Literary Quinceañera for author’s ‘My Very Own Room / Mi propio cuartito’ to be held in Ventura on April 12

VENTURA — In honor of Dia del Niño/Dia del Libro (Day of the Child/Day of the Book) the community of Ventura County is invited to a literary Quinceañera, a special birthday party for Amada Irma Perez’s (Ventura) first picture book, My Very Own Room/Mi propio cuartito from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 12 at the Museum of Ventura County, 100 E. Main St., Ventura.

My Very Own Room/Mi propio cuartito (Children’s Book Press 2000 now an imprint of Lee & Low Publishers) has won many awards and recognition including the Tomás Rivera Mexican-American Children’s Book Award, the Américas Honor Book Award, the Parent’s Guide to Children’s Media Award, and has been honored by the States of Texas, Oregon and many cities in California, event organizers reported in a media release.

In some Latino cultures the fifteenth birthday, especially of young girls, is celebrated instead of the sweet sixteenth. The literary quinceañera will be filled with traditional touches like music and birthday cake and will include readings by children, a Q&A and book signing by the author.

Participants will have the opportunity to purchase books to donate to local schools and boys & girls clubs.

The author, Amada Irma Perez, who works towards multicultural understanding through the publication of diverse bilingual books, was a classroom teacher for more than twenty-five years in Ventura and Oxnard.  She taught graduate classes at Cal Lutheran, Thousand Oaks and UCSB.  She presented keynotes, visited schools, taught Young Writers’ Camps and led writing workshops and retreats in at least twenty-five states and Mexico, Europe, Africa and China. She has published six other books and is included in several children’s anthologies.

There will also be an exhibit of the story behind the story with artwork, photos, manuscripts and memorabilia on First Friday (April 3, 6-8 p.m.) along with the work of Kathleen Contreras, local author of children’s books, in the Tool Room Gallery of the Bell Arts Factory, 432 N. Ventura Ave., Ventura.

Visit www.amadairmaperez.com for more information.