Ask My Mood Ring How I Feel by Diana López

In the 1990’s, there weren’t many, and even now, with so much attention and need for multicultural literature, the percentage of books by and about Latinx people is still very low. I never forgot their call for culturally relevant books. López, where are the books about us?” What they wanted were books about people who looked like them, talked like them, and lived in the same neighborhoods. My students were okay with these books, but they kept asking, “Mrs. We were given lesson plans and district-wide tests at the end of each unit. In eighth grade, we read The Giver, Across Five Aprils, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Dicey’s Song. Our district assigned specific books for each grade level. The school where I worked was in the heart of San Antonio with a 96% Hispanic student population. Who decided that blue was a boy’s color and pink was a girl’s? If the world’s spinning so fast, then why aren’t we dizzy? At the time, I didn’t know that I would someday write for this age group, but eventually, I discovered that I had a good ear for the middle grade voice, and I credit all their journals for this gift. What I discovered were wonderfully rich imaginations, humor, and insights about seemingly absurd things. I didn’t read their responses for correctness but for content. I taught English in middle school for ten years, and I promised my students, “If I ask you to write something, I’m going to read it.” I wanted them to know that I meant to attentively read their assignments but especially their journals, which were responses to open-ended questions that gave the students a chance to let their thoughts run wild. Answering My Students’ Call for Culturally Relevant Books TeachingBooks asks each author or illustrator to reflect on their journey from teaching to writing.

Ask My Mood Ring How I Feel by Diana López