Mondays with Mira: Ode to an Onion - How to make a biography sing

Hi there, I am in love with this book. It doesn't hurt that it's from a former student, Alexandria  Giardino, but regardless it sings and shines with an exquisite light evoking the mystery of moonlight, the warmth of the sun, and the wonders of the earth. It also doesn't hurt that it's illustrated by one of my favorite illustrators, Felicita Salas.

Here's what makes this book so wonderful in terms of text and story:
The book reveals a tremendous amount about its subject, the great poet Pablo Neruda, with spare lyrical language that utilizes metaphor, analogy, and sensory details to bring us right into how Neruda came to write the poem Ode to an Onion with the help of his contrasting character/soul mate/muse/partner Matilde Urrutia. It isn't a birth to death biography but instead focuses on a particular event at a specific time. The images are a perfect match of beauty, quirkiness, and accessibility that you will fall equally in love with. I'm delighted to say that Ode to an Onion is already receiving accolades and is sure to win all sorts of awards. I hope you'll buy it and support everyone involved, including your own learning.

Have a watch of this video to see how they did it. 

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On another note, I am delighted to share that my bookshelf is filling up with beautiful books from former students, many of which I'll be sharing here. We have a new picture book writing course that I'll be co-teaching with my winning partner in crime - Kelly Delaney, who is an acquiring Assoc. Editor at Random House/Knopf, starting January 7th. And because this is Xmas, I whipped up a sweet gift certificate if you'd like to gift someone you love, including yourself. Click here to find out more about the course and take advantage of the time-sensitive $100 early bird special with code: YesPB19  By the way we are lining up some spectacular editors and agents to join us live during the course, and have all sort of other goodies lined up, so you don't want to miss this one! Click this link to gift someone or click on Boris below!