Read Your Way Across Texas

Map source: http://www.lonestarcalendar.com/Portals/68cd30b4-0d50-4dd5-bb8a-9954946f324c/Regional%20Map.gif

Click on the spot to findbooks from each region By

Wendy Howk

Big Bend Country

• Author Pat Mora – grew up in El Paso– Yum! !MmMm! !Qué rico! –native foods– The Rainbow Tulip - immigrants– Tomás and the Library Lady – migrant workers– Pablo’s Tree – celebrating family & traditions– Delicious Hullabaloo – animal life in desert– The Gift of the Poinsettia – traditions & legends– Doña Flor: A Tall Tale About a Giant Woman

with a Great Big Heart – Tall tales, foods, people

http://www.patmora.com/Click for more

Big Bend Country

• Sherry Garland – “fifth generation Texan, born in the Rio Grand Valley” – raised on a dairy farm in central Texas and Weatherford, TX– Indio – Native Americans along Rio Grande, arrival

of Spaniards in 1500’s – young adult

http://sherrygarland.swiftsite.com/

• David Rice – – Crazy Loco –“Loosely based on the author’s

own Mexican American childhood in South Texas” http://www.asu.edu/brp/dist/young_adult/Rice-Crazy_Loco.html

Click for more

Big Bend Country• Claudia Guadalupe Martinez – raised

in El Paso– The Smell of Old Lady Perfume – “straddling two

borders, the figurative one between childhood and adolescence and the real one between Ciudad Juarez from El Paso” http://www.cincopuntos.com/products_detail.sstg?id=137

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• Xavier Garza – native of Rio Grande valley– Charro Claus & the Tejas Kid: The story of

Santa’s primo and his little sidekick – bilingual, mariachis, sombreros, and flying burritos

http://www.cincopuntos.com/products_detail.sstg?id=144

Panhandle Plains

• John Erickson – Perryton, Texas– Hank the Cowdog series (16 books) – Hank

the Cowdog is the head of ranch security on a ranch in the Texas Panhandle.

http://www.hankthecowdog.com/books/01.htm

• Carolee Dean – young adult years in Lubbock and Happy, TX– Comfort – small town life –young adulthttp://www.caroleedean.com/

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Panhandle Plains

• Holly Bea – grew up in Arlington and attended Texas Tech in Lubbock– Lucy Goose Goes to Texas - fictional migration of

Canadian geese to Texas

http://www.hollybea.com/mainstream_books.htmhttp://www.annebustard.com/

• Anne Bustard – taught, owned a bookstore, and professor in Austin, TX– Buddy: The Story of Buddy Holly – rock ‘n’ roll star

from Lubbock, TX– T is for Texas – photographs of TX symbols

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Panhandle Plains

• Kimberly Willis Holt – Amarillo– Piper Reed series – military family (common to

many Texas authors and families)– When Zachary Beaver Came to Town – rural, small

town life

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Texas Hill Country

• Tom (illustrator) & Janice (author) Shefelman – Austin– A Paradise Called Texas – history , immigrant from

Germany to Texas Frontier, Fredericksburg– Willow Creek Home – sequel, Comanche territory– Spirit of Iron – sequel, Texas Rangers, Lipan Apache– Comanche Song – Native Americans in Texas– Sophie’s War – Texas during Civil War, German

Texans

http://www.shefelmanbooks.com/aboutbooks.htmClick for more

Texas Hill Country

• Kathi Appelt– Miss Lady Bird’s Wildflowers – history of Piney

Woods and Hill Country

http://kathiappelt.com/articles/books_for_older_readershttp://www.susanstevenscrummel.com/books.htm http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/index.html

• Susan Stevens Crummel – family history in the Hill Country– Tumbleweed Stew – takes place on a Texas ranch in

the Hill Country

• Cynthia Leitich Smith – now makes her home in Austin– Tantalize – a gothic thriller set Austin - YA

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Prairies and Lakes

• Susan Stevens Crummel – lived in Dallas, Corpus Christi, Kerrville, Austin, and Ft. Worth

“The people, the language, flora, and fauna are in your blood.”

– Ten-Gallon Bart series– fun-paced wild west adventures

– Jackalope – jackrabbits, cranky coyotes, and horns!

– The Great Fuzz Frenzy - prairie dogs

http://www.susanstevenscrummel.com/books.htm"Library Student Project." Message to Susan Stevens Crummel. 13 Apr. 2010. E-mail.

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Prairies and Lakes

• Debbie Leland – author and librarian from Bryan-College Station– The Jalapeño Man – a Texas twist to the Gingerbread

Man, complete with plenty of wildflowers– The Little Prairie Hen – Attwater’s Prairie Chicken,

pecan pie, prairie dogs, buffalo, and horned toads at the Coastal County Fair

– Aggie Goose Rhymes – self-explanatory “Texas has such great pride and traditions that I

could draw on these for my books.”http://www.debbie-leland.com/booksns.html"Texas Author Study." Message to Debbie Leland. 13 May 2010. E-mail.

