The Texas Bluebonnet Award is one of the most prestigious children’s choice literary awards in the United States. Each year, 20 books are chosen for the Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List. Schools and libraries around the state participate in the program, encouraging students to read a minimum of five books from the list. In January, students vote for their favorite title. The author of the book receiving the most votes wins the Texas Bluebonnet Award (TBA) which is presented at the Texas Bluebonnet Award presentation held during the TLA Annual Conference in the spring.
INSTAGRAM LIVE INTERVIEW AND DRAWING SESSION WITH JENNIFER KHAWAM OF LEE AND LOW BOOKS ON PEDRO FLORES' BIRTHDAY
The completed sketch of Pedro Flores from this morning’s Instagram Live with the great Jennifer Khawam of Lee and Low Books! Thanks to Jennifer, the staff of L&L for this opportunity and to everyone who took the time to attend..! Happy Birthday Pedro Flores!
YOURS TRULY COMING BACK TO THE BAY (FOR TWO DAYS)
I’ll be coming back to my old stomping grounds for Family Day at the Bay Area Book Festival on 5/4 from 11-5.
If you’re in the Excelsior neighborhood I’ll be at the SF Public Library giving a presentation and book reading of Pedro’s Yo-Yos..!
THE BOOK IS HERE! PEDRO'S YO-YOS ARRIVES EARLY!
I guess I was erroneous in the publication date for the book! Here are a number of friends who’ve received it and are doing me a solid by allowing me to post photos with them holding their purchased copy in their hands! Thanks so much, people!
NEW FREELANCE GIG WORKING WITH THE GREAT MAYA CHRISTINA GONZALEZ!!
Yours truly gets to work as art director and book designer on Maya Christina Gonzalez’s new upcoming children’s book, The Pop-Ups Picnic, a book based on Maya’s personal experience. I’ve collaborated with Maya on a number of her books, and I’m so honored to be part of such a personal project. She is a brave courageous force of artistic nature. The children’s book world is better because of her presence in it.
BOOKLIST GIVES PEDRO'S YO YOS A THUMBS UP!
Booklist, a book-review magazine that has been published by the American Library Association for more than 100 years, gave my latest illustrated effort, Pedro’s Yo-Yos, a positive review! Since you have to subscribe in order to read the reviews, I’ve refrained from posting the link. Instead, you can read the review in its entirety below:
Pedro Flores was a Filipino immigrant who brought the yo-yo to America and made it a worldwide phenomenon. In Peñas’ informative picture book, he describes how Flores overcame the challenges of living under colonial rule, migrating to a new country in 1915, and starting his own business from scratch. Opportunity knocked on his door when an American family took interest in a yo-yo he made for their son. Soon, everyone’s interest was piqued, and Flores spent his time carving yo-yos at night and demonstrating tricks with them during the day. The yo-yo became a sensation, and he expanded his homemade business to several factories. Flores’ determination and entrepreneurial spirit ensured that the yo-yo would capture the imagination of children and adults worldwide. The concise text, which nicely encapsulates key moments from Flores’ life, is beautifully accompanied by Angel’s naturalistic and expressive digital paintings, especially when depicting Flores’ impressive yo-yo tricks. Robust back matter elaborates on Flores’ life, the colonization of the Philippines, and the further history of the yo-yo.
— Vivian Alvarez
CHANG APANA LIVES!
The attempt to bring the legendary story of Chang Apana, Honolulu’s greatest detective, is now a Kickstarter campaign! Please support this project I’m involved in. Apana was the inspiration for the Charlie Chan novels and films, but his real story is FAR more interesting. Check out the video to see what’s in store. It’s a tremendous effort and it takes no less a talent than Lawrence Pacheco, a seasoned documentarian who is fantastic at bringing the past to life. I’m so honored to work with him on this project!
KIRKUS REVIEWS LIKES PEDRO'S YO YOS!
My latest illustrated book, Pedro’s Yo Yos, got a starred rating in Kirkus Reviews:
Bright smiles on the faces in Angel’s illustrations add even more warmth to Peñas’ insightful and stirring account.
Not a bad way to start off the new year! Here’s hoping for more opportunities to illustrate more stories, and hopefully one day write them as well.
Click here to read the full review.
PEDRO'S YO YOS FINALLY ARRIVING IN SPRING 2024 (for real this time)!
FINALLY... After starting this book in November 2017 and some personal and professional setbacks plus COVID, Pedro's Yo-Yos is finally making its way to a bookstore near you this spring!
Thank you to Lee and Low for having me on this book, and a shout out to Louise May for recommending me for the project! I love being an art director and a designer on books because I get to work with other artists, but it's been a while and I relish the opportunity to get in and play any chance I get.
