On Friday, June 8, I was honored to meet Paul Rodriguez, author, illustrator, and teaching artist, who was visiting the Bronx Library Center's cuartito (Puerto Rican and Latin American Heritage Gallery) for the opening of his exhibit. Paul is an engaging and warm young man; his enthusiasm and love for his craft shone through as he described his process and explained the meaning behind the displays—his collaboration with a group of fifth graders (and their teacher) called La Cancion Encantada (The Enchanted Song).

The resulting book, called The Magical Song of Sona and Dora, and exhibit is based on a folktale about el coqui (the tree frog) and features el cacarcol de arbol (the tree snail), tortuga (turtle), tortuga marin (sea  turtle), and loro puertorriqueno (puerto rican parrot), written as a tribute to Paul's grandfather.

Paul explained how they created the book: first, he read the story and then re-read it, inviting the children to close their eyes and imagine the events as they happened.  After, using Rodriguez's character illustrations as a model, the children created pictures. Here, in our gallery, each page of the book is displayed as a separate panel; the dialogue appears in speech bubbles, comic-book style, accompanied by the colorful illustrations.

Paul believes "We must care about one another and, most importantly, care about our children… teaching them… to care for themselves and each other. Caring is the foundation for all learning, as all learning is an opportunity to cultivate caring."

True to his words, Paul has donated the proceeds from his book sales to the families whose lives were devastated by Hurricane Maria. He has also written and illustrated other children's books on themes such as diversity, character building, environmental awareness, and conservation; he donates a portion of the proceeds from these book sales to organizations related to his themes.  

We invite you to  visit our cuartito during the month of June to see this unique exhibition. If you're really lucky, you might get to meet Paul, as he plans to stop by often.