Update on Giveaway with Marge Pellegrino

As we’ve received a number of inquiries with questions about who could qualify for the giveaway with Marge Pellegrino that we announced on Tuesday, I’ve realized that I may not have been very clear in describing the giveaway.  Due to the confusion, we’re extending the giveaway until Monday.  You do not have to be a member of our book group, be a local Albuquerque teacher, or have read Pellegrino’s Journey of Dreams in order to win the giveaway.  Teachers of all grade levels are welcome to enter in the drawing.  Pellegrino has worked with students of all ages.  As an author, you and your students could have a wonderful conversation with Pellegrino on the writing process, why she writes, or why she chose to write a story about Guatemala.  Pellegrino is also incredibly involved with her community in Arizona.  This would be a great opportunity to discuss with students what it means to be part of a community, what an activist is, and why activism is important.  The Owl and Panther: A Project of The Hopi Foundation is one of the organizations that Pellegrino works with, and would be a great topic for your students to discuss with her.  To read more about the organization check out their Facebook page or their website.

Advertisement

Flash Giveaway: Skype Interviews with Marge Pellegrino!

I’m so excited for today’s announcement! Author Marge Pellegrino has generously offered to give away five half hour Skype visits to teachers via our blog!  Some of you may remember Pellegrino from last year when we featured her book, Journey of Dreams, as our book group’s novel in April.

Here’s a little bit more about her:

Book Review: Journey of Dreams

Thanks so much to all of our wonderful book group members who came out last night to discuss the book! We all agreed, this is a great story! I’ve shared my own thoughts about the book below.

Journey of Dreams
Written by Marge Pellegrino
Published by Frances Lincoln, 2009
ISBN:   9781847800619
Ages: 11 and up

Description (from Goodreads):

For the peaceful highlanders of Guatemala, life has become a nightmare. Helicopters slash like machetes through the once-quiet air. Soldiers patrol the streets, hunting down suspected guerillas. Villagers mysteriously disappear and children are recruited as soldiers. Tomasa’s family is growing increasingly desperate, especially after Mama goes into hiding with Tomasa’s oldest brother. Finally, after their house is razed to the ground and the villagers massacred, Tomasa, Manuelito, and baby Maria set off with Papa on a perilous journey to find Mama and Carlos, only to discover that where one journey ends, another begins.

Giveaway Winners!! Journey of Dreams by Marge Pellegrino

Thanks so much to all of you who have visited our blog and shared your thoughts with us. It’s wonderful to have you all stopping by.  We hope you’ll continue!! This month’s five lucky winners are. . . . Florence, Bamauthor, Sofia, Rita, and Martha! I’ll be emailing you to find out where you would like us to ship the book, so be on the lookout for that!

Congratulations! We hope you enjoy the book! I’m reading it now and loving it!

Our next give away starts today and runs through April 21st!! This time we’re giving away 5 copies of Under the Mesquite written by Guadalupe Garcia McCall.  Just comment on any post between now and April 21st and you’re automatically entered in the drawing!

–Katrina

Our Next Good Read. . .Journey of Dreams

Join us April 1st at Bookworks from 5:00-7:00 pm to discuss our next book.  We are reading Journey of Dreams by Marge Pellegrino.

Here’s a sneak peek into the book:

For the peaceful highlanders of Guatemala, life has become a nightmare. Helicopters slash like machetes through the once-quiet air. Soldiers patrol the streets, hunting down suspected guerillas. Villagers mysteriously disappear and children are recruited as soldiers.

Book Giveaway!! Journey of Dreams

We’re giving away 5 copies of Journey of Dreams written by Marge Pellegrino–our featured novel for April’s book group meeting!! Check out the following from School Library Journal:

¡Mira, Look!: Journey of Dreams

As we think about using literature to teach about the culture of the Américas, one of the first bridges we must cross is actually finding the authors and novels that address it.  The Américas Award, Pura Belpré Award, and Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award provide some suggestions in this regard, but we want to go further.  Every week I’ll be searching out new ideas for authors and books, and sharing them here as a “¡Mira, Look!” announcement.

This week I’ll get us started by suggesting Marge Pellegrino’s Journey of Dreams, a young adult novel (ages 11 and up) that tells “the story of how one family survives the Guatemalan army’s ’scorched earth’ campaign in the 1980s and how, in the midst of tragedy, suspicion and fear, their resilient love and loyalty – and Papa’s storytelling – keeps them going. On their harrowing journey as refugees to the United States, the dramatic ebb and flow of events are mirrored in the tapestries of one daughter’s dreams” (Pellegrino).