Category Archives: School Visits

Students from Ninfa Laurenzo ECE Center at Houston Public Library’s Stanaker Neighborhood Library

I ended my book tour in Houston, where I visited an array of places – from libraries to schools to bookstores to speaking at my alma mater, Rice University.

Rice was my first stop in town. I gave a talk on the craft of writing for children and why grown-ups should read picture books. Rice has a lovely campus, which has only gotten nicer over time with the mix of classic and modern architecture. The talk was hosted by Rice University Public Affairs’ Multicultural Community Relations and SOLAR, the Society of Latino Alumni of Rice. Mil gracias!

I visited one school in Houston, or technically, in Bellaire – Horn Elementary. But I also got to read to preschoolers from Ninfa Laurenzo Early Childhood Education Center at Houston Public Library’s Stanaker Neighborhood Library. The kids also worked on coloring their own masks, you know, to go with the capes all of them were wearing already. They got this superhero thing down!

On my final day of book touring, I visited Brazos Bookstore for a story time and signing and also did another story time and craft activity at Houston Public Library’s Jungman Neighborhood Library. Visiting the libraries made me miss the neighborhood libraries in my former home of Washington, D.C. I’m glad I got to spend time in a few good ones while here in the States.

And that’s it. Fifteen days of a packed book tour in the books! And I enjoyed every minute of it.

I hope to do some more book signings and story times next time I return to the U.S., later this year.

Austin is always amazing, but in the spring, it’s especially nice. I had a terrific few days in the city while on my book tour. First stop was a Saturday morning story time and book signing at BookPeople.

A few months earlier, I asked my FB friends who lived in Austin what their favorite bookstore in the city was, and hands down, most said BookPeople. So, I was super happy to visit. The bonus: arriving and seeing my name on a marquee!

**She blushes!**

Okay, that was cool. But actually, the real bonus was seeing friends I hadn’t seen in forever here – friends from growing up, from college, folks I’ve worked with, friends who are like cousins, my BFF since elementary. Plus, their kids. And of course, I loved meeting new folks and little lucha fans.

In the afternoon of that same day, I visited another great bookstore, BookWoman, and did another story time and a coloring activity with the kids. It was also a great visit and I snagged some terrific books for myself to take back to Nairobi with me. Because Girl Power is a way of life no matter where you’re living in the world.

On that Monday and Tuesday, I visited a few schools: Uphaus Early Childhood Center, YPW Westlake and Graham Elementary School.

Uphaus ECC was an especially fun visit. Check out the photos of Uphaus ECC librarian Denise Graham, who dressed up just like Lucía the luchadora! And she dressed up the school mascot, an oversized stuffed panda, as Pandita la luchadora, too. As I was signing in at the front office upon arrival, a young woman next to me gasped when she saw me and said, “OMG, you’re the author!” I was surprised, and was like, yeah, how do you know? And she said, “There’s pictures of you all over the school!”

There sure were. I was totally wowed by the preparation Ms. Graham put into the visit. The kids had even made their own lucha libre masks. Uphaus is so lucky to have such an enthusiastic and caring librarian.

I also received a wonderfully warm reception at Graham Elementary. I got to speak to second graders there, which was totally different than speaking to pre-schoolers who are more into sharing thoughts than asking questions. I fielded some excellent questions about writing from the Graham students.

I also loved that they wore capes that day. A towel. A blanket. Doesn’t take much to be a superhero!

After NYC, I flew into Texas where I spent most of the time on my book tour. First stop was San Antonio.

San Antonio has always been a place where I feel super comfortable. People are genuinely nice (and lots of them look like me), the freeways don’t move as fast or as crazy as Houston and there are H-E-B’s everywhere. There’s also an unshakeable atmosphere of fiesta all year round, even when it’s not officially Fiesta, so you can’t help but be happy.

San Antonio is steeped in history, but every time I visit the city I discover something or some place new. Last summer was the first time I visited the Pearl Brewery district. I ate, visited the shops, walked down the new Riverwalk area and got some books at The Twig bookstore. I had a nice visit, so I was super happy to return to The Twig for a story time and book signing during this book tour. It was on a Sunday, and the farmer’s market in the Pearl district was in full swing, with live music and families sprawled out on the grassy areas. Despite the storm that passed in the morning, it turned out to be a lovely afternoon.

I also got to do a story time and book signing at the Barnes & Noble at The Shops at La Cantera. It’s a huge store with a large children’s book section and an adorable story time stage. I like small bookstores, but I also love getting lost in a big one, especially one that smells of coffee.

I also visited The Little School at Keystone and Burleson Early Childhood Center during the week and read to the students and talked to them about the inspiration for Lucía the Luchadora, a bit about lucha libre and a bit about me.

My mother lives in San Antonio, so she accompanied me for my book signings in San Antonio and Austin. She was pretty excited and exceedingly proud of me, which even at my late-thirties age kind of embarrasses me. It was sweet, and now I can see where I get that intense mother’s love I have for my own daughters from.

I was in NYC from March 25-28 to kick off my two-week book tour for Lucía the Luchadora. It was my first trip back to the States since moving to Nairobi in late December, so it was SUPER exciting to be home. I’ve been hanging out in sandals and sunscreen all ‘winter’ long. My mind hasn’t made the below-the-equator switch yet and it’s actually ‘summer’ here. So, instead of being sick of the cold by this point in early ‘spring’ as I would have been if I was still living in D.C., I was actually happy to put on a pair of thick, warm socks and a comfy coat and see the gritty mounds of weeks-old snow taking up parking spaces on the crammed city streets. Also, while Kenya has some of the best coffee in the world, it’s not that easy to find a cup of delicious drip brewed coffee in Nairobi (my go-to place is Java House), but in New York, you’re guaranteed fresh coffee on every corner. Every. Single. Street Corner. Praise for convenience. 🙌🏽☕️

The flight from Nairobi to NYC took about 21 hours. A bit exhausting, yup, but I was ready to see a show on my first night in town, so my good writer friend Miguel Angeles got us tix to go see John Leguizamo: Latin History for Dummies. Jumping into Latinidad was the BEST way to jump back into America, especially because my Latina identity is strangely invisible and not obvious living in Kenya. I’ve been mistaken for a dozen other ethnicities, but never Latina. And c’mon, I’m textbook Latina. My mind is still processing this new life of living as a Latina in Africa. It’s kind of a mind boggle.

On to the book tour …

My first book tour stop was on Saturday at McNally Jackson bookstore. I did a story time, signed books and helped kids craft their very own lucha libre masks. My sixth grade math teacher from my small town in South Texas and a former colleague that I hadn’t seen in ages showed up unannounced, which was just made my heart so happy. It was like that for the whole book tour. I got to see so many faces I hadn’t seen in real life in forever. I’m thankful for all the love and support of friends and family.

That Sunday, I visited powerHouse on 8th bookstore in Brooklyn. It’s one of the two Brooklyn bookstores owned by my publisher POW! kids books. I got to meet my wonderful editor Jordan Nielsen for the first time, too. Jordan did an amazing job in shepherding the book through as the words and illustrations and layout were all combined so beautifully.

On Monday, I visited two Brooklyn schools – P.S. 1 The Bergen School and P.S. 310 The School for Future Leaders – thanks to the great folks at the Brooklyn Public Library, who set up the visits. On Tuesday, I visited P.S. 3 The Charrette School in Manhattan.

I also visited the studios of Latino U.S.A., the radio show that airs on NPR. I sat down with host Maria Hinojosa to talk about Lucía.

And then I was off to Texas on Wednesday … more on next post.