Wow, A New Website and Blog!

I've just upgraded! Check out my new website (with a newer blog):

www.angeladominguezbooks.com

Gracias! Thank you!

Galapagos Girl

I recorded this video for Lee and Low to help preview our upcoming book, Galapagos Girl, written by Marsha Diane Arnold. Enjoy!

OMG Book Festival

I just came back from the 2nd Annual OMG Book Festival. As part of the festival, we visited the wonderful kids at Castro Elementary and later did an event at Tattered Cover. I felt lucky to be surrounded with such amazing authors. Here are just a few pictures.

Stella Díaz tiene algo que decir

I'm delighted to share the Stella Díaz Book Cover for Scholastic's Club Leo. This just makes my heart swoon.

Book Launch and First Annual Whirliwind Book Festival

I just wanted to share some pictures from the book launch party of STELLA DÍAZ HAS SOMETHING TO SAY and the first annual Whirlwind Book Festival.

The book launch party for STELLA took place at one of the loveliest children's book stores I've been to BBGB. I'm lucky that I live so close to it! We had goldfish crackers, Mexican Pastries, and of course stickers. Thank you to everyone who came out especially Meg Medina.

The first annual Whirlwind Book Festival at Fearrington Village in North Carolina was a smashing success. It was a wonderful turnout. Plus probably one of the best things about these book festivals is that I get to meet so many fellow authors. I always leave exhausted, happy, and inspired. Thank you McIntyre's Books for putting it together.

HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY, STELLA DÍAZ!!!!

I'm delighted to share that Stella's officially on sale!!! 

To celebrate, we made my Mom's delicious albondigas and of course ate at a restaurant named Stella. 

We also picked up a copy of Parent's Magazine which currently mentions Stella!  I honored to be one of Colby Sharp's recommendations of "Books That Turn Kids Into Readers." He even compared the book to Clementine, a personal favorite of mine. 

If you'd like to read more about STELLA DÍAZ or to order a copy, please visit the publisher's website. 

Stella Díaz Has Something To Say Blog Post #6

One week till Stella Diaz Has Something to Say hits the bookshelves. I just want to thank everyone who I either included or helped me along the way with the book. From my boyfriend Kyle who made me albondigas, to my close friend Erika who encouraged me with the early version of the book, to my friend Isabel Roxas, who I snuck into the story as well and to the real life classmates/teachers/librarians I had growing up, a big THANK YOU! Y GRACIAS! Just one week till it's in stores, but if you'd like to pre-order it, please click here. 

Kyle, the albondigas maker/boyfriend 

Erika and me back in San Francisco 

Isabel and me on our baking days. 

My elementary school librarian 

Elementary school staff

My dear friend Anna Gonzalez back in Elementary School 

Stella Díaz Has Something to Say Blog Post #5

Long, long time ago, well about 5 years ago,  Stella Díaz Has Something To Say was just an idea for a picture book. Expect that wasn't it's title. It's was called Stella Stares and it was just 32 pages.

I worked on that version of Stella for nearly a year until it was finally rejected by a publisher. In hindsight, I completely agree. It just didn't quite work as a picture book.

Still, that little Stella stuck with me. I've had other stories that weren't picked up, but I couldn't shake this one. In 2014, I began illustrating chapter books and reading a variety of them for visual inspiration. I feel in love with the stories and the voice of those characters. Soon my non fiction shelves were being replaced with middle grade novels by Kate DiCamillo and Erin Entrada Kelly. 

Those books gave me the inspiration to expand Stella to a longer story. A narrative filled with my own experiences struggling with shyness.  I worked with my literary agent for another six months and eventually showed my 7,000 word manuscript to Connie Hsu over coffee. Thankfully she saw the potential, but she also thought it needed to be three times the length... at least!

From there, I worked on it with Connie for several months without a contract. Every step of the way was exciting and challenging. This book is a dream come true and I can't wait to share it with readers. 

The book comes out in just two weeks. If you'd like to preorder,  you can here. 

