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/
Click for more
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
Click for more
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.
Click for more
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/
Click for more
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.
Click for more
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