los niños a quien en su casa les cuentan cuentos y les leen, están atentos escuchando, ávidos de cada palabra. Los que no, están empujando al de a lado, desamarrándose el zapato, cogiendo una cosa; no está prestando atención. Si el niño en la escuela no presta atención, no va a tener éxito.

Caminos al éxito: la buena lectura, que va a estar apoyada en el desarrollo del lenguaje que el niño haya tenido en casa. Camino del éxito en la escuela: la capacidad de atender cuando el maestro habla. Esa atención hay que desarrollársela en casa. El niño que no está acostumbrado a atender, el maestro está hablando, él se perdió y ya después cuando trata, ya no, ya se le fue algo importante, ya nada tiene sentido, y ya deja de escuchar otra vez. Y eso no lo va a llevar al éxito que todos nuestros niños necesita, merecen y que queremos que obtengan.

El papel de los padres
Pero si el papel de los padres en ayudar a sus hijos no es en enseñarles lo que les enseña la escuela. Para eso está la escuela. Los padres pueden ayudar de otra manera. Y se los dice alguien que es madre de cuatro, y que en cuanto mis hijos llegaron a high school y estaban aprendiendo cosas en matemáticas, en física, en química de las que yo no sabía nada; sin embargo pude seguirles ayudando. Porque el papel del padre en ayudar es otro. El papel del padre es hablar mucho con sus hijos y preocuparse de que es lo que el niño está haciendo y como le va. El papel del padre para ayudarles es asegurarse que los niños tienen un tiempo y un espacio tranquilo para hacer las tareas. Que hay un momento en el día en el que no hay la televisión, ni la radio, ni el ruido. Sino que "a esta hora se hacen las tareas, y a tu alrededor hijo mío, hay silencio y hay apoyo." Ese apoyo es el que los niños necesitan de sus padres.

Los padres y la lectura
El apoyo que el padre les puede dar a sus hijos diciéndoles "Cada día hay un rato para leer. Este es el rato para leer." Y el padre trae libros de la biblioteca - que esa es una de las cosas que este país tiene que ofrecer. Queremos estar aquí por algunas cosas. Una de ellas: las bibliotecas públicas. Que no cuesta nada el traernos un montón de libros a casa; o el pedirle a los niños que traigan libros de la biblioteca de la escuela, si es que la biblioteca de la escuela se los presta. Pero lo que tiene que hacer los padres es decir "La hora importante de la lectura. Ahora a leer."

Si los padres no se sienten cómodos de ser ellos quienes les lean en voz alta a sus hijos, pídanle a los niños que ellos les lean a ustedes. Miren juntos los dibujos de un libro. Traten de imaginar la historia. Ese momento sagrado de leer juntos, de leer con alegría, de leer con buen ánimo. No como "ahora tenemos que leer." No, no, no. "¡Ahora vamos a leer!" Convertir la ida a la biblioteca en un premio. "Ya llegó el sábado, el domingo, ¡que bueno! Porque vamos a tener un rato juntos de ir a la biblioteca". Y vamos a la biblioteca a sacar libros en español; libros que los padres y los hijos pueden compartir.

A leer: el idioma es lo de menos
Recuerden: a leer se aprende una sola vez. Si el niño aprende a leer bien en español, y se hace lector - que le gusta leer, que lee con facilidad en español, ni tendrá que aprender a leer en inglés. El momento en que sepa inglés, ya leer sabe. Y ya sabe que en el libro hay historias, que va de principio a fin, ya sabe que hay personajes, que hay lugares, ya sabe que hay un momento importante en la historia en que se va a resolver el conflicto. No se preocupen de creer, si el inglés no es su primer idioma, que van a ayudar a sus hijos por hablarles en inglés. No, van a ayudar a sus hijos por hablarles en español. No crean que van a ayudar a sus hijos por leerles en inglés; van a ayudarles a sus hijos leyéndoles en español.

Se los dice alguien que no sólo ha dedicado su vida estudiar este fenómeno. Que vengo de enseñar, en la universidad, alumnos doctorales que se dedican a hacer investigación en este fenómeno. Que lo he hecho por treinta y seis años en este país - sino alguien que aparte de mi experiencia personal con mis propios hijos, que como todos los hijos hubo un momento en que no querían hablar español, que todos se rebelaron y querían hablar inglés. Que sin embargo yo sabía que dejarles otro idioma era dejarles una profesión o dejarles un enriquecimiento de su propia profesión. Y que ahora todos me lo han agradecido altamente. Porque, realmente, puedo decir con toda sinceridad, la vida profesional de mis hijos es tan rica y tan buena, hoy día, porque tienen dos idiomas. Eso les ha enriquecido enormemente su presente. Si no que lo digo en nombre de las generaciones de cientos, y cientos, y cientos, y cientos de padres con los que he trabajado en todo el país, en todos los sitios.

