Nancy María Grande Tabor (1949–) Biography

Born 1949, in Glendale, CA; divorced; Education: Graduated from University of the Americas, 1971; Lesley College, M.Ed.

Addresses

Office—Flowery School, 17600 Sonoma Highway, Sonoma, CA 95476-3670.

Career

Affiliated with American School Foundation of Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, 1984–90; Sonoma Valley Unified School District, Sonoma, CA, bilingual teacher, 1991–.

Member

National Association for Bilingual Education, California Association for Bilingual Education.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

Albertina anda arriba: el abecedario/ Albertina Goes Up: An Alphabet Book, Charlesbridge (Watertown, MA), 1992.

Cincuenta en la cebra: contando con los animales/ Fifty on the Zebra: Counting with the Animals, Charlesbridge (Watertown, MA), 1994.

Somos un arco iris / We Are a Rainbow, Charlesbridge (Watertown, MA), 1995.

El gusto del Mercado Mexicano, translated as A Taste of the Mexican Market, Charlesbridge (Watertown, MA), 1996.

Bottles Break, also published as Las botellas se rompen, Charlesbridge (Watertown, MA), 1999.

Ve lo que dices: modismos en español = See What You Say: Spanish and English Idioms, Charlesbridge (Watertown, MA), 2000.

Celebrations: Holidays of the United States of America and Mexico = Celebraciones: dias feriados de los Estados Unidos y México, Charlesbridge (Watertown, MA), 2004.

Sidelights

Nancy María Grande Tabor appreciates the fact that she has been able to experience both Mexican and American cultures. After growing up in Loreto, Mexico, Tabor went on to earn her master's degree in education at Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After working as a teacher for a number of year, Tabor began to pursue her interest in writing and illustration, and has gone on to produce the children's book Celebrations: Holidays of the United States of America and Mexico, as well as several bilingual volumes.

In Celebrations holidays are illustrated in chronological order, a brief caption explaining each festivities. Spanish translations accompany the English text at the bottom of the page, educating children on both American and Mexican holidays and forms of celebration. Ann Welton, writing in School Library Journal, called the book "a sound overview" while a Kirkus Reviews critic commented "charming and attractive, this is a fine addition to both bilingual and holiday collections."

Tabor told Something about the Author: "I have always been interested in writing. When I was eight, I wanted to be a poet. Actually, the books I have written and illustrated are a result of circumstances. When I returned from Mexico to teach in the U.S., I was offered a job as a bilingual teacher. I did not have the materials I needed, so I created them. That was for the first two books. We
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Are a Rainbow was a special book because I had a message that I needed to share that grew out of the circumstances which presented themselves in the school where I teach.

"Since I was raised between two countries, I know what it is like to be between two cultures. It is not always easy. I also know that when people have not had that experience they do not know what a difficult situation it can be. This can often present problems and misunderstandings. I feel it is important that we listen to the words of the people from other countries and understand their lives from their perspective. Too often we write about other countries from our own U.S. perspective which limits our learning and our ability to consider other perspectives as valid.

"I see more and more that I am in a unique position to bridge cultures and feel that this is something which is very important for all of us today. Because of that I have developed a number of books to address the situation. And the most exciting thing about creating books is that I have had fun illustrating them in a variety of media."