The Blue Horse Who Wanted to Go to College

About the Book

Ruben is a blue horse who dreams of going to college at a well-known university. He is determined to achieve his personal and academic goals, even though he faces obstacles. Although his schoolwork has suffered because he is a second-language learner, he is not ready to give up. Ruben’s high school counselor is not very encouraging, but with the help of a professor from a local community college, he soon learns that there may be another way for him to reach his dreams. The Blue Horse Who Wanted to Go to College seeks to encourage structured classroom conversations to allow students to reach high levels of academic language and to develop crucial skills related to second-language acquisition. It nurtures literacy skills by allowing students to read with a purpose, to integrate new information, and to identify the writer’s point of view. This bilingual tale of a blue horse hoping to go to college promotes active reading through relatable experiences among students working on second-language acquisition.

About the Author

Dr. José Arturo Puga is a middle school principal at Hays CISD in Kyle, Texas, and a retired US Army officer with twenty-one years of military service. His career in education, which spans more than two decades, includes experience as a bilingual teacher, school counselor, and administrator at the elementary school, middle school, and high school levels. Dr. José Arturo Puga earned his doctoral degree at Texas A&M University–Kingsville in curriculum and instruction, with a concentration in bilingual education. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish literature and a master’s degree in school counseling from the University of Texas at Edinburg and at Brownsville. He also earned a master’s degree in sociology from Texas Tech University at Lubbock. Dr. José Arturo Puga, his wife, and their family reside in the Austin area, where he enjoys traveling and spending quality time with his family.