Cuando se rompe la comunicación
Los padres que con más dolor se me acercan, son los que me dicen: "Es que yo no puedo ayudar a mi hijo. Pero no puedo ayudarlo en la vida, en lo importante, en protegerlo. Porque hoy día mi hijo tiene catorce, quince, dieciséis años y no nos entendemos. Yo no hablo tanto inglés como para convencerle de que siga en la escuela, de que siga adelante, de que se esfuerce, y él no sabe bastante español como para entenderme a mí cuando yo quiero contarle la propia historia de mi propio esfuerzo, cuando yo quiero guiarle, cuando yo quiero orientarle." La pérdida del español en el hogar no es solamente que los niños pierden algo que el resto de su vida sería un valor enorme para ellos, es que pierden los padres su papel como maestros, su papel como educadores, su papel como protectores de sus hijos. Eso es algo que nunca debiera pasar. Los padres que con más alegría veo, muchos años más tarde, son aquellos que supieron mantener el idioma en el hogar y que hoy día sus hijos están triunfando en dos idiomas.

Los libros: parte de su familia
Yo creo que hay que elegir una hora. Que hay que decir "Bueno vamos a leer en la tarde, antes de comer, si quieren," o "vamos a leer en la noche, después de comer." Pero que esa es una hora que se va a mantener con la mayor regularidad posible día tras día. Que se lea en un sitio cómodo: hay que tener una buena luz, hay que sentarse cómodamente, quizá en un sofá, o encima de una cama, o en el suelo; donde se sientan a gusto. Ponerse a los niños pequeños en las piernas, tener el libro por delante. Tener a los otros niños cerca, si es posible con el brazo por encima, ir pasando las páginas después de que todo el mundo ha tenido ocasión de mirar la ilustración, de decir algo. Que vamos leyendo la historia completa. A veces ya la hemos leído muchas veces, podemos contarla; a veces la leemos con la sorpresa de que es la primera vez que nos encontramos con ella. Los niños disfrutan de las dos cosas: disfrutan de la historia ya conocida que quieren oír otra vez y otra vez, disfrutan de la historia novedosa, que no han oído nunca, por primera vez.

Lo importante es hacer la amistad con el libro. Es que el niño sienta al libro como algo que es parte del hogar, y que es parte de la familia, y que es parte del cariño de sus padres. Que sienta que el libro es algo que sus padres aprecian, celebran y que le dicen es importante. Que los libros de la casa se tienen en un lugar cuidado. En un cajoncito, encima de una mesa, donde sea, pero que tienen los libros su lugar. Y que al niño se le enseña que al libro no se maltrata, que no se le rompen las páginas, que no se garabatea: que el libro es algo valioso que queremos cuidar. A los niños se les pueden inculcar la idea, desde ahora, que si hay un libro que le gustó mucho, pues "este lo vamos a guardar muy bien, que algún día se lo leerás tú a tus hijos; que algún día lo leerás tu con tus sobrinos." Empezar a crear ese sentimiento de que el libro es parte de la familia.

Cuentos originales sobre nuestra cultura
Me gusta inventar cuentos originales. Escribí un libro que se llama "Mi nombre es María Isabel." Porque a tantos de nuestros niños les cambian el nombre. Esta niñita se llama María Isabel Salazar López y la maestra decidió llamarla "Mary Lopez," y ella no se reconocía con ese nombre. Muchos de nuestros niños han recibido sus nombres que eran los de sus abuelos, los de sus padres y madres, los de sus tíos - son nombres que tienen un valor importante para nosotros y no vale la pena que se los destruyan. Si el maestro los puede aprender a pronunciar en español. ¡Claro que los puede aprender a pronunciar! Nuestros niños no tienen que perder nunca su identidad.

Tengo un libro que se llama "I love Saturdays y Domingos," en inglés, y en español: "Me encantan los Saturdays y Domingos." Y es un libro que refleja el que muchas de nuestras familias hablan los dos idiomas. En este caso, la niña tiene abuelos que hablan inglés a los cuales visita los sábados y abuelos que hablan español a los que visita los domingos. Y ha sido un pretexto también el libro para poner en el libro en español palabritas en inglés, y en el libro en inglés palabritas en español. Pero que siendo las palabras, los números, los días de la semana, los colores, los tamaños son palabras fáciles de aprender en el otro idioma, y los niños tienen así la oportunidad de practicarlas en los dos idiomas.

