Bookjoy, Wordjoy

Original Art Show, Society of Illustrators

An inspiring collection of Pat Mora's own glorious poems celebrating a love of words and all the ways we use and interact with them: reading, speaking, writing, and singing.

Whether we are collecting words, reading favorite books in the library, celebrating holidays, writing poems, sharing secrets, or singing a jazzy duet, words and books can take us on wonderful adventures and bring us joy. Poet Pat Mora has brought together a collection of her poems that celebrates engaging with words and books in all these ways and more. Vivid illustrations by Raúl Colón bring the poems to life and interpret the magic of the language with captivating images in a style influenced by Mexican muralists. Together the poems and illustrations are sure to inspire creative wordplay in readers of all ages.

We can read, you and I,
see letters become words,
and words become books ...
You and I read, round and round,
bookjoy around the world.

PAT MORA is the celebrated Latina author of forty award-winning children's poetry and prose picture books. A lifelong literacy advocate, she founded Children's Day, Book Day (El día de los niños, el día de los libros) to celebrate children and motivate them to become readers with daily support from families, teachers, and librarians and annual festivities on April 30. Mora lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Visit her online at patmora.com.

RAÚL COLÓN is a popular children's book illustrator whose work has also appeared in many national publications. He has illustrated more than thirty award-winning picture books, including those by Dr. Jill Biden and Frank McCourt. Colón is known for his unique mixed-media illustration technique, which creates artwork rich in texture and deep colors. He lived in Puerto Rico as a young boy and now resides in New City, New York, with his family.