Criado en dos países
En Francisco Alarcón existe una confluencia de culturas. Nació en Los Ángeles, California pero se crió tanto en México como Estados Unidos.
Becoming a poet
Francisco Alarcón's Mexican grandmother sang traditional Hispanic songs while strumming a mandolin. Francisco developed his writing abilities when he decided to transcribe her original songs and discovered he had to make up the lines he'd forgotten.
First day of school
Share Franscisco Alarcón's experience of entering a strange new world on his first day of school as expressed in one of his bilingual poems from "Angels ride bikes."
The writing process
Editing and revising are crucial part of Francisco Alarcón's story, as is capturing the essence of his feelings in a few lines.
A poem is incomplete
For Francisco Alarcón, a poem is never complete, even after the poet is finished writing it. He believes the reader is needed to complete a poem.
Guardian Angel
In this poem, presented first in Spanish then English, Francisco Alarcón tells us how a "guardian angel" made him realize he was not alone in the process of learning English in school.
What schools can do
It's important for schools to provide children with access to writers (in their native language), and to provide them with good role models who will make them feel comfortable and proud of their Latino heritage.
Pregunte y pregunte
Al involucrarse en la educación de sus hijos una de sus armas más poderosas va a ser la pregunta. Qué no le de pena o vergüenza, ¡inspírese viendo este segmento con Alma Flor Ada!
Family wisdom
In addition to writing children's books, Alma Flor Ada has developed ways to build connections between Spanish-speaking families and classrooms.
A source of unity
Ada retells folktales and nursery rhymes that unite generations of people from all across the Spanish-speaking world.