>> Recorder: From the Library
of Congress in Washington DC.
>> Catalina Gomez: Now it's my great
pleasure to introduce our speaker.
This wonderful children's
author and illustrator,
brilliant artist, Juana Medina.
Juana Medina is an illustrator
and author of children's books,
as well as a teacher at
George Washington University.
Juana grew up in Bogotá,
Colombia and studied
at the Rhode Island
School of Design.
Medina was a first winner of the
Jay Kennedy Memorial Scholarship,
an award given yearly by the
National Cartoonist Society
to a top college cartoonist
in North America.
She is also the recipient of a
Marion Vannett Ridgway Honor Award
and [inaudible] Colombianos, a
100 Colombians, an honor granted
to 100 successful Colombians
living abroad.
Her books for children
include "One Big Salad,"
a delicious counting
book and "Smick."
And her latest picture
book that which -
"Smick" was her latest picture book.
Today we're here to celebrate
her latest book, which is "Juana
and Lucas", a book and it's
published by Candlewick Press.
And this tells the story
of a young girl's decision
to learn English back in her
home city in Bogotá, Colombia.
This book particularly moved
me because I happen to be
from the same city as Juana.
So it's a beautiful,
beautiful - a beautiful book.
So "Juana and Lucas," as you know
it's being sold today, here today.
I'll also like to announce
that Juana had started a
beautiful collaboration
with our national poet
laureate [inaudible] Barrera.
So very soon you'll start hearing
about this beautiful collaboration.
It's kind of an e-book
story collaboration
with the poet laureate featuring
very fun character called
Catalina Neon.
And it'll be a collaboration also
with second and third grade students
and schools around the country.
So that will be really exciting.
So I think that is all.
Please join me in welcoming
Juana Medina.
Thank you.
[ Clapping ]
>> Juana Medina: [Inaudible]
All right.
Catalina, thank you for such
a beautiful introduction,
such a pleasure being here.
First, I just wanted to say hello.
And to share a little bit
about this book, which is,
as Catalina said called
Juana and Lucas.
The main character is called,
just like me, because it's based
on a story that happened
when I was a child.
Basically, my mom picked me
up at school and I was furious
because they had said that I needed
to learn something
called "the English."
We were living then
in Bogotá, Colombia.
And my mom said "Well, if
you don't learn English.
You'll be in trouble.
We're going to go visit
Mickey Mouse in Disney World.
So you might want to learn."
So this is based, loosely based,
in what happened many years ago.
But today, I'm going to
need a little bit of help.
So first, I need to ask
are you willing to help me?
I really need to -
yes, thank you so much.
Do any of you speak
Spanish by any chance?
All right.
Yes, two Spanish speakers,
three Spanish speakers.
Great. Well, as I said, this
story takes place in Bogotá.
Bogotá is a beautiful
city in Colombia.
Yay. And because Juana lives
in Bogotá and we're going
to be hearing about Bogotá.
We're going to - I'm going to be
asking you a very special favor.
First of all, whenever
you see the word "Bogotá,"
you're going to see a highlight.
So it's going to appear in blue,
just as it is on the screen.
So whenever you see it, would you
be able to say out loud with me.
Bogotá.
>> Audience: Bogotá.
>> Juana Medina: That was
pretty just, kind of quiet.
And I know there's a lot of
noise, but let's try that again.
Bogotá.
>> Audience: Bogotá.
>> Juana Medina: Yes,
that's much better.
All right.
So let's get ready to learn
about Juana and Lucas.
All right.
So here is Juana.
"My name is Juana and
it is spelled J-U-A-N-A.
And it is pronounced Juana.
Things I like are drawing
sometimes on paper
and sometimes on other surfaces."
Do any of you draw
in other surfaces?
Maybe carpets or walls or
bathtubs or things like that?
Maybe not, hopefully you
won't get in trouble.
"Astroman needs no
rockets to fly in space.
His intergalactic suit and
shiny helmet cover all of him
and let him glide from galaxy
to galaxy faster than
I can say Jupiter.
He knows all the constellations from
A to Z. And can redirect a comet
by simply blowing on it, as if it
were a candle flame on a cupcake.