Stella Díaz Has Something To Say Blog Post #4

I love visiting Chicago. I love it so much I even made it the setting for Stella Díaz Has Something To Say. While I had visited Chicago a few times, until 2015 I kept missing out on visiting the Shedd Aquarium. We tried, but it was closed for construction one time and another time we went on a day they weren't open. Those failed attempts inspired me to write about the Shedd in Stella before even seeing the inside. And writing about the Shedd, also gave me the perfect excuse to make a trip to visit.

I knew I had to see the Shedd in person to really capture the setting. I needed to see the aquatic creatures and details with my own eyes. Thankfully, the trip and Shedd didn't disappoint. Plus I got to spend a fun filled weekend with one of my oldest friends, Chris Pollard. Here are just a few pictures. Hope you enjoy!

AND it's only 3 more weeks till Stella's big debut! You can preorder it here. 

Leopard Printed String ray 

Stella Díaz Has Something to Say Blog Post #3

This week I thought I'd share some pictures of my childhood best friend, Mimi. She's the inspiration for the character Jenny in Stella Díaz Has Something to Say. Coming up with the name Jenny for Mimi was a no brainer. When we were little, Mimi went through the phase where she wanted to be called Jenny. She even tried to get me to try to call her that! Well in a way, she finally has!

While I don't see her as much as I would like, I have fond memories of growing up with Mimi. Mimi introduced me to pho, one of my favorite foods, and like Jenny used to take as many bites as possible in each piece of food. I remember her eating a baby carrot for an hour.

It's 4 weeks more to Stella's big debut, but if you would like to preorder it, please visit here. And if you want to see a little peek of the book, click on the video below! 

Mimi and me at the Magic Time Machine

Stella Díaz Has Something To Say Blog Post #2

It's 5 more weeks before Stella Díaz Has Something to Say hits the bookshelves. In today's post, I thought I would share a little bit about my family since they are huge inspiration for the book. Here are 4 fun facts.

1. Growing up, we went on many little adventures together, but instead of Wisconsin, we did ours more in Texas. Here my brother Alejandro and I are posed next to Grendel the dinosaur at the Natural Bridge Caverns.

2. There really was a betta fish in our household named Nacho, but he was my mom's fish. My mom talked to him much more than I ever did.

3. Back then I was always my silliest and most carefree with my family, but outside of home I was often shy. Similar to the book, I struggled with my English and Spanish and even took Speech Classes. Unlike brave Stella though, I didn't really grow out of it until college.

4. Thanksgiving time at our house meant and still means Picadillo time. It's a delicious ground beef dish with olives and onions. It's what we look to most at Thanksgiving or at least I do. If you have never tried it, I recommend trying this recipe. It's a little more complicated than what my family does, but it's delicious. 

Happy Holidays! If you'd like to preorder Stella Díaz Has Something to Say click here. 

Stella Díaz Has Something To Say Blog Post #1

To countdown the release of my debut middle grade novel, Stella Díaz Has Something to Say, I am going to post every Tuesday about Stella. The post is either news related to the book or even better yet inspiration for the book.

For the first post, I thought I'd give a shout out the wonderful people who wrote blurbs for the book. Their endorsement means the world to me.

Margarita Engle 

I met Margarita back in Fresno at Petunia's Place on Small Business Day back in 2013. Her writing is so lovely and I just adore her most recent book, All The Way to Havana, illustrated by Mike Curato. Here's what she kindly wrote,

"Stella Díaz Has Something to Say is delightfully rich, both humorous and sensitive at the same time. This is the story of a curious girl who longs to fit in, but also feels the need to be herself, learning how to speak up in two languages.” —Margarita Engle, Young People's Poet Laureate

Monica Brown

I've had the pleasure of collaborating on 6 books with the fabulous author Monica Brown for the Lola Levine Series. She's an inspiration. Here is what she wrote, 

“Stella Díaz is a delight! Young readers will love the story of this shy, sweet, and very creative girl finding her voice.” —Monica Brown, author of the Lola Levine series

Danielle Davis

While I have not met Danielle in person yet, I'm a big fan of her work. She has a tremendous website about picture books called This Picture Book Life and now is an author in her own right. She made her debut this year with Zinnia and The Bees. Danielle wrote, 

