Local writer collects Latino book award

Wishon author Virginia Walton Pilegard won the Best Educational Children’s Picture Book – Bilingual award at the 2015 Int’l Latino Book Awards in San Francisco for her book “Grandfather Ratoncito Pérez✔ and the Apprentice Tooth Fairy” (Goat Mountain Books, $15.99).

This is the first bilingual book by the retired teacher. Pilegard had written eight previous mathematical adventures set in medieval China with Pelican Publishing Co. But the company was not interested in her idea for the tooth mouse and the lessons about counting money.

“Teachers had asked me to write a book about counting change. I couldn’t think of how I could write a story about counting money set in medieval China. When Pelican wasn’t interested, I decided to do the whole thing myself,” Pielgard says.

She decided to add the flavor of Mexico to the picture book. The book is illustrated by Fiona Hodgetts and translated by Maria Cassandra Nah Ayuso.

The book is a tale of the courtly Hispanic tooth mouse and his grandson Migue,l who offers help to a young tooth fairy when her first flight ends in a disaster of broken net and spilled pennies. It includes a brief history of the tooth mouse and hands-on crafts to help students recognize and count U.S. coins.

“Grandfather Ratoncito Pérez and the Apprentice Tooth Fairy” is available locally at Branches Books and Gifts in Oakhurst, Petunia’s Place in Fresno and online.

Special event

Jack and Kay Good — along with local author, Marcia Penner Freedman — will be at the Oakhurst Library (49044 Civic Circle, Oakhurst) from 10:30 a.m. - noon Saturday, July 25.

The Goods will be talking about the Coarsegold Historical Society, the Historic Museum and the book “As We Were Told” (Coarsegold Historical Society).

Freedman will be talking about two of her books that cover a historical perspective of the foothills.

“Willow Creek History: Tales of Cow Camps, Shake Makers & Basket Weavers” (The History Press) follows this 25-mile long creek that flows from the Sierra Forest to the San Joaquin River. Her “Fighting Fire in the Sierra National Forest” (The History Press) traces the history of fire management from the forest’s early years through the policy shifts that began in the 1960s as well as the measures used today.

For more information, call the Library at (559) 683-4838 or go to www.oakhurstfobl.com.

Deep thoughts

Peter Reynosa, a former resident of Farmersville, has written his first novel, “The Vulgarist” (Amazon Digital Services, $2.99). The 50-year-old has written a book he describes as “a literary book that actually is a dystopian novel.”

The story takes place late in the 21st century. The philosophy of rationalism has become the guiding principle by which people come to see our universe and our place in it. When he talks about rationalism, Reynosa is referring to reason, logic and science Gordon Harper is having doubts that one can find contentment in such a world. His quest for answers is the basis of the book.

“It is a very short novel, only 42,000 words. The book is actually about what would happen if Western civilization came to be solely dominated by the philosophy of rationalism and only rationalism,” Reynosa says.

The book can be found at amazon.com.

Book signing

Sandra Masters, who lives near Yosemite National Park, will have a book singing for her “Once Upon a Duke” (The Wild Rose Press, $16.99). It will be at 5 p.m. Monday, July 27, at the Yosemite Lakes Park Clubhouse Library.

Masters started writing when she was 14. Now, at 80, she has finally gotten a book published.

“It’s been the journey of ten thousand miles with a few steps left to go,” Masters says.

The book looks at Serena, an artist and widow, who has no desire for another husband. Then she meets Geoffrey Austen.

Other books of local interest

▪ “The Lost Prophet” (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, $12.99): This is the sequel to James B. McPike’s “Realm of the Unknown.” McPike’s first book, “Final Outcome: An Apocalyptic Mystery Thriller,” won the 2012 Readers Favorite silver medal for Christian/Fantasy and was nominated for the 17th EVVY Awards. It’s avalable at amazon.com.

▪ “The Torn Photograph” (Poppy Lane Publishing, $21.99): Artur Karapetyan and Lucy Erysian✔ have put together children’s book about the Armenian genocide. It’s available at amazon.com.

▪ “Dandelions in the Wild: The Voices of Migrant Youth from Poverty to Leadership” (The Write Spot, $9.98): Dr. Bertha Felix-Mata, an administrator for West Hills Community College, has written this story of a teenager dealing with the challenges of cultural displacement. It is available at amazon.com.

▪ “City By City: Dispatches from the American Metropolis” (n + 1, $18): Keith Gessen and Stephen Squibb have pulled together stories about cities across the United States. It includes a piece by Michael Thomsen called “Modern Fresno.” He writes, “Fresno was a mistake from the beginning.”

This story was originally published July 18, 2015 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Local writer collects Latino book award."