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Pura Belpre
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From: JGBlatt
Date: Fri, 20 Mar 1998 00:10:53 EST
Judy Zuckerman wrote recently to tell us about Pura Belpre. I had the chance to hear her speak at Hunter College in the late 1970's and I still remember her description of how she came to came to write "Perez and Martina." Although she had learned a great number of tales from her grandmother in Puerto Rico, she could not tell these tales at New York Public Library because their storytelling program emphasized tales that were available in written form. In order to bring her treasure trove of Puerto Rican tales to the young people of New York City, she had to begin her career as an author, in addition to her storytelling and library work. We are fortunate that this policy brought forth some of the first, if not the very first, folktales and original stories that brought Puerto Rican culture to the attention of children all over the U.S. The Pura Belpre Award Committee decided to use her name to symbolize the celebration of the growing body of books created by Latino authors and illustrators.
Although I know that we are not supposed to discuss ALA business here, I want to invite all of you to celebrate with us as we host the first awards ceremony to be held at ALA (the first awards were given at the REFORMA conference in Austin in 1996) on Sun. June 28, 2-4PM.
The members of the committee (many of whom were originally members of a task force that worked over a period of several years to bring this award into being) sincerely hope that publishers will begin to find ways to expand their offerings by Latino authors and artists. When the Coretta Scott King Awards began over 25 years ago, the pool of eligible books was much smaller. Now excellent books in a variety of genres by African American authors and illustrators are available for all age levels. We need this kind of development to occur in the Latino community and we also have to remember that the Latino community is very diverse. This year, six of the seven books were about Mexican Americans and one book was a Taino tale from Puerto Rico. There was a paucity of books to consider from other Latino cultural backgrounds. Here in New York City, librarians are always looking for books by and about Puerto Ricans and Dominicans. In different localities, there may be a need for materials about other specific groups. Yet the need that is greatest is for literature that will stand the test of time and resonate in children's thoughts long after they have read the text or viewed the illustrations. I think that the books selected for this year's awards will do that. I just want to about a few of them tonight. "Parrot in the Oven" tersely and beautifully portrays a young boy who is caught in a time and place of diminished opportunities, but the language that Manny uses to describe the very ordinary situations of his existence allows the reader to recognize that he yearns to go beyond the limitations of his daily life. "Snapshots From the Wedding" festively uses three-dimensional dioramas filled with clay figures and found objects to depict a Mexican American wedding. Stephanie Garcia's sense of humor flows out of the pages as her characters share their enjoyment of the celebration with us. "In the Family" gives children a very special opportunity to view a fine artist's work in book form, not in the galleries where Carmen Lomas Garza normally exhibits her work. Her paintings provide an enormous amount of detail that enables viewers to recreate life in her little border town in their minds and I think that this book can inspire kids to do their own books of childhood memories.
It was a great privilege to serve as a member of the first Pura Belpre Award committee and the chair of the second one. I hope that other committee members will comment on some of the other books and that other members of this list-serv will join the conversation.
Melinda Greenblatt Chair, Pura Belpre Award Ctte.
(In my other life, I'm a Library Consultant for Library Power and other library media programs at New Visions for Public Schools in New York City.)
Received on Thu 19 Mar 1998 11:10:53 PM CST
Date: Fri, 20 Mar 1998 00:10:53 EST
Judy Zuckerman wrote recently to tell us about Pura Belpre. I had the chance to hear her speak at Hunter College in the late 1970's and I still remember her description of how she came to came to write "Perez and Martina." Although she had learned a great number of tales from her grandmother in Puerto Rico, she could not tell these tales at New York Public Library because their storytelling program emphasized tales that were available in written form. In order to bring her treasure trove of Puerto Rican tales to the young people of New York City, she had to begin her career as an author, in addition to her storytelling and library work. We are fortunate that this policy brought forth some of the first, if not the very first, folktales and original stories that brought Puerto Rican culture to the attention of children all over the U.S. The Pura Belpre Award Committee decided to use her name to symbolize the celebration of the growing body of books created by Latino authors and illustrators.
Although I know that we are not supposed to discuss ALA business here, I want to invite all of you to celebrate with us as we host the first awards ceremony to be held at ALA (the first awards were given at the REFORMA conference in Austin in 1996) on Sun. June 28, 2-4PM.
The members of the committee (many of whom were originally members of a task force that worked over a period of several years to bring this award into being) sincerely hope that publishers will begin to find ways to expand their offerings by Latino authors and artists. When the Coretta Scott King Awards began over 25 years ago, the pool of eligible books was much smaller. Now excellent books in a variety of genres by African American authors and illustrators are available for all age levels. We need this kind of development to occur in the Latino community and we also have to remember that the Latino community is very diverse. This year, six of the seven books were about Mexican Americans and one book was a Taino tale from Puerto Rico. There was a paucity of books to consider from other Latino cultural backgrounds. Here in New York City, librarians are always looking for books by and about Puerto Ricans and Dominicans. In different localities, there may be a need for materials about other specific groups. Yet the need that is greatest is for literature that will stand the test of time and resonate in children's thoughts long after they have read the text or viewed the illustrations. I think that the books selected for this year's awards will do that. I just want to about a few of them tonight. "Parrot in the Oven" tersely and beautifully portrays a young boy who is caught in a time and place of diminished opportunities, but the language that Manny uses to describe the very ordinary situations of his existence allows the reader to recognize that he yearns to go beyond the limitations of his daily life. "Snapshots From the Wedding" festively uses three-dimensional dioramas filled with clay figures and found objects to depict a Mexican American wedding. Stephanie Garcia's sense of humor flows out of the pages as her characters share their enjoyment of the celebration with us. "In the Family" gives children a very special opportunity to view a fine artist's work in book form, not in the galleries where Carmen Lomas Garza normally exhibits her work. Her paintings provide an enormous amount of detail that enables viewers to recreate life in her little border town in their minds and I think that this book can inspire kids to do their own books of childhood memories.
It was a great privilege to serve as a member of the first Pura Belpre Award committee and the chair of the second one. I hope that other committee members will comment on some of the other books and that other members of this list-serv will join the conversation.
Melinda Greenblatt Chair, Pura Belpre Award Ctte.
(In my other life, I'm a Library Consultant for Library Power and other library media programs at New Visions for Public Schools in New York City.)
Received on Thu 19 Mar 1998 11:10:53 PM CST