“Shy yet spunky Stella speaks to feeling different, to conquering fears in order to make a new friend, and to learning that, like the starfish who shares her name—Estrella—she is stronger than she thinks.” —Danielle Davis, author of Zinnia and the Bees

Minh Le 

I met Minh back at ALA in 2016. He is skilled uno player not to mention a talented author. His book Let Me Finish! illustrated by my good friend Isabel Roxas is probably one of my favorite recently published picture books. Minh wrote,

"An inspiring tale of self-discovery. Stella Diaz speaks for anyone who has struggled to juggle different sides of their identity. Which is, of course, all of us.” —Minh Le, author of Let Me Finish!

I've tried to include links to everyone so you can discover more about them (although I'm pretty sure I don't need to tell you). Only 6 more weeks till Stella makes her debut! If you'd like to preorder the book, click here.

An Open Book Foundation and Indie Pick

Yesterday, I visited Bruce Monroe Elementary with the An Open Book Foundation. All of the classes I visited yesterday walked away with got a copy of one of my books. It was a great day.

Also good news!!! I woke up this morning to find out that STELLA DÍAZ HAS SOMETHING TO SAY is is on the Winter 2017-2018 Kids' Indie Next List -- "Inspired Recommendations for Kids from Indie Booksellers."

TEDYouth Talk

3 days till my TED Youth Talk!!! While I’m busy memorizing, I thought I’d share my first slide. Thanks for the design help, Erika Lutz!

First Reviews for STELLA DIAZ and Brooklyn Museum

The first reviews for STELLA DÍAZ HAS SOMETHING TO SAY are in from PUBLISHERS WEEKLY and BOOKLIST and their good ones!

Drawing on her own childhood, Dominguez smoothly blends Spanish and English into the narration and dialogue, Stella’s Mexican-American culture fully informs her perspective and family life, and chunky spot art helps establish the setting. Readers should easily relate to Stella, her struggle to use her voice, and the way she feels caught between worlds at school and at home.” —Publishers Weekly

“Dominguez’s novel introduces a character many readers can relate to, especially bilingual kids or English language learners who struggle with expressing themselves. An excellent, empowering addition to middle grade collections.” —Booklist

Only a little over 2 months to go before it goes out in the world!

On a related note, I'll be at the Brooklyn Museum Children's Book Fair this Saturday from 11am to 4pm. 

Book Festivals

I just recently got back from two wonderful Book Festivals. Bookmarks Festival  was a real treat. I got to met some of my heroes and new heroes including Grace Lin, Javaka Steptoe, Michael Fry, and Matt Tavares. The school visits were also terrific. I just continue to be impressed with number of bilingual schools. I certainly would have loved that when I was growing up.

The second was the Brooklyn Book Festival which was like a big publishing reunion. I could go on and on about both, but instead I'll post some of my favorite pictures.

My former student, Alex Lee, stopped by Brooklyn Book Festival 

Signing at Brooklyn Book Festival 

Chatting with the wonderful kids at Speas Global Academy 

Speas Global Academy 

Kid Lit Fun at Bookmarks Book Festival 

HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY!

Happy Book Birthday to SING, DON’T CRY! I’m so grateful for it’s 2 STARRED REVIEWS by BOOKLIST and SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL. Not to mention a lovely review by Celia C. Pérez at THE HORN BOOK. (Shout out to her debut middle grade THE FIRST RULE OF PUNK which also comes out to today!)

For more information about the book and buying options (i.e. Indiebound, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Macmillan) please visit my website! 

Happy Book Birthday!

Lola Levine and the Vacation Dream hits the bookstores today! Check out more out Lola on Monica Brown's website: www.lolalevine.net

New Books!

Oh my, it's been awhile since I've posted. I've been busy! But I'm happy to share with you new cover art for a few upcoming books!

STELLA DÍAZ HAS SOMETHING TO SAY (January 18, 2018)
HOW ARE YOU? (March 13, 2018)
LOLA LEVINE AND THE VACATION DREAM (April 4, 2017)

They will all be going on to the website in just a couple of weeks.