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CHICAGO — The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the Santa Barbara Public Library System announced that tickets for the 2016 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture featuring Pat Mora are now available.

The lecture, titled "Bookjoy! ¡Alegría en los libros!," will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 15, 2016 at the Santa Barbara City College's Garvin theatre. Required tickets are free for the lecture and . To learn more about acquiring tickets and event details, please visit the . Hotel information is available on the Arbuthnot website.

Pioneering author and literacy advocate Pat Mora has written more than three dozen books for young people that represent the Mexican American experience. Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, Mora grew up bilingual and bicultural. With degrees in English and speech, she was a teacher and university administrator before writing children’s books. Known for her lyrical style, Mora’s poetry and prose have won numerous awards, including a 2005 Belpré Honor Medal for text for “Doña Flor: A Tall Tale of a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart,” published by Knopf Books for Young Readers, and illustrated by Raul Colón. Her generosity for sharing “bookjoy,” the phrase she coined for the power and pleasure of words, led Mora to launch El día de los niños/ El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day), or “Día,” which will observe its 20th anniversary in 2016.

The May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture is sponsored by ALSC. The lecture title honors May Hill Arbuthnot, distinguished writer, editor and children’s literature scholar. Each year, an author, artist, critic, librarian, historian or teacher of children’s literature is selected to prepare a paper considered to be a significant contribution to the field of children’s literature.

ALSC is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children. With a network of more than 4,000 children’s and youth librarians, literature experts, publishers and educational faculty, ALSC is committed to creating a better future for children through libraries. To learn more about ALSC, please visit at .