Order wherever you buy your books, but here’s the direct link to the publisher
WATCH THE 20TH-ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF LAKAS AND THE MANILATOWN FISH WITH YOURS TRULY, TONY ROBLES AND LEGENDARY DESIGNER LUCILLE TENAZAS!
Tony and I have done a number of these online discussions about our book, but this was the first time we were privileged to have the book designer, Lucille Tenazas, join us. The video is worth watching just for her insights alone. Having the three of us discuss our approach to storytelling through our mediums reminded me how important passion is to the creative process. Thanks to Abraham Ignacio for setting this up, and to Tony Robles and the great Lucille Tenazas for the lively and insightful discussion about art, visual aesthetics, storytelling through poetry, and love for community.
FUNDRAISING FOR A DOCUMENTARY ON THE LEGENDARY CHANG APANA!
My friend, writer/producer/director Lawrence Pacheco, has started a fundraising effort for a documentary about Chang Apana, the real-life Chinese-Hawaiian detective whom the character of Charlie Chan was based. Apana is FAR more interesting than the caricature that was Charlie Chan. It’s a project worth supporting. Lawrence has created some great documentaries over his career and is passionate about local Hawaiian history, so it’s something close to both of our hearts AND yours truly will be doing illustrations for this project as well. Please support us if you can! There are some great incentives..!
Click here to go to the Indiegogo site:
ONLINE 20TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF LAKAS AND THE MANILATOWN FISH ON MAY 20TH, 2023!
Come one come all! On May 20, 2023 for AAPI month, author Tony Robles, editor Ina Cumpiano, and legendary designer Lucille Tenazas, and I will be doing an online 20th-anniversary celebration of Lakas and the Manilatown Fish for the San Francisco Public Library! This will be the first time the four of us actually participate in an event together so there will be a lot of new stories surrounding the book's creation. We'll also hear from the community for whom the book has had an impact. Join us!
Register here:
https://sfpl.org/events/2023/05/20/celebration-20th-anniversary-lakas-and-manilatown-fish
LAKAS AND THE MANILATOWN FISH CELEBRATES ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY!
It's been 20 years since the publication of LAKAS AND THE MANILATOWN FISH, written by Anthony Robles and illustrated by Carl Angel. One of the first books to feature an all Filipino-American creative team and the first-ever bilingual English-Filipino (Tagalog) story set in the United States, LAKAS AND THE MANILATOWN FISH continues to be a celebratory book for the Filipino-American community. Here's to 20 years and many more! https://www.leeandlow.com/.../lakas-and-the-manilatown-fish
LAKAS AND THE MANILATOWN FISH FEATURED IN ERIC CARLE MUSEUM EXHIBITION
PEDRO'S YO YOs COMING ON MARCH 2022
Thanks, COVID.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
POSTING THE VIDEO OF THE TRESE PANEL I MODERATED THIS PAST SATURDAY
Hi everyone, I’m posting the video of the panel I moderated with Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo, the creators of the graphic novel, Trese, for the San Francisco Public Library's online video series. Thanks, Abraham Ignacio and SFPL for allowing me the opportunity to pick the minds of these brilliant guys. What a great, fun, insightful talk with two incredible storytellers! Check it out:
YOURS TRULY WILL BE INTERVIEWING THE CREATORS OF TRESE FOR THE SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY
Hi and attention(!), friends, and comic book enthusiasts! This coming Saturday (5/8) at 1 PM, I will be conducting an online interview live with Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldismo, the creators of the incredible comic book, Trese! This is the first time I've ever done this sort of thing, but hopefully, I'll be able to bring something new to the table, coming from a fellow storyteller's perspective.
Trese is an incredible piece of graphic storytelling, and will be coming to Netflix as an animated series. Congratulations to these incredible storytellers! Can't wait to meet them this Saturday. Join us if you can!
Register here!
LAKAS AND THE MAKIBAKA HOTEL PRESENTATION AT SFPL
For those who missed my and Tony's SFPL presentation on Lakas and the Makibaka Hotel and would like to view it, I'm posting the video below. The audio is very problematic in my section, but they managed to put running subtitles on the bottom of the screen.
SFPL ONLINE PRESENTATION
San Francisco Public Library holding a video presentation on May 5th of our children’s book Lakas and the Makibaka Hotel! Tony will read and I’ll be discussing my illustrations.
Click here for event info
Q & A WITH TONY ROBLES AND MYSELF THIS SUNDAY
As we celebrate Filipino History month, Tony will be reading from Lakas and the Makibaka Hotel, our second book in the Lakas series from Children’s Book Press.