De suma importancia: ¡involuciarse en la escuela!
Una cosa que nuestros padres no saben, es que muchas veces el respeto que ellos creen estar expresando al no interferir en la escuela, al no venir a molestar, aquí se percibe de una manera muy diferente. El padre cree que no está molestando, y la escuela piensa que el padre no está interesado. El padre cree que está respetando, y la escuela piensa que el padre no le importa la educación de sus hijos.

Aquí se espera que los padres vengan a la escuela. Que los padres vengan a la escuela cada vez que se los invita a una reunión pero que también vengan a la escuela aún si no se los ha invitado, a conversar con el maestro. A decirle al maestro "¿Cómo puedo mejor ayudar a mi niño?" Y esto es esencial, porque, primero que nada desde la perspectiva del niño es importante que desde el primero momento los padres demuestren este interés porque el maestro es un ser humano, por más que tiene el deber y el interés de dedicarse igual a todos los niños - parece mentira. Yo se los digo desde la perspectiva de haber sido maestra también.

Pregunte y pregunte
Nosotros tenemos que preguntar desde el principio, ¿dónde está mi niño? ¿Cómo está mi niño? Porque una de las cosas que los padres a veces no saben aquí es que a los niños se les pasa de grado por la edad. Están en quinto grado pero están leyendo como si estuvieran en segundo. Están en quinto grado pero están haciendo matemática como si estuvieran en tercero. Y después la distancia es tan grande que ya no les es posible alcanzar su verdadero nivel. Para que eso no pase, los padres, desde principio del año, no cuando llegan las notas que ya se ha perdido la mitad del año, desde el principio: ¿dónde está mi niño? ¿Está bien, cómo le ayuda? ¿Mi niña, cómo la ve usted? ¿Contesta bastante, participa bastante? ¿La podemos ayudar, qué vamos a hacer? Esa presencia de los padres es esencial.

Y cada día hablar con los niños. ¿Hoy que aprendiste? Muéstramelo. Déjame ver tu libro. ¿Dónde esta...? Aún si no entendemos. Que el niño vea nuestro interés, que vea que nos apasiona, que nos preocupa; que la escuela es importante para nosotros. Eso hay que repetírselo al niño día a día. Así como que hay que repetirle al maestro constantemente que estamos ahí, que queremos saber. Y no aceptar si el maestro dice "No, es que no va muy bien." ¿Y por qué no va muy bien? ¿Qué va a hacer usted, y que voy a hacer yo? ¿Cómo vamos a hacerlo juntos? Esencial que estemos de abogados, de protectores de nuestros niños desde el principio en la escuela.

La rima del Señor Don Gato
Me encantará leerles la rima del Señor Don Gato. Es una de mis rimas favoritas, y hay muchas versiones de ella, y también se puede cantar; y yo sencillamente se las voy a leer en una de las muchas versiones:

Estaba el señor don Gato En silla de oro sentado, calzando medias de seda y zapatitos dorados.

Nuevas le fueron venidas que había que ser casado con una gatita parda hija de un gato romano.

El gato de puro gusto subió a bailar al tejado, mas le dieron con un palo y rodando vino abajo.

Se ha roto siete costillas y la puntita del rabo. Ya llaman a los doctores, sangrador, y cirujano.

Unos le toman el pulso, otros le auscultan el rabo. Todos dicen a una voz: "Muy malo está el señor don Gato"

Tuvo que hacer testamento por lo mucho que ha robado: cuatro quesos, dos morcillas y un chorizo muy salado.

A la mañana siguiente amaneció muerto el gato. Ya lo llevan a enterrar por la calle del Pescado.

Las gatas se ponen luto; los gatos, capotes pardos y los gatitos chiquitos lloraban desconsolados.

Los ratones, de contentos, se visten ¡de colorado! Al olor de las sardinas el gato ha resucitado. Los ratones corren corren, detrás de ellos corre el gato.

Interview with Teaching Multicultural Literature : Raised in a family of storytellers, Alma Flor Ada grew up listening to tales of all kinds, from folktales to stories about Cuban history to fantasies about other worlds. Her grandmother taught her to read before she was three by writing the names of flowers and plants on the ground with a stick. Yet Ada only began writing books when she became a teacher. Unsatisfied with the materials she was given, she began to write her own. A professor in one of her college classes saw what she was writing and helped her to get it published, and soon she was writing textbooks. One day, however, her four-year-old daughter told her that the textbooks she was writing were "ugly" and asked her to write books for her instead. "At that time," Ada says, "I didn't know what I know now. I didn't know that everyone is an author; that everyone has stories to tell. I was very shy and so I started by telling the stories my grandmother used to tell me." Now Alma Flor Ada has over 200 books to her name, many drawn from her own childhood or from the folktales her family told her.