No one else can do that.
My favorite food of all foods,
more than cheese and chocolate
and ice cream, but not all together,
is Brussels sprouts," in...
>> Audience: Bogotá.
>> Juana Medina: Yes.
"Brussels sprouts are
called [foreign language].
The world has many cities but"?
>> Audience: Bogotá.
>> Juana Medina: "Bogotá is
where I am and where school is
and where mommy and my [foreign
language] and Lucas are.
And where I play with
Eric and Danielle
and where I get in
trouble with Huli.
Bogotá." Whoops, what
happened there?
Okay. There's another Bogotá there.
"Bogota, Colombia in
South America is the city
that is closest to my heart.
I love"?
>> Audience: Bogotá.
>> Juana Medina: "Love it.
And here's why."
There's one more.
"Bogotá has more neighborhoods
than I can count.
There's a financial district and a
flower district, galleries, houses,
little coffee shops,
bookstores, it just never stops.
There are a lot of parts in"?
>> Audience: Bogotá.
>> Juana Medina: "...too."
Yes, thank you.
"The [foreign language]
is a never ending route
of bike lanes all across the city.
So I haven't been able
to go on every bit
of bike lane across the city.
It would take me ages to
do it, but I like the idea
of peddling through town.
During the day the weather is mild
as if it is eternally springtime.
Then the night comes and the
ground turns freezing cold,
so everyone always keeps a
pair of slippers by their bed.
There are many trees, mostly old
and almost as tall as buildings.
In the daytime they give shade
from the incredible strong sun.
At night, when illuminated
from below
by the street lights they make
shadows of all shapes and sizes."
Get ready.
In?
>> Audience: Bogotá.
>> Juana Medina: "Bogotá,
Colombia everyone speaks Español.
They might - there might be a
few who speak other languages,
but to understand one another
we all mainly speak Spanish.
Lucas doesn't speak Spanish only
because he doesn't speak at all.
At bed time chances are" - whoops.
Hold on, there's somebody I want
you to meet before anything else.
"I love Lucas.
Love him and here's why.
Unlike others, Lucas listens to
absolutely everything I have to say
without interrupting even when
stories get a little bit long.
His vision and hearing are so good
that when mommy is making her way
toward my room Lucas gives me a
little push with his snout which
gives me time to turn up the light.
That always saves me
from a talk or two
about still being awake
past bedtime."
Do any of you get in
trouble for this?
I know somebody who does, yes.
[laughs] "Even though
cleats will never fit him
and gloves are pointless,
he's a phenomenal goalie.
He's learned from watching
football matches on TV."
In Colombia they call
soccer, football.
So that's why it's
football on screen.
"He jumps really high, high enough
to get cookies off the counter.
Plus he'll share them with me.
He eats math homework like a pro.
The harder the homework,
the faster he'll eat it.
No one is better than
Lucas at playing spies.
No matter where I hide,
he always finds me.
Lucas always walks to me - he
walks me to and from the bus stop
on school days, which makes
the walks a lot better
than they could be.
I strongly dislike my uniform."
Do any of you have to
wear uniforms here?
Do you? Yeah.
Do you like your uniform?
No. I don't - I didn't
like mine either.
"I don't - I strongly dislike
my uniform very strongly
and here's why.
The blazer is heavy and hot
and sometimes it makes me very,
very hot like very
hot celery soup hot.
It's awful."
Have any of you been that hot?
In summer some days felt that hot.
Kind of. Right?
"The uniform has a tie
that can make me feel
like I'm choking and that's not fun.
The skirt is itchy.
When I play on the monkey
bars I have to watch out
or boys will be shouting out
that my underpants are pink.
I think boys should
be doing better things
than looking at my pink underpants.
The uniform socks are
supposed to be white,
but my socks are never truly white.
It's impossible to have white socks
when you're a serious
football player,
playing football while wearing
a school uniform is the worst."
So I won't share right now
anymore about Juana or Lucas,
so that you can read
the whole story.
But I - what I can definitely
tell you is that Juana is
about to get in serious trouble.
So if you want to hear more about
it, you can check out the book.
