Words Take Wing with Joseph Bruchac

Native American author headlines 11th annual U.C. Davis celebration of diversity in literature Feb. 9 in the Tsakopoulos Galleria.Joseph Bruchac has celebrated his Abenaki Indian heritage in more than 120 books for adults and children. The versatile, award-winning writer will headline the 11th annual Words Take Wing celebration.

Feb. 9, Monday, 7 p.m.
Words Take Wing: Honoring Diversity in Children’s Literature (family/all ages)
Tsakopoulos Library Galleria
828 I St.
Registration is required.

The University of California at Davis School of Education’s annual Words Take Wing is a celebration of children’s literature as art. The event focuses on the diversity of stories and characters found in works by authors from different cultures.

In a career now in its fourth decade, Bruchac has written poetry, short stories, picture books, novels and anthologies that celebrate a range of Native American traditions. His books include “Keepers of the Earth: Native American Stories and Environmental Activities for Children” and “Code Talkers: A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two.”

Also a noted preservationist, Bruchac has worked on books and other projects with his son, James, to document the Abenaki language from the present-day Northeastern United States and Canada.

His many awards include the Cherokee Nation Prose Award, a National Endowment for the Arts Writing Fellowship for Poetry, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas.

Notable guests at previous Words Take Wing events include the award-winning husband-and-wife team of Andrea and Brian Pinkney, winners of the Coretta Scott King and Caldecott awards, and Margarita Engle, the first Latina to win the Newberry Honor.

This event is FREE, but registration is required.