The Technicolor Adventures of Catalina Neon
Hosted by Juan Felipe Herrera, U.S. Poet Laureate, 2015-
About the Project
Hello! I’m Juan Felipe Herrera, the 21st U.S. Poet Laureate from 2015-2017. Welcome to “The Technicolor Adventures of Catalina Neon,” a bilingual, illustrated poem created with the help of artist Juana Medina ... and you. Throughout the 2016-2017 school year, teachers and librarians “neonized” their second and third grade students to help us tell Catalina’s story to the world!
Here’s how it worked: Juana and I created the initial chapter, but that’s only half the story. At the end of each chapter, we included a prompt and gave you—librarians, teachers and your students—a month to tell us where to go next. Together, contributors read the prompt, talked about it, imagined what could happen next, and collaboratively helped write the next chapter of Catalina’s adventure. Read the story from start to finish below!
First Chapter – “Meet Catalina Neon and Her Doggy, Tortilla”
Second Chapter – “Galactic Poetry Cosmic Library”
We thank this chapter's contributors:
- Librarian Cammie Copps Fuller and students at Saint James' Episcopal School, Warrenton, VA
- Librarian Christy Marshall, teacher Peggy Shaw, and students at Clemens Crossing Elementary School, Columbia, MD
- Librarian Deidre Ables, teacher Megan Hines, and students at Slater Marietta Elementary School, Marietta, SC
- Librarian Emily Woodward, teacher Kathy Gates, and students at The Baldwin School, Bryn Mawr, PA
- Teachers Kristy Hui and Katie Rizzo and students at Alta Vista School, San Francisco, CA
Third Chapter – “Enter the Neon”
We thank this chapter's contributors:
- Librarian Catherine Scholl, teacher Beth Porter, and students at Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, Bryn Mawr, PA
- Librarian Christy Marshall, teacher Peggy Shaw, and students at Clemens Crossing Elementary School, Columbia, MD
- Librarian Sara Jauniskis, teachers Kim Casalena and Kristan Fiori, and students at Sprague Elementary School, Wellesley, MA
Fourth Chapter – “Behind the Door : Detrás de la Puerta”
We thank this chapter's contributors:
- Librarian Catherine Scholl, teacher Beth Porter, and students at Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, Bryn Mawr, PA
- Librarian Christy Marshall, teachers Peggy Shaw and Jason Fischer, and students at Clemens Crossing Elementary School, Columbia, MD
Fifth Chapter – “We Real Cool”
We thank this chapter's contributors:
- Librarian Marcie Reyes; teachers Ms. Almodovar, Ms. Perry, Ms. Sias, and Ms. Woofter; and students at Dr. Nixon Elementary, El Paso, TX
Juan Felipe Herrera, Photo credit: Blue Flower Arts
Juana Medina, Photo credit: Silvia Baptiste