The other thing I wanted to say is
I hope that this story inspires you
to share your own stories,
whether it is through writing them
or drawing them or
just simply talking
and just sharing them
with somebody else.
But I think we all have stories
to tell, so for now I'm going
to draw a few drawings and
I'm going to need your help
with a little bit of inspiration.
Let me just get the markers first.
So we talked about
how Juana usually -
how Lucas usually eats
Juana's homework.
What kind of homework did you think
that he must have been eating?
No idea? Any clues?
I'm going to draw Lucas and you'll
start thinking about what kind
of homework he might be eating.
So let's start by drawing
his ears and then his eyes.
His little snout.
Any ideas or nothing yet?
Yes. English homework?
Oh-uh. So maybe he's
got a book in his mouth
and the pages are suffering
a little, kind of wrinkled.
Might - one page might
be falling out.
Another one has already fallen out.
And let's finish his mouth.
He seems very happy to be
eating English homework.
Let's write "English."
What else is going on?
What could be happening?
Any ideas?
Not yet. Would Juana be
worried or she's okay
about him eating the - her homework?
Yes. She's very happy
because now she doesn't have -
now she has an excuse for school.
So should we draw her
very happy, celebrating?
Okay. I think she's going to
be in real trouble for that.
Let's try drawing Juana celebrating.
So maybe she's dancing.
We're drawing her eyes,
her little nose.
She's got a big smile.
And she wears her pigtails
and a little barrette.
What do you think she's dancing to?
Some music or she's just
making up the music?
Yes.
[ Inaudible ]
>> Juana Medina: Some Spanish music?
[ Inaudible ]
>> Juana Medina: What's that?
[ Inaudible ]
>> Juana Medina: Some Spanish music?
So maybe some salsa
or some merengue.
She's wearing her socks.
She's not wearing her shoes.
Maybe we can throw a shoe
somewhere, maybe it flew away, just,
she's dancing so energetically
her shoe is flying.
There goes one shoe and
she has a stripy shirt.
I think she's going
to be in trouble.
How will she explain this?
The other foot is right here.
Let's add a little bit of color.
So maybe she's wearing a red,
let's put in some red stripes.
Do any of you know how
to say red in Spanish?
No? Yes? [Foreign language],
that's right.
That's fantastic.
I think Juana loves [foreign
language] or color red.
Should we add some
color to Lucas as well?
Maybe a little bit of
color on his collar.
Should we make it blue,
like in the book?
Yes? Let's give it a try.
Some blue.
And his little tag, so
he doesn't get lost.
And Juana's English book is green.
So let's go ahead and color
that book or what is left of it.
And then maybe a couple
lines on the book.
We can't really read them
because they're a little far.
Oh boy, I think she's going to
be in serious trouble very soon.
Should we do another drawing?
Yes? Okay.
Oh, we didn't color the shoe.
Let's color the shoe first.
The flying shoe and
maybe, since it's flying,
we can just give it wings,
might fly away very far.
There goes the shoe.
Maybe it's a very stinky
shoe knowing Juana.
Okay. Are we ready for another one?
Yeah? Okay.
What should we do now?
Should we draw a little
bit of Bogotá, the city.
Oh, you haven't.
Yes? Why don't we draw what?
>> Female: [Inaudible] sitting
on a chair reading her book.
>> Juana Medina: I like that idea.
So now we're going to draw Juana
sitting on a chair, reading a book.
So there's a very comfy chair that
Juana really loves and it looks sort
of like a giant - what
does that look like?
Yes?
>>Female: A jelly bean.
>> Juana Medina: A jelly bean.
It could be.
What else does it looks like?
>> Female: An ear?
>> Juana Medina: Yes,
could be an ear.
She could be sitting on an
ear reading an English book,
that could be cool too.
So here she is, her hair.
She always wears a little barrette.
Do you think she's enjoying this
book or she's about to fall asleep?
She really likes it?
So it must be a very
captivating book.
Here's her hand.
What could this book be
about that she's so excited?
It's definitely not about English.
>> Female: It's about dinosaurs.
>> Juana Medina: It's about what?
>> Female: Dinosaurs.
