Alma Flor Ada

• born in Cam­agüey, Cuba, 1938
• At 15, sent to America to practice English
• 2 years in American college, received undergrad degree at Universidad Central de Madrid
• doctorate in Spanish Lit. in 1965 while teaching in Peru
• also taught at Harvard, Emory University, and University of San Francisco in America

Poetry, Nursery Rhymes, Folktales, Narratives, Memoirs, Theater

• provides multicultural education in early childhood to high school
• primarily in Denver Public schools - 80% minority
• Alma curriculum units include teacher's guide and age appropriate books and other resources like videos, CDs, posters, maps, and musical instruments
• includes African, Hispanic, American Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and American academic material

"Alma Flor Ada's Biography." Scholastic. Scholastic Inc.. Web. 16 Oct 2013. <http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/mff/folktale_meetalma.htm>.

Ada, Alma Flor. "Alma Flor Ada." . N.p.. Web. 16 Oct 2013. <http://almaflorada.com/>.

Manna, Anthony L., Janet Hill, and Kathy Kellogg. "Alma Flor Ada and the Quest for Change." Language Arts. 82.1 (2004): 76-79. Print.

http://etls.dpsk12.org/Library_Services/Circulating_Libraries/Alma_Project/default.aspx

Biographical Information

Alma Flor Ada

By Kelsey Fallon

Inspiration

`

Awards

Citations

• her grandmother's stories of freedom, equality, justice
• children can and will listen to important topics if presented through a story

• Christopher Medal, Pura Belpre Medal, Once Upon A World, Parents' Choice Honor, Marta Salotti Gold Medal, Virginia Hamilton Literary Award

• her uncle Tony
• he was so animated as if he were always a part of the story, even when he wasn't
• very convincing

• Distinguished Professor Award, Hispanic Issues Award for Research in Education, Califor­nia Asso­ci­a­tion for Bilin­gual Edu­ca­tion Life Long Award; the Cal­i­for­nia Coun­cil for Higher Edu­ca­tion 2011 Award; the 2012 Lit­er­ary Award of the Amer­i­can Asso­ci­a­tion of His­pan­ics in Higher Edu­ca­tion.

Images

http://www.delsolbooks.com/jpg2/ logoalmaflorada1.jpg

http://almaflorada.com/about/photo-gallery/

• her father
• unending continuing story at night
• common characters and themes

• nature
• left alone for hours outside

Her Works For Children

The Alma Project

BOOK DESCRIPTION

"The author’s many years of work with migrant fam­i­lies inspired this poetic ABC of the fields written in two lan­guages, and Simón Silva’s mag­nif­i­cent illus­tra­tions in bold col­ors, have cre­ated a work of art to be enjoyed by chil­dren and adults alike. (K-12)." - AlmaFlorAda.com

ALMA'S NOTES

• inspired from her work with migrant farm workers
• poems to help children learn each letter
• tribute to all those who's "labor allows us all to live"

BOOK DESCRIPTION

"Sat­ur­days and Sun­days are very spe­cial days for the child in this story. On Sat­ur­days, she vis­its Grandma and Grandpa, who come from a European-American back­ground, and on Sundays–los domingos–she vis­its Abuelito y Abuelita, who are Mexican-American. While the two sets of grand­par­ents are dif­fer­ent in many ways, they also have a great deal in common–in par­tic­u­lar, their love for their granddaughter."

ALMA"S NOTES

• celebrates dual heritage
• inspired by people watching in Hawaii
• hit home with her own children

BOOK DESCRIP­TION

María Isabel, a His­panic child grow­ing up in the U.S., begins hav­ing prob­lems in her new class­room when her teacher changes her name to Mary. This com­pelling por­trait of an expe­ri­ence com­mon to many lan­guage minor­ity chil­dren inspires dis­cus­sions on self-identity and bicul­tur­al­ism.

ALMA'S NOTES

• Based upon her own personal experience coming to a new culture
• "It's a huge challenge because you don't want to be an outsider, you don't want to be separated from society, but at the same time you want to be true to your cultural identity."
• also in complete Spanish