All children need the hero and shero’s journey

WILLIE VELASQUEZ DAY HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=YXN6B4LCTVA

STORIES HAVE POWER

The AlamoWorld War II

The Holocaust

STORIES CAN CHANGE A CHILD’S LIFE

A COLLABORATIONBarbara Renaud Gonzalez, MSW, Writer,

Journalist, Witness

Deborah Kuetzpal Vasquez, MFA, Visual ArtistKaye Cruz, Instructional Designerjoey lopez, Ph.D, Convergent Media

Consultant

We represent who latinos are in this country

I WANTED TO WRITE A BOOK ABOUT A HERO WHO LOOKED LIKE US

http:

//w

ww

.mys

anan

toni

o.co

m/l

ifest

yle/

artic

le/H

omet

own-

hero

-481

3182

.php

https://tinakugler.squarespace.com/blog/2013/6/28/illustration-friday-equality

CHILDREN NEED TO SEE

THEMSELVES AS HEROES

NP

R A

S DE M

OG

RA

PH

I CS S H

I F T , KI D

S ’ BO

OK

S S T AY S T

UB

BO

RN

L Y

WH

I TE J U

NE 2

5, 2

01

3

http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2013/06/25/193174358/as-demographics-shift-kids-books-stay-stubbornly-white

“As Demographics Shift, Kids' Books Stay Stubbornly White” by Elizabeth Blair - NPR

NEW YORK CIT

Y SAID N

O. THE

REGIONAL PUBLISHERS D

ON’T

HAVE THE MONEY

So my te

am said w

e could do it

ourselves.

The stories of the wisdom of life

What we’re learning in our schools is not the wisdom of life.

While the whole living world is informed by

Consciousness.

Instead, publishers offer:

Entertainment. And Texas Board of Education offers:

Testing

BOOKS ARE

AND WE GOT OUR FIRST REVIEW

Gainer, J. (January 01, 2014). “The boy made of lightning": Examining 21st century texts through a critical sociocultural lens. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 57, 7, 533-536.

WE WORKED FOR YEARS ON THIS STORY

Me and Deborah Vasquez

THE COMMUNITY CAME THROUGH

Congressman Joaquin Castro and Jimmy Klein

Joaquin Castro Narrates

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhN_P5hOdng

WE HAD TO PROMOTE OUR OWN BOOK

T E X A S B O O K F E S T I V A L 2 0 1 4

M E X I C A N - A M E R I C A N C U L T U R A L C E N T E R O N

M A Y 9 , 2 0 1 4

WE RECOGNIZE THAT SAN ANTONIO HAS THE TALENT

W E F O U N D T A L E N T E V E R Y W H E R E ! W E E V E N F O U N D W I L L I E !

Willie VelasquezLydia MendozaAmerico ParedesJovita IdarGus GarciaManuela Solis Sanger

Willie: 2014Hardback: 2015Lydia Mendoza 2016AndRosie Castro 2017

WE HAVE SO MANY STORIES TO TELL…

With Original Art, Music, Pop-Ups, and narrative

Bilingual GlossaryAnd Curriculum

Guides for Grades 3-5

STORIES TOLD IN THE LANGUAGE OF THE PEOPLE

WE CAN DO THIS TOGETHER

Curriculum Guides by Nancy Valdez-Gainer

T.E.K.S Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 (2) History. The student

understands how historical figures, patriots, and good citizens helped shape the community, state, and nation. The student is expected to: (A) identify contributions of historical figures, including Sam Houston, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King Jr., who have influenced the community, state, and nation;

(2) History. The student understands the concepts of time and chronology. The student is expected to: (A) describe the order of events by using designations of time periods such as historical and present times;(B) apply vocabulary related to chronology, including past, present, and future

(1) History. The student understands how individuals, events, and ideas have influenced the history of various communities. The student is expected to: (A) describe how individuals, events, and ideas have changed communities, past and present;

(2) History. The student understands common characteristics of communities, past and present. The student is expected to: (C) compare ways in which various other communities meet their needs.

(5) History. The student understands important issues, events, and individuals of the 20th century in Texas. The student is expected to: (C) identify the accomplishments of notable individuals such as John Tower, Scott Joplin, Audie Murphy, Cleto Rodríguez, Stanley Marcus, Bessie Coleman, Raul A. Gonzalez Jr., and other local notable individuals.

SO THAT OUR CHILDREN WILL LEARN

Play by Hillcrest Elementary Schoolhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yxn6B4LctVA

Page 1I was four years old, and I wanted to play the guitar.Page 2Illustration: image of a little girl facing her mother, who is also a musician, and the

grandmother too.

Narrative:I tried to play my mother’s guitar But she said no.Page 3Illustration: prevailing image should be of music falling from the sky. A little girl might not

understand notes, but she hears the notes falling, like butterflies. Obviously, she’s making a guitar, too.

Narrative: So then I said to myself “I’m going to make a guitar.”I wanted to play the songs falling from the stars every night.So I found a little plank of wood. Six small nails. Pounded them into the board, three on each end. Then I hooked up rubber bands from one side to the other.

WE ARE NOT AFRAID TO IMAGINE

THIS IS M

Y CALLING

So I had a brain tu

mor, two w

eeks in IC

U, a perm

anent shunt, e

tc.

Couldn’t work fu

lltime fo

r a year.

It was a

test.

And I p

assed.