>> Juana Medina: Dinosaurs.
I like that.
All right.
So let's draw a dinosaur
on the jacket of the book.
No wonder she's so
entertained by the book.
It's a pretty funny
looking dinosaur.
And then let's draw her ear.
She really likes that book.
Her stripy shirt.
She's got her leg up.
She's so excited about the book.
The other one down.
Let's draw some more stripes.
Hey, where's Lucas?
What would Lucas be doing
while she reads her book?
Lucas is where?
>> Female: On a bone.
>> Juana Medina: On a boat?
>> Female: On a bone.
>> Juana Medina: On a bow?
>> Female: No, a bone.
>> Juana Medina: A bone,
oh, chewing on a bone.
What other ideas are there?
Yes? Do you want to think
a little bit more about it?
Reading Juana and Lucas?
Dancing. Okay, there's
another idea in the back.
I can't hear.
>> Female: Trying to eat her book.
>> Juana Medina: Oh,
trying to eat her book.
Okay. So we have a number of ideas.
Let's see.
Where do we start?
So here we can draw Lucas
dancing, in two legs.
There's little Lucas, tu-tu-tu.
The ears are flopping.
The tail moving to
the sound of music.
All right.
So there's Lucas dancing.
Now, let's draw Lucas
chewing on a bone.
Right? So he can be
here chewing on a bone.
Here's the bone.
He really is loving that bone.
He might actually be
kind of falling asleep
or let's just draw a
happy tail to tell us
that he is actually just very
focused, loving that bone.
And now we are going to draw
Lucas trying to eat her book.
Do you think he'll succeed?
Oh-oh. His mouth is really open big.
Oh-uh. I hope he doesn't get it.
The ears. Wow, he really
wants to eat that book.
All right.
Should we add some color?
Yeah? Let's go ahead and
draw in this dinosaur,
make it green and draw her shirt.
Drawing her shirt.
Get some red.
Oh hey, do any of you know how green
is, how do you say green in Spanish?
>> Female: [Foreign language].
>> Juana Medina: [Foreign language].
[inaudible].
And what did we say about red?
>> Female: [Foreign language].
>> Juana Medina: [Foreign language].
Okay. Anything else that's
going on in this picture
that we haven't drawn in?
Yes? You're going to
have to speak very loud.
[ Inaudible ]
>> Juana Medina: The
top of the house?
>> Male: Yes.
>> Juana Medina: Okay.
Of course.
Otherwise they'll get really
wet if they're reading outside
and then her book will be ruined.
Great idea.
So there we go.
Now they're all protected.
Is that good?
Great. All right.
Oh, you know what, we
didn't finish this bone.
There we go.
Her socks again and we
also forgot her shoes.
Do you think her shoes
are flying very, very far
and that's why they're
not in the picture
or should we draw them
there somewhere?
>> Male: Up on the
roof of the house.
>> Juana Medina: On
the roof of the house.
That's how far they flew?
Here's one shoe on
the roof of the house.
I like that idea too.
All right.
But still with the wings.
And let's draw the
other one right here.
Maybe this one is falling
in the chimney.
Poor Santa's not going
to make it through.
[ Inaudible ]
>> Juana Medina: [Laughs]
That's true.
Or maybe he'll just
leave her presence
in the shoe out in the chimney top.
Okay.
>> Male: [Inaudible] snowed on.
>> Juana Medina: Let's hope
it doesn't get snowed on.
That's true.
All right.
Are we missing anything
else in this picture?
Are we ready to just
leave it as it is?
Last chance.
Yes?
>> Juana Medina: A
sky above the house.
Of course, we need a
sky above the house.
So let's draw in some clouds.
Thank goodness there's
no sign of storms
or those shoes would
be really damp, wet.
Big sun shining.
Juana should be outside
playing instead of inside,
but good thing she's reading books,
so we'll let her just play inside.
All right.
There we go.
I hope you had fun.
I had a lot of fun
meeting all of you.
And thank you to Steve
for being here with us.
Thank you.
[ Clapping ]
>> Recording: This has
been a presentation
of the Library of Congress.
Visit us at loc.gov.