La Casa Azul Bookstore is a Mission Main Street® Grants recipient!

NEW YORK, January 21, 2015

Today Chase announced that 20 small businesses will each receive $150,000 Mission Main Street® Grants to help them thrive.  

Chase's grant program provides an opportunity for 20 small business owners to take their businesses to new heights by receiving an equal share of $3 million in grant funds. Also, all eligible applicants received access to a free marketing toolkit containing useful information and assets to help them promote their small businesses more effectively.

La Casa Azul Bookstore, in EastHarlem, is one of the 20 recipients of the Mission Main Street® Grants program!

Nearly 25,000 business owners from all 50 states submitted applications for this year's Mission Main Street Grants program, and more than 1.6 million votes were cast for participating small businesses. A diverse team of small business experts selected the grant recipients from the group of eligible businesses that received at least 250 votes.

"At the heart of La Casa Azul Bookstore is the diverse literature and cultural programming that makes the bookstore such a unique place in New York City," said Aurora Anaya-Cerda owner of La Casa Azul Bookstore. "The Mission Main Street Grant provides us with the opportunity to expand on the programs and book selection we offer students, families, writers and readers. Being a grant recipient has already changed our lives and we are grateful to Chase for recognizing small businesses like La Casa Azul Bookstore that impact neighborhoods, contribute to the economy and enrich communities."

La Casa Azul Bookstore invites customers and supporters to celebrate with us!

Saturday, January 24, 2015

12:00pm - 4:00pm

For more information please visit MissionMainStreetGrants.com, like Chase on Facebook and follow the conversation with #MissionMainSt and @ChaseSmallBiz and @LaCasaAzulBooks. 

 

For information about La Casa Azul Bookstore, visit: http://www.lacasaazulbookstore.com/

Children’s books we love!

 

Happy New Year!

What better way to settle in for the winter in this New Year than by reading great children's books?

In keeping with the winter theme one book I highly recommend is "Iguanas in the Snow" by Francisco Xavier Alarcón. In this beautifully rendered picture book Alarcón uses poetry to convey images of winter, of snow and of the closeness of a family and a neighborhood during the winter season. 

The bright colors and images illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez show that winter isn't nearly as dreary as we think it to be, but rather filled with the warmth of feeling.

Another book I would keep an eye out for is "Last Stop on Market Street" by Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson. In it CJ, like all children, questions his grandmother about their circumstances. His grandmother, rather than brushing off these questions uses them to make CJ see his surrounding in a new light. With this CJ comes to appreciate what they have and takes heart in the small moments like a bus ride to Market Street.

Copies of these two books can be purchased from our online store. 

Save the date!

Book reading and signing with Matt de la Peña, author of "Last Stop on Market Street"
Saturday, January 17, 2015

12:00pm - 1:30pm

La Casa Azul Bookstore is thrilled to feature Children's Book Illustrators Christian Robinson and Angela Dominguez in our first gallery exhibit of 2015! 

This gallery exhibits kicks off our year of Children's Book Illustrators, highlighting illustrators from our favorite books for the entire year.
 

- Galia, School Programs Coordinator