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Cover Reveal of ISABEL AND HER COLORES GO TO SCHOOL by Alexandra Alessandri

3/31/2021

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 When I started kindergarten in the fall of 1984 in Queens, New York, I walked into the brick building knowing, perhaps, only a handful of English words. Until that moment, my world had been colored strictly with Spanish. It’s what we spoke at home, between ourselves and with our extended family and friends. I don’t have too many memories of this time, but one sticks out like a blazing sun. My teacher had instructed everyone to prepare for recess, only I had misunderstood her. While everyone filed in a line, I slipped toward the back to get my book bag and lunch box. Then I realized everyone had left. I remember weeping in the hallway because I felt lost and forgotten. Thankfully, a kind teacher found me and reunited me with my class.
 
The emotional impact of that moment has stuck with me throughout the years, and it’s what inspired Isabel and Her Colores Go to School, which is beautifully illustrated by Courtney Dawson and which releases this July 15, 2021 from Sleeping Bear Press as an English and Spanish edition. 
About the book: English, with its blustery blues and whites, just feels wrong to Isabel. She prefers the warm oranges and pinks of Spanish. As she prepares for class at a new school, she knows she's going to have to learn--and she would rather not! Her first day is uncomfortable, until she discovers there's more than one way to communicate with friends. This is a universal story about feeling new and making new friends. 
 

Without further ado…I’m so thrilled to share the gorgeous cover for Isabel and Her Colores Go to School here on Las Musas!
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In Solidarity with the AAPI Community

3/19/2021

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Statement of support
for the Asian, Asian American, & Pacific Islander community

Las Musas stand in support of our Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) siblings always, and especially during this difficult time. 

We condemn the ongoing anti-Asian racism that most recently fueled the March 16, 2021, murder of eight people in Atlanta, GA, most of whom were female and members of the Asian American community. 

We mourn the loss of Delaina Ashley Yaun, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Julie Park, Hyeon Jeong Park, Paul Andre Michels, as well as countless other souls lost to anti-AAPI violence. 

Over the past year there have been over 3,795 incidents of anti-AAPI violence reported, including the recent attacks on Ngoc Pham and Xiao Zhen Xie in San Francisco.

We support and join our family in the AAPI community in the continued fight against erasure, fetishization, gaslighting, and white supremacy that remains rooted in the fabric of US history and media.  

We condemn any statements by law enforcement that refuse to call these murders what they are: hate crimes fueled by racism and misogyny—as well as any media outlets that repeat these claims unchallenged, thus enabling and perpetuating a culture of white supremacy that violently harms BIPOC communities.

We will examine our own biases and language as artists and creators.

We will amplify and celebrate AAPI voices, joys, and accomplishments.  And we will continue to work to dismantle white supremacy and its many manifestations, such as xenophobia, fetishization, and patriarchy.


-Las Musas
Below is a non-exhaustive list of resources for supporting AAPI communities and joining the fight against anti-AAPI violence and white supremacy.

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Happy Book Birthday to Karla Arenas Valenti's Alan Turing and the Power of Curiosity

3/2/2021

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Today, we're celebrating Musa Karla Arenas Valenti's picture book series, My Super Science Heroes, which launched with MARIE CURIE AND THE POWER OF PERSISTENCE. 

The newest installment, ALAN TURING AND THE POWER OF CURIOSITY, is out this week! Scroll on for a super exclusive interview with a ​Super Evil Nemesis! 
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An Exclusive Interview with Super Evil Nemesis

Junior Reporter Pip: BREAKING NEWS! Friends, the other day I received a message from Super Evil Nemesis. He wanted to share his side of the story. He’s not really evil (he said), and he’s not really a Nemesis (he said), though he did say he’s pretty super. I met with him in his secret lair and well… I’ll let you decide what to believe.

***

​Pip:
I got your message, Super Evil Nemesis. What did you want to talk about?


Super Evil Nemesis (SEN): I just think readers are getting the wrong impression about me. I want to set the record straight.

Pip: Okay…

SEN: For starters, I’m not evil.

Pip: Ummm… you tried to destroy Marie Curie in Marie Curie and the Power of Persistence. And you sent one of your minions after Alan Turing in Alan Turing and the Power of Curiosity. You read books called “How to Take Over the World in One Easy Step” and “How to Persist in Taking Over the World” and “Getting Your Way and Other Selfish Thing,” and “Being Bad: A Memoir.”

SEN: Oh that’s a good book!

Pip: It’s a book about being evil. 

SEN: Right… well, someone has to stop the super science heroes, and you’re certainly not helping.

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Happy Book Birthday to Terry Catasús Jennings!

3/1/2021

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​Writing is a Quixotic endeavor.
 
And I don’t say that because I just wrote a book in which the main character acts like the beloved knight. Writing is indeed a Quixotic endeavor. As writers, we are always in the quest for the impossible dream.
 
If you get to know Don Quijote up close and personal—really, it’s not such a far-fetched idea, it’s considered the first modern novel—the parallels to the writing life are striking. The book was written by Spanish writer Miguel De Cervantes and was released in two parts, one in 1605 and one in 1612. So long ago, but so many parallels.

Don Quijote is a nobleman who reads, reads, reads. His reading inspires him and teaches him to become a knight. Reading, reading, reading, is part and parcel of the writer’s life. We read to be inspired. To be lifted. To learn how to joust with words and tame them to do our bidding. And many thought Don Quijote lost his mind . . . how many times do we doubt our sanity? Over and over again. Putting ourselves out there knowing that we will work hard and be disappointed time and again . . . Yep. Lots of doubts.​
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Interview with Marissa Valdez!

3/1/2021

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Today, we're sharing this fantastic interview between two picture book Musas: Zara González Hoang and Marissa Valdez. Scroll on to learn more about Marissa Valdez's NYT-bestselling book, AMBITIOUS GIRL!  

Cover image of AMBITIOUS GIRL by Meena Harris, Illustrated by Marissa Valdez
Hi Marissa! Thanks for taking the time to talk to me about AMBITIOUS GIRL! Congratulations and happy Book Birthday! I thought we could talk a bit about the process of illustrating a picture book, something that I think many people find very mysterious…

First off, what did you feel like when you first read the manuscript? Did you immediately know this was a book that you wanted to illustrate?

Oh yeah! One of my wishlist items for a book is having a strong girl as the main character so AMBITIOUS GIRL checked that box immediately. The “you can never be too ambitious” message also spoke to me on a really personal level as well, so this project was a no-brainer to work on.

Authors and illustrators then to work separately on picture books, but because this book was written by an author who was more in the spotlight, did you have more communication with her while working on the book?

I get asked this question a lot!

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  • About
    • Mission and History
    • Community Standards
    • FAQ
  • Meet Las Musas
    • 2023 Releases
    • 2024 Releases
    • Alumni >
      • 2022 Releases
      • 2021 Releases
      • 2020 Releases
      • 2018 - 2019 Releases
  • Mentorship
    • Hermanas
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  • BLOG
  • Contact
  • Podcast, Book Club & more
    • Podcast
    • Book Club
    • Latinx Kidlit Resources
    • Webinar Series