Ada was born in 1938 outside Camaguey, Cuba, and grew up there. As a young woman she moved to Peru and began teaching, but this, her first immigrant experience, left her lonely, afraid, and yearning for familiar food and friends. After 10 years in Peru, she moved with her husband to the United States and, once again, had to negotiate the life of a person of two cultures -- a theme that appears again and again in her work. Yet, she says, "The beautiful thing is that I now know that although I live in another country, I don't have to stop being who I am or change the way I think or feel. I bring a richness, a value to this country, and I can serve as a bridge between two cultures." Immigrants are "border crossers," Ada says, but "the important thing is to learn that we can eliminate that border" by virtue of being people who understand two cultures. Reading about other cultures, she believes, also helps us cross borders in understanding different people and their traditions. "Through the wonderful multicultural literature that exists, you can really make friends with children of other cultures."

A fierce proponent of bilingual education, Ada was a professor at the University of San Francisco, where she directed the Center for Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults. In her school visits, Ada constantly reminds students to find and use their true voices to express their ideas and speak up for what is right. Because she greatly admires people like César Chávez who fought for the rights of others, she reminds young people that "we cannot just wait for another César Chávez to appear. Every one of us has to be a César Chávez inside and do our part so that this happens."

My Name Is María Isabel

For María Isabel Salazar López, the first day at a new school is hard enough, but then her teacher suggests to her that, with two other Marias in the class, the class should "call you Mary instead." For María Isabel, who is named for both of her grandmothers as well as an uncle and a father, the loss of her real name is the loss of herself. In fact, she often doesn't realize the teacher is calling on her when she says the foreign name "Mary Lopez," and as a result she misses the opportunity to take part in her school's winter pageant. But when the teacher asks the students to write about their "greatest wish," María writes, "My greatest wish is to be called María Isabel Salazar López. When that was my name, I felt proud of being named María, like my papa's mother, and Isabel, like my grandmother Chabela." In the happy ending, María gets to sing in the winter pageant, and, most important of all, her teacher recognizes the importance of calling her by her real name.

Alma Flor Ada drew this story from her own life as an immigrant, but she also had the actual experience of a teacher changing her name. In third grade her teacher decided that her name was just "Alma" rather than "Alma Flor," and for years Ada was known simply as "Alma" as a result. "But in reality it wasn't my real name," Ada says, remembering that it took years to convince people to use her full name again. "Now," she says, "my real friends call me Alma Flor." But her story is very common for immigrant children, Ada says; "My own personal experience grew to be the experience of many people." In schools all over the United States, children change their original names -- for example, "Jesus" or "Jose" -- to more "American" names like "Chuck" or "Joe," and lose, she suggests, a piece of their culture in the process.

In My Name is Maria Isabel, readers can see from the point of view of a little girl the larger struggles of a Puerto Rican family to improve their lives in America. María Isabel's experience will resonate for readers regardless of background.

Talking with Alma Flor Ada, as interviewed by students in Laura Alvarez's class

What was it like when you immigrated?

When I immigrated to Peru, my hope was to be able to study. And eventually I was able to do that. It wasn't easy at the beginning. I think I immigrated there a little bit more [from] needing to go to someplace rather than having made all those expectations. Sometimes people immigrate because they have those dreams and they say, "I'm going to go to this place where I'm going to be able to have a better life," and all that. Sometimes they immigrate because they have to. My family moved from Cuba, so I couldn't go back and I didn't really have much choice. So it was kind of that situation.

When I came to the United States, it wasn't my choice either. It was just a circumstance that brought me here. I was married at the time. It was my husband who wanted to come. And, if I must be truthful, I wanted to raise my children in a Spanish-speaking country and I would have stayed in Peru even if the economic conditions were lower and the material life was not as good. It would have been originally my choice.

Once I came into this country, then I was very fortunate because I was highly educated so I had wonderful opportunities. But then I realized the reality of my people in this country. And then it became a true reason to be here, to try to work with the community, to try to help them achieve what they had always dreamed [of] -- which is better education for their children. So then it became more of a mission, and it's been a wonderful mission.

Do you feel different when you write in Spanish and when you write in English?

I feel like when I write in Spanish I focus more on the feelings and I take more time with the feelings. And when I do it in English, I feel like I have to think more of the plot and moving the story quicker -- and it's because the two cultures are different. And that's what's exciting about being bicultural. To be able to do it well in one language and to do it well in the other language. It's like moving from two very different places, like at the beach and in the mountains. You do different things in the two places. And the good thing is to be able to do both.

Why are books important to you?

