Maria del Mar (Marimar) was born in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico where her family has lived for generations. She studied literature at Universidad de las Américas in Puebla, Mexico and then went on to a graduate degree in Hispanic Studies at Brown University in the United States. Her work is focused on how stories, reading and literature are part of the daily life of communities. At Brown she received the prestigious Presidential Teaching Award for her teaching of Spanish language classes to university students. Her unique approach to teaching involves storytelling, the literature and culture of the language, from kids to adults. Marimar has presented talks and workshops on language teaching in a variety of settings including Brown University, Harvard University, and in different literacy organizations in Mexico and the United States. Perhaps the greatest lessons she has learned about teaching and language are from her kids Sandra and Luis who are growing up bilingual. Raising bilingual children has brought about a new passion: children’s books and the place they have in language classrooms. Marimar believes that the key to teaching is to create a community of dialogue in the classroom, where creativity and imagination have the same importance as critical thinking and academic content. Her favorite quote is from Carlos Fuentes, “like bread and love, language is shared with others.”