Colato Laínez, René 1970-

Personal

Born May 23, 1970, in San Salvador, El Salvador; son of Fidel Colato and Juana Laínez. Ethnicity: "Latino-Hispanic-Salvadoran-American." Education: California State University Northridge, B.A. and teaching credential, 1993; Vermont College, M.A. (writing for children and young adults), 2005.

Addresses

Home—Arleta, CA. E-mail—rcolato@earthlink.net.

Career

Educator and author. Fernangeles Elementary School, Sun Valley, CA, bilingual teacher, beginning 1993.

Member

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrator, U.S. Board on Books for Young People, California Association for Bilingual Education, California Readers, Children's Literature Council of Southern California.

Awards, Honors

Latino Book Award; Paterson Prize; Orgullo Salvadoreño honor, El Salvador Consulate Texas; Special Recognition honor, Los Angeles Unified School District.

Writings

FOR CHILDREN

Waiting for Papá/Esperando a Papá (bilingual), illustrated by Anthony Accardo, Arte Público Press (Houston, TX), 2004.

Playing Lotería/El juego de la lotería (bilingual), illustrated by Jill Arena, Luna Rising (Flagstaff, AZ), 2005.

I Am René, the Boy/Soy René, el niño (bilingual), illustrated by Fabiola Graullera Ramírez, Arte Público Press (Houston, TX), 2005.

Contributor of poems and articles to children's magazine Revista Iguana. Weekly columnist for Labloga online.

Sidelights

René Colato Laínez told SATA: "I was born in El Salvador. When I was a boy, every Saturday my mom and I went to her uncle's house to wash his clothes. It was in this house, the house of Jorge Buenaventura Laínez, where I learned the word ‘escritor’ (writer). My mom's uncle was a famous writer whose poetry and prose is popular in Central America. I wanted to be like him. He is still my inspiration.

"I have been writing all my life. As a child I wrote about my toys and school. As I grew older, El Salvador was involved in a civil war. My father and I had to leave the country and come to the United States. We had hard times on our way to Mexico City. My father lost all his money. He had to work to get more money and I was left alone in an old trailer that became our home. In that old trailer, I wrote and wrote in note- books about my dreams, desires, adventures, etc. It was there that I realized that I could be a writer. Four months later, we reached the city of Los Angeles.

"In Los Angeles High School, my Spanish teacher read one of my short stories and invited me to participate in the Spanish-language school newspaper La Voz Estudiantil (‘The Student's Voice’). My articles and poems were published for three years. During high school and college, I wrote seven novels for adults, intending them for my friends and relatives.

"While earning a bachelor's degree in liberal studies from California State University Northridge, I read my short story ‘Lágrima de sangre’ (‘Blood Tears’) to a group of theatre students. One of the students approached me after my reading and told me that she had been looking for a story to perform for high-school students, and that my story was perfect. It was a great sensation to watch my own story on stage. Later on, another group of college students performed my story ‘Black Sheep among White Lambs.’

"I have been a teacher for many years in a bilingual classroom at Fernangeles Elementary School. I have written many books for my students. Children at school know me as ‘the teacher full of stories/el maestro lleno de cuentos.’

"My goal as a writer is to write good multicultural children's literature. Stories where minority children are represented in a positive way. Stories where they can

see themselves as heroes. Stories where children can dream and have hopes for the future. I want to show readers authentic stories of Latin-American children living in the United States."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 2004, review of Waiting for Papá/Esperando a Papá, p. 1091; April 15, 2005, review of I Am René, the Boy/Yo soy René, el niño, p. 476.

School Library Journal, January, 2005, Ann Welton, review of Waiting for Papá/Esperando a Papá, p. 120; May, 2005, Ann Welton, review of I Am René, the Boy/Yo soy René, el niño, p. 118; October, 2005, Ann Welton, review of Playing Lotería/El juego de la lotería, p. 148.

ONLINE

California Readers Web site,http://californiareaders.org/interviews/ (March 1, 2007), interview with Colato Laínez.

Criticas Online,http://www.criticasmagazine.com/ (March 1, 2007), interview with Colato Laínez.

Edge of the Forest Online, http://www.theedgeoftheforest.com/ (January 1, 2007), interview with Colato Laínez.

Rene Colato Laínez Home Page,http://www.renecolatolainez.com (February 7, 2007).