¡Mira, Look!: Jorge Argueta

I am pleased to suggest another author who will be joining us soon here in Albuquerque: Jorge Argueta! Argueta is an author of over a dozen wonderful bilingual children’s books, including “Guacamole,” the newly-released third book in his bilingual cooking series. “Guacamole” follows in the footsteps of “Sopa de frijoles/Bean Soup” and “Arroz con leche/Rice Pudding.” Argueta has won the Americas Award as well as the Independent Publishers Book Award for Multicultural Fiction for Juveniles. Across the spectrum of his work, he manages to touch on matters of familial traditions and inheritance, traditional storytelling, indigenous practices, and cultural metaphors — all told with the perspective and focus of children. As if that weren’t tempting enough, Argueta partners with amazing illustrators who match his writing with beautiful imagery.

For the teachers reading this, I also want to add that a good number of his books have related teachers guides. You can see the list of his titles and their associated guides by visiting the Children’s Books section of his website. Also, an article in Rethinking Schools (Summer 2010) magazine, talks about how elementary teacher Elizabeth Schlessman “uses the poetry of Jorge Argueta to help students express their feelings about leaving one country for another.”

If you’re a teacher and you’re in Albuquerque on Saturday, April 21, 2012, from 10:30-1:30p.m., you might consider attending a special, creative writing workshop for Spanish Elementary Teachers. Jorge Argueta will lead the workshop alongside Israel Centeno, a Venezuelan writer. The event will be in the Domenici Education Center at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. To register, call the Spanish Resource Center at (505) 725-4743.

AMENDMENT (4/26/12): I just discovered the International Children’s Digital Library (ICDL) (see post above) and realized that at least one of Argueta’s books is available! You can e-flip through the pages of his book “A Movie in my pillow: Una película en mi almohada“!