B. Palma www.paloalto-bilingual-adventures.com

A bit about me

Posted: 01/11/2010

I think I owe my readers a bit of history about myself. I am a member of the El Paso, Texas, Writers' League and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. My lifelong love of horses began at two when I saw my first horse, ran across the road in front of a car, and caused my mother's best friend to gasp and swallow her cigarette. As long as I remember, at Christmas and for my birthday, I always wished for a horse and after nine, it had to be a Palomino horse. We moved to Mexico when I was ten and for my 11th birthday, my parents gave me a Palomino horse, El Dorado, the Golden One. He was three and half-broke and I didn't know how to ride. We became one and we learned many tricks together. I had him for more than ten years, until I got married. I attended Savannah High School, living with my grandmother.  My best friend, Polly, and I used to sneak out to her grandfather's place and ride his hunters bareback, using the mules' bridles as all the tack was kept under lock and key. I returned for Christmas and summers to the Mexican Michoacán State where my parents lived in that land of the Eternal Spring. I was a National Merit Scholar, attended SMU, Dean's list, and left school to get married. We moved to Mexico City where I live today. When my oldest daughter was 10, we all started riding again. I placed several times in the Mexican National Show Jumping championships. (Didn't win) I finally finished my BS in Psychology, Summa Cum Laude and went on to get my Masters in Education, specializing in the Montessori system of education. I own and direct two Montessori schools in Mexico City. So very many of the adventures in my books really happened, especially to my husband who grew up on his grandfather's 17 haciendas. I truly enjoy writing these tales of the Palo Alto friends and hope that you enjoy them too.

Four new books in the Palo Alto Adventure Books series

Posted: 11/09/2009

It's strange to work on four books at the same time but when I finished "And Then", I realized that there was too big a gap between "10 Horses and a Pony" and the young people ten years later.  As Leora and Juanita were between 11 and 12 in the first book and Pedro and Rafael were between 14 and 15, I realized that I needed to write at least two books that would take place during those ten years. In the next book, "El Dorado" (I know that my readers wondered what was going to happen to that beautiful foal), Leora and Juanita are now 15 and Pedro and Rafael are graduating from High School. Ramon, Juanita's mean cousin is now a member of a malevolent gang of thieves. In the next book, "Love's End", the girls have finished High School and the boys are finishing college.  The friendship they had in their early teens blossoms and the beginning love is interrupted by tragedy and separation. In ready-to-be-published "And Then," years of separation have passed and both Pedro and Rafael are becoming famous in very different occupations. Leora returns to Mexico and is attacked by a mountain lion. Dr. Juanita takes care of her but Ramon, now head of a drug cartel, stalks them with his army of crooks and kidnappers. Their adventerous life when young now becomes a real fight for their lives. As these books took shape, suddenly another book started writing itself in my mind; the story of Rafael's and Elena's grandmother's tragic life amidst the German Nazi colony in Mexico City. Although almost finished, it will have to wait until the three sequel books are published. It is the only book of the seven where horses do not play a major part. I hope the saga of the Palo Alto friends and their horses have kept my readers interested and curious about what happened to them as they grew up.  These books will help solve their curiosity. Thank you, B. Palma

My 8 page article is in a prize winning educational journal

Posted: 07/04/2008

Montessori Life Wins Distinguished Achievement Award On June 6, 2008, at a ceremony in Washington, DC, AMS’s quarterly magazine, Montessori Life, was honored with an Association of Educational Publishers (AEP) award, recognizing the best in educational materials. The journal was granted the Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence in Educational Publishing, for volume 19, number 1, celebrating the Montessori centennial. Doris Sommer, AMS senior director of teacher education, accepted the accolade at the 2008 AEP Annual Awards Banquet and Gala, in front of a crowd of 300, on behalf of AMS and the Montessori Life team: editors Kathy Carey and Carey Jones, designers Ross Rezac and Martin Skoro of MartinRoss Design, and copy editor Brenda Modliszewski. AMS was in excellent company. Also accepting awards in the Periodicals category were Highlights for Children Inc., the National Geographic Society, the National Wildlife Federation, New York Times Upfront, Southern Poverty Law Center, and Wall Street Journal Classroom Edition, among others.   Montessori Life subscription is an AMS member benefit; subscriptions may also be ordered independently. Contact Roger Williams for subscription information, Marcy Rice for information about individual AMS membership, and Evelyn Jackson with questions about school membership. My eight-page article is in this special edition journal! I'm an unknown in a very distinguished company!  B. Palma

Article in Alpha Delta Kappa bi-annual Journal	Posted: 04/27/2008
Article on How Children Learn and Montessori published this May in the Alpha Delta Kappa bi-annual journal THE KAPPAN. http://www.alphadeltakappa.org/KAPPAN.html

Honors for our Montessori schools

Posted: 04/16/2008

Friday we were advised that my two Montessori Schools in Mexico City have been given the honor of being named "Model Schools" for the State of Mexico. Thus we joined the top schools throughout the country of Mexico that received this honor. This is especially impressive as we have 12% of our children with special needs and they were also tested and their grades factored into the percentage of our school and our children still placed at the top. Fortunately in Montessori, tests are not considered so important so the children were not all stressed out about taking three full days of government supervised tests.

10 Horses is now available for sale	Posted: 04/16/2008
It is so exciting to see that 10 Horses and a Pony has joined the other four books in the series so that our young readers can finally discover the final mystery hidden in the Hacienda Palo Alto saga.

Two articles published in national magazines	Posted: 03/26/2008
After my last year's excitement over the Centennial Issue of Montessori Life's publication of my eight-page article on "How Children Learn and Why Montessori Works", I have now been honored by a publication in the Alpha Delta Kappa International Teacher's Sorority's Bi-yearly journal which will come out in May.   .

Author awarded Golden Sun award by Mexican Press Club	Posted: 03/17/2008
At a very exciting black tie event, I was awarded a Mexican Press Club's Golden Sun Award for Excellence in Education at the Mexico City World Trade Center.  "El Sol de Oro"

The Secret of the Tarascan Ruins.	Posted: 10/28/2007
Have just finished the rewriting of The Secret of the Tarascan Ruins. It should be available soon.

10 HORSES AND A PONY	Posted: 10/28/2007
It was a great feeling to have 50 copies of 10 Horses and a Pony in my hands., I will start filling back orders at once.