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[CCBC-Net] Pura Belpre Award
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From: gravity_rabbit
Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2002 09:28:19 -0700
Eliza,
In answer to your questions (at least in part), I had heard of Esperansa Rising early on in the year and was intrigued by the descriptions I was hearing. I have not read the book as yet, but I have it on order and will try to remember to report after I have had a chance to read it. Latin American authors (particularly Marques and Saramago) have had a great influence on my own writing, and I love the elements of magical realism that are at times a staple of these works.
I have read the Horn Book articles discussing the pros and cons of the culturally oriented awards such as the Pura Belpre. I don't want to get into a discussion of merits of these awards, but I would like to ask why you think there is not adequate representation of books by Latinos in the publishing industry? Are the books simply not being written or is there a reluctance on the part of publishers to aquire these books? If the latter, is it because of an unfamliarity with cultural style and voice or something more obscure (I hesitate to use the word sinister)? I know these are questions that are not easily answered, but I am interested in what you might have to say.
I grew up in the 1960s in a small Southern Arizona community that had a large proportion of Latinos in its population. I know the stories are there--stories rich in color and tradition. I wish I had the cultural background to capture them. The best I can do is juxtapose my experience with that of my childhood friends.
Randall Wright Author
----- Original Message ----From: "Eliza T. Dresang" To: "Subscribers of ccbc-net" Sent: Friday, February 22, 2002 8:56 AM Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] Pura Belpre Award
To start the conversation, I'll volunteer that as chair of the 2002 Pura Belpr?, I'm "on line" and willing to respond to any questions any of you might have about this award. It is "new to the neighborhood" of awards for distinguished literature for youth -- this January was only the 4th time these awards for Latino literature have been given.
Most of you, I'm sure, have noted in the census statistics that the Latino population is the fastest growing in the U.S. (Lots of good information at www.census.gov). You may have also noted that "youthfulness" of this population that now comprises approximately more than 12% of people counted in the US.
A chart on the CCBC web site documents the books by and about Latino Americans (and other groups) published each year. This can be seen at
http://www.soemadison.wisc.edu/ccbc/pcstats.htm
A student in the Multicultural Literature and Information Resources for Youth course I'm currently teaching at Florida State took the 2000 census figures (for those who declared one race/ethnicity only) and figured the number of books published in 2000 (the year of the census) for each individual for each group on the CCBC chart.
2000 2000 2000 Group Census Books Books per person
Although the census figures are not precise, because of the opportunity on the 2000 census to select more than one race/ethnicity, the contrast among the groups is stark. (Thankfully the total of books by and about Latinos in 2001 went up, but, of course, so did the population). In rough terms it show what a large Latino population we have and how few books are published in relation to the number of Latinos in our country, the majority of whom are youth.
So, from my perspective, it was terrific that our committee had so many truly excellent books among which to choose and that our deliberations were lengthy in order to make the choices.
I'd be interested in knowing how many of you in the CCBC-Net community were familiar with any or all of these books before the announcement of the award, if you have spoken with children who have enjoyed them, if you are familiar with other books by these authors and illustrators?
Also, I and I'm sure others on the committee, would welcome your own reactions to these stories. These books are all supposed to "celebrate, portray, and affirm" the Latino cultural experience. Do you think they do? Why or why not? (I ask this because their are many notions about what these words mean). -- and, as with the other awards, we'd be interested to know about other books with Latino themes by Latino authors that you appreciate in the past two years (the period of time this award covers).
Hoping to hear from you . . . (and thanks to those of you who sent nominations to us during the past two years).
Eliza Dresang
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Received on Fri 22 Feb 2002 10:28:19 AM CST
Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2002 09:28:19 -0700
Eliza,
In answer to your questions (at least in part), I had heard of Esperansa Rising early on in the year and was intrigued by the descriptions I was hearing. I have not read the book as yet, but I have it on order and will try to remember to report after I have had a chance to read it. Latin American authors (particularly Marques and Saramago) have had a great influence on my own writing, and I love the elements of magical realism that are at times a staple of these works.
I have read the Horn Book articles discussing the pros and cons of the culturally oriented awards such as the Pura Belpre. I don't want to get into a discussion of merits of these awards, but I would like to ask why you think there is not adequate representation of books by Latinos in the publishing industry? Are the books simply not being written or is there a reluctance on the part of publishers to aquire these books? If the latter, is it because of an unfamliarity with cultural style and voice or something more obscure (I hesitate to use the word sinister)? I know these are questions that are not easily answered, but I am interested in what you might have to say.
I grew up in the 1960s in a small Southern Arizona community that had a large proportion of Latinos in its population. I know the stories are there--stories rich in color and tradition. I wish I had the cultural background to capture them. The best I can do is juxtapose my experience with that of my childhood friends.
Randall Wright Author
----- Original Message ----From: "Eliza T. Dresang" To: "Subscribers of ccbc-net" Sent: Friday, February 22, 2002 8:56 AM Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] Pura Belpre Award
To start the conversation, I'll volunteer that as chair of the 2002 Pura Belpr?, I'm "on line" and willing to respond to any questions any of you might have about this award. It is "new to the neighborhood" of awards for distinguished literature for youth -- this January was only the 4th time these awards for Latino literature have been given.
Most of you, I'm sure, have noted in the census statistics that the Latino population is the fastest growing in the U.S. (Lots of good information at www.census.gov). You may have also noted that "youthfulness" of this population that now comprises approximately more than 12% of people counted in the US.
A chart on the CCBC web site documents the books by and about Latino Americans (and other groups) published each year. This can be seen at
http://www.soemadison.wisc.edu/ccbc/pcstats.htm
A student in the Multicultural Literature and Information Resources for Youth course I'm currently teaching at Florida State took the 2000 census figures (for those who declared one race/ethnicity only) and figured the number of books published in 2000 (the year of the census) for each individual for each group on the CCBC chart.
2000 2000 2000 Group Census Books Books per person
Although the census figures are not precise, because of the opportunity on the 2000 census to select more than one race/ethnicity, the contrast among the groups is stark. (Thankfully the total of books by and about Latinos in 2001 went up, but, of course, so did the population). In rough terms it show what a large Latino population we have and how few books are published in relation to the number of Latinos in our country, the majority of whom are youth.
So, from my perspective, it was terrific that our committee had so many truly excellent books among which to choose and that our deliberations were lengthy in order to make the choices.
I'd be interested in knowing how many of you in the CCBC-Net community were familiar with any or all of these books before the announcement of the award, if you have spoken with children who have enjoyed them, if you are familiar with other books by these authors and illustrators?
Also, I and I'm sure others on the committee, would welcome your own reactions to these stories. These books are all supposed to "celebrate, portray, and affirm" the Latino cultural experience. Do you think they do? Why or why not? (I ask this because their are many notions about what these words mean). -- and, as with the other awards, we'd be interested to know about other books with Latino themes by Latino authors that you appreciate in the past two years (the period of time this award covers).
Hoping to hear from you . . . (and thanks to those of you who sent nominations to us during the past two years).
Eliza Dresang
~ ~ ~ To send a reply to the entire CCBC-Net community,click on...
mailto:ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu To send a request to remove your address from the mailing list, click on...
mailto:ccbc-net-unsub at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
Received on Fri 22 Feb 2002 10:28:19 AM CST