Click for more

Prairies and Lakes• Helen Ketteman – lived 9 years in Dallas,

writes many fractured fairy tales– Waynetta and the Cornstalk– Bubba the Cowboy Prince– Armadilly Chili & Armadillo Tattletale

http://helenketteman.com/sample-the-books/

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• Ray Villareal – Dallas native– Alamo Wars – students put on a play to

commemorate their deceased teacher– My Father the Angle of Death – tween fiction for

reluctant male readers - WWFhttp://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1219145999

Piney Woods

• Kathi Appelt– The Underneath – set in East Texas

http://kathiappelt.com/articles/books_for_older_readershttp://helenketteman.com/book-three-little-gators/

• Helen Ketteman– The Three Little Gator – set in an east

Texan swamp, fractured fairy tale of the three little pigs

• Jill Alexander – grew up in rural East Texas– The Sweetheart of Prosper County – small town

politics, roosters, Future Farmers of America (for young adult readers)

http://www.jillsalexander.com/

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Piney Woods

• Tom Townsend – – The Ballad of Ol’ Hook - rodeo, bull-riding, and

growing up in a small Texas town – young adult– The Ghost Flyers – UFO sightings in East Texas –

historical fiction – tween/young adult

http://www.tomtownsend-toyland.com/ Back to map

South Texas Plains

• Carmen Tafolla – native of San Antonio“I believe in a sense of place, that you carry your place with you, that

those who came before you, and the dirt on which they stood, seeps into your life even before you are born.”– What Can You Do With a Rebozo? – Mexican-American child,

native clothing– What Can You Do with a Paleta? – sights , sounds and tastes– That’s Not Fair!: Emma Tenayuca’s Struggle for Justice -

pecan shellers strike 1930’s– Baby Coyote and the Old Woman – ecology (looks more like

Arizona than Texas )

http://www.carmentafolla.com/childrens.html"Texas Author Study." Message to Carmen Tafolla. 12 May 2010. E-mail. Click for more

South Texas Plains

• Diane Gonzales Bertrand – native of San Antonio– The Empanadas that Abuela Made– The Last Doll – rites of quincenera – My Pal Victor – – We Are Cousins– Family, Familia – family reunion in San Antonio,

traditions

http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/lit_resources/authors/interviews/DianeGonzalesBertrand.html

Click for more

South Texas Plains

• Sherry Garland– In the Shadow of the Alamo – story of a young

Mexican soldier– A Line in the Sand: The Alamo Diary of Lucinda

Lawrence – Gonzales, TX 1836– Voices of the Alamo – from ancient to present day

http://sherrygarland.swiftsite.com/ http://www.jacquelinekelly.com/index.html

• Jacqueline Kelly – El Paso, Galveston, Austin– Evolution of Calpurnia Tate – historical fiction,

1899,rural TexasClick for more

South Texas Plains

• Viola Canales – grew up in McAllen– Tequila Worm – Latina traditions and coming of age

• Naomi Shihab Nye – San Antonio– Is This Forever, or What?: Poems and Paintings from

Texas – poetry and images of Texas– Going Going – changes in hometown San

Antonio“Both roots and sense of place are major

themes in her body of work.” http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/Naomi-Shihab-NyeClick for more

South Texas Plains

• Manuel Luis Martinez – born & raised in San Antonio – novels for young adults– Crossing – immigration from Mexico– Drift – a “troubled” son left in San Antonio with his

grandmother, decides to run away to L.A.“My work is dedicated to bringing the voices of the rarely-

heard, out into the public sphere. My stories come from my past, the westside barrio of my youth, the tales my abuelitos and abuelitas told about their migrant lives, the music my father played, the faith of my mother.” http://www.manuelmarinez.info/Site/About_Me.html

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Gulf Coast

• Kathi Appelt – grew up in Houston, also lived in Pasadena, Bridge City, Nacogdoches, Dallas, Richmond, Bryan and now College Station.– The Best Kind of Gift – historical, country house

warming– Bubba and Beau Meet the Relatives – series, funny

language, images, and idioms of Texas– Cowboy Dreams – cowboy lullaby– Piggies in a Polka – German influence in Texas– Kissing Tennessee – small town life

http://kathiappelt.com/articles/picture_books

“I like the landscape and the warmth. I like the gentle lilt of the language. It's easy on my ears.” "Library Student Project." Message to Kathi Appelt. 13 Apr. 2010. E-mail.

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Gulf Coast

• Mary Dodson Wade – Houston, former librarian, historian, and author– I Am Houston – biography Sam Houston– Austin, The Son Becomes Father – biography of

Stephen F. Austin– Jane Long’s Journey - biography– I’m Going to Texas – cowboys & much

much more to do in Texas– Opa’s Stories – German influence

http://www.wadeco.com/author.htmClick for more

Gulf Coast

• Marianne J. Dyson –graduate school at Rice University, former NASA flight controller, now lives in Houston

– Home on the Moon– Space Station Science

http://www.mariannedyson.com/ http://www.dottienderle.com/index.html

• Dottie Enderle –lived in Houston, Austin, Waco, Belton, Temple, Kyle, and Killeen– The Fat Stock Stampede at the Houston

Livestock Show and Rodeo– The Cotton Candy Catastrophe at the Texas State Fair– Man in the Moon – rural Texas– Crosswire – 13-year-old boy in fence-cutting war of 1883

Click for more

“NASA Johnson Space Center and the Lunar and Planetary Science Institute have had the most impact by providing constant stimulation to my imagination and an endless list of fascinating people to interview for articles, stories, and books.” Marianne J. Dyson

"Texas Author Study." Message to Marianne J. Dyson. 18 May 2010. E-mail.

Gulf Coast

• Rosemary Clement-Moore – – Highway to Hell – spring break at South Padre

Island, Chupacabras & trouble! (young adult readers)

• Sherry Garland – – The Silent Storm– Galveston Island hurricane –

young adults– My Father’s Boat – Vietnamese shrimp boat, gulf coast– The Summer Sands- sand dunes along gulf coast

http://www.rosemaryclementmoore.com/readrosemary/Home/Home.html http://sherrygarland.swiftsite.com/

Click for more

Gulf Coast

• Gwendolyn Zepeda – Houston native– Lone Star Legend – young adult, fighting Latino

stereotypes and the legend of Chupacabra– Sunflowers, Sunflowers – gardening with Abuela – Growing Up with Tamales – Christmas traditions

Back to Maphttp://www.gwendolynzepeda.com/index.html