I think reading is so important because we get to know ourselves better and to understand other people better. We can begin thinking ahead. We can begin asking ourselves, "What can I do the next time I see a kid that just arrived that doesn't know English?" And we can begin asking ourselves, "How can I help this new student? How can I be her friend, his friend?" That's what's so powerful [about] reading, that it helps us become better people. We become not only brighter, but also more generous, kinder, stronger.

You're coming as immigrants or children of immigrant families to a country that is made up of many different cultures. And one way in which this country can be stronger is if everyone learns about each other's different cultures and learns not only about their celebrations and their food but also about their values, their ideas, their history, their dreams -- so that we can learn to not only celebrate but also deeply respect and appreciate others. And just as we want them to learn about our Latino cultures -- because we are one major part of this nation -- also we should learn about all the other cultures that exist here.

And one of the wonderful things about books is that they really [help you] understand other people. And through the wonderful multicultural literature that exists, you can really make friends with children of other cultures. Maybe if you've never met them in person, you meet them through the characters in the books, you see the inside of their homes, and you see their families and how they interact with each other. It's the great way, by reading that wonderful multicultural literature, that we have available to get to know the different people in this nation.

UC Davis Article : New Writer's Program Brings Alma Flor Ada to Campus

February 20, 2007

Awards

American Folklore Association, Aesop Accolade
1997, For Mediopollito/Half-chicken

American Booksellers Association, Pick of the List
1997, Gathering the Sun
1997, Medio pollito/Half-chicken
1993, The Rooster Who Went to His Uncle's Wedding
1993, Dear Peter Rabbit
1993, The Gold Coin
1993, My Name is Maria Isabel

American Federation of Teachers' Colorín Colorado's Website, Featured Book of the Month 
2006, Tales Our Abuelitas Told

American Library Association, Best Books of the Year 2000
2000, Under the Royal Palms

American Library Association, Pura Belpré Award
2000, For Under the Royal Palms

American Library Association, Pura Belpré Honor Book
1997, Gathering the Sun

Bank Street College, Best Books of the Year   
1993, The Rooster Who Went to His Uncle’s Wedding 

Booklist Children´s Books of the Year, Starred Review
Jordi´s Star

California Reader's Collection, Elementary List
2008, Gathering the Sun

Center for Latin American Studies, America´s Commended List
2002, I Love Saturdays y domingos
1998, Under the Royal Palms
1997, Gathering the Sun
1997, Mediopollito - Half-chicken
1994, Where the Flame Trees Bloom
1993, The Gold Coin
1993, My Name is Maria Isabel 

Christopher Award Medal
1991, The Gold Coin

Get Caught Reading's Website's Book of the Month, May 2005
2005,  Mama Goose 

Kirkus Review, List of 100  Best Children´s Books for 2006
2006, Tales Our Abuelitas Told

Laurate, San Francisco Public Library
2000, For life´s work

Literary Guild Award
2006, Tales Our Abuelitas Told

Marta Salotti Gold Medal, International Award for Children’s Literature, Buenos Aires, Argentina
1987, Encaje de piedra

National Association of Parenting Publications, Gold Medal, Folklore category
1997, The Lizard and the Sun/La lagartija y el sol

National Council of Social Studies and the Children’s Book Council, Notable Book in the Area of Social Studies
1997, Gathering the Sun
1993, The Gold Coin
1993, My Name is Maria Isabel

National Council of Teachers of English, Notable Book in the Area of Language Arts
1998, Under the Royal Palms
1997, Gathering the Sun

New York Public Library, List of Best Children´s Books for 2006
2006,  Tales Our Abuelitas Told

Nick Jr. Magazine, List of Best Children´s Books for 2006
2006, Tales Our Abuelitas Told

Parents’ Choice Honor Award
1994, Dear Peter Rabbit

Parent´s Choice Recommended Children´s Books for 2006
2006, Tales Our Abuelitas Told

Premio Latinoamericano de Poesía Rubén Darío, Casa Nicaragua, Jury presided by Fernando Alegría, San Francisco, California
1981, Cuando el amor se funda en la mirada, Second Prize

Premio Mundial José Martí, Honors, San José, Costa Rica
1997, For life´s work

Simon Weisenthal Center, Museum of Tolerance, Once Upon a World Award
2000, Gathering the Sun

Del Sol Books : www.delsolbooks.com and 6574 Edmonton Avenue, San Diego, CA, 92122
Alma Flor Ada : www.almaflorada.com and almaflorada.blogspot.com 
F. Isabel Campoy : www.isabelcampoy.com and isabelcampoy.blogspot.com
Suni Paz : www.sunipaz.com