Guest Bloggers: Students Talk About Pablo Cartaya

Several students wrote about our recent author’s visit by Pablo Cartaya, the author of Each Tiny Spark.  Read and learn more about how students reacted to the dynamic visit below.

Hayden W.

I was happy Pablo Cartaya came to the school and to talk about his books. He is interesting to listen to because he tells stories and holds your attention. 

One of the stories he told was about when he was a kid, his parents had a rule about no sweets after school. He would sometimes go to his grandparents’ house after school and they would give him sweets anyway. After Pablo grew up, he had his own kids, and also had the rule about no sweets after school. Now, Pablo’s kids sometimes go to their grandparent’s house and Pablo’s mother and father (who said no sweets for him), now give sweets to Pablo’s kids just like Pablo’s grandparents used to do with him. 

One of the things he talked about was windows. He explained that windows are the idea that people can look through the window and into his story. Whenever he writes a book, it has windows. His stories are based on his life story so people are seeing into his life with each book.

Mirrors are another thing he talked about that ties into his stories. He described how the mirror in his books is like a reflection of the writer’s story – so he’s looking into his own story. In this case, Pablo Cartaya’s stories have mirrors so Pablo can reflect on his own story anytime.

The way Pablo tells stories is FANTASTIC! He is very exciting and kept me entertained. Hearing him talk about his stories made me excited about reading his book. It is also neat to have a book that the actual author signed. Pablo Cartaya is one of the best authors I’ve personally ever met.

 

Pablo Cartaya

By: Ashlyn    

 Last week an author named Pablo Cartaya came to our school. And let me just tell you one thing, he was outstanding! He talked about his books, his culture, his background, he told us funny stories, he taught us some life lessons, he talked about his kids and his relatives, and so much more.

     Pablo said that his culture is Cuban- American. He told us about the food that he ate,  and he played us music that he listens to. He told us that when he was younger, he would pretend to hate the music from his culture, even though he secretly loved it. He would go into his room, shut his door, turn on the song that he said he hated, and he would dance to it! It made me laugh so hard! 

     Another funny story is about how his friend’s grandma chased his friend with her chancla (flip-flop). Pablo was at his friend’s house, and his friend stubbed his toe. When he stubbed his toe, he said a bad word. Even though his grandma was in the other room, she could still hear him. She ran out of the room with her chancla and chased Pablo’s friend. He ran into his room thinking he was safe but he wasn’t. She threw her chancla and it hit him in the face! This was by far one of the funniest stories that I have ever heard!

     Before Pablo Cartaya was an author, he was an actor and a performer. One time, he was auditioning for a part in a play, when the person who was running the audition asked him what his name is. Pablo told him his name, but the guy told Pablo to change his name because he does not look like a ‘Pablo”. So, Pablo changed his name to Hern. When Hern’s dad found out that he changed his name, he was very disappointed. He was sad because they named Pablo after his grandfather who passed away. Once Hern found that out, he changed his name back to Pablo.

     Pablo Cartaya told us to never change yourself for anyone and to always be yourself. Ha also told us to embrace your differences, and that is a very important life lesson. He told us about his culture, and he told us some funny stories. Pablo Cartaya was one of the best authors to come to Desert Willow!   

2 thoughts on “Guest Bloggers: Students Talk About Pablo Cartaya

  1. I agree with both of your posts! Pablo had such an energetic presence on stage and I can see why he held your attention so easily! I also loved his message about remaining true to yourself and embrace your differences…that is such an important message to hear and practice! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and capturing his visit so vividly!
    Mrs. Legro

  2. What a neat experience to meet the author, hear about his story in person, and have the opportunity to have an autographed book. Pablo Cartaya sounds very funny and engaging!

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