Catholic Charities of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties

THERMAL, CA – On June 10th, 300 students from the first, second and third grade CLASSES at John Kelly Elementary in Thermal were treated to a rousing book reading by Local Riverside Author James Luna. Mr. Luna’s literary rendition of his new book “The Runaway Pig,” or “El Cochinito Fugitivo,” a bilingual tale in the classic tradition of The Gingerbread Man, brought many gleeful cheers from the students. In Luna’s tale a piggy cookie leaps off the baking tray and takes the reader on a mad dash through the barrio, past Lorenzo’s Auto Shop, Nita’s Beauty Salon, Leti’s Flower Shop, and Juana’s Thrift Shop. The intercity world of the runaway pig is loosely based on Luna’s childhood in San Bernardino.

Children—and adults too—will delight in the clever piggy’s escape from Martha’s Panadería in this entertaining re-telling of a familiar story set in a colorful Latino neighborhood. A recipe to make Mexican gingerbread pig cookies is included in both English and Spanish. The audience participation event included props for the children to role-play the characters and a map of the route that the Mexican Pig Cookie runs.

The event was sponsored by Catholic Charities San Bernardino/Riverside as part of their “Hope for Youth” program and Catholic Charities gave out 300 signed hard copy books to all the students who attended. Also attending was interim Superintendent of Coachella Valley Unified School District, Dr. Darryl Adams.
“This book event was powerful, because when you excite a student you help create a livelong learner,” said James Luna. “Catholic Charities was a terrific partner. They understand that when you bring hope to a child, you really do change their world.”

James Luna recently wrapped up a tour of Texas schools and the Children's Museum of Houston, as well as the “Celebrating Words Festival in Sylmar” and the “Latino Book & Family Festival” in Oct 2010 at Cal State Los Angeles. Mr. Luna is a sixth grade teacher at Madison Elementary School in Riverside, California.

“Community partnerships are an essential part of the dynamism of Catholic Charities,” said CEO Ken Sawa, “We are constantly looking for ways to impact the community. Mr. Luna’s presentation today has made a big difference to these children, who on their last day of school got to hear and meet a real live author. Together we helped foster some big dreams this summer.”