We are thrilled to announce the Cedar Rapids public library is hosting their summer event Out Loud! The Metro Library Network Author Series for 2016. Every summer, they host this series and bring in bestselling authors. This year will be hosted at the Hotel at Kirkwood Center in Cedar Rapids on Fridays, starting at 7 […]
YA author Matt de la Peña has every reason to be proud: his second picture book recently won the prestigious Newbery Medal!
Create a special author event at your college, library or literary festival focused on the issue of immigration.
Matt de la Peña wrote a wonderful essay about a young man he encountered at a Texas junior high school and the impact literature and creativity has had on his life.
It takes one moment to conscientiously change the life of a young mind. Matt de la Peña, acclaimed Young Adult author, blogged about one of his experiences visiting a junior high school recently. He explained that while signing books for the students, he encountered a girl that appeared to have a difficult childhood.
Danny has never felt that he fit in. In Matt de la Pena’s Mexican WhiteBoy, Danny is a bi-racial teenager struggling to find his identity. After living with his mother in a primarily white culture he decides to spend the summer in Mexico. It is here he stays with his absent father’s family and meets Uno. While his friendship with Uno is founded on a mutual love of baseball, the boys relate to each other on a much deeper level, as their life struggles are similar. It is within the confines of their friendship that Danny learns to accept his multi-cultural background and instead of trying to separate the pieces, learns to trust and accept himself as a whole.
