CCBC-Net Archives
Pura Belpre discussion
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: Bob <Rlangdon>
Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 12:26:25 -0800
I am very intrigued reading everyone's e-mails regarding the state of children's publishing for the Latino community. I agree with most of what has been said, but coming from Children's Book Press, a nonprofit children's publisher that has been publishing for this community since 1975, I have a different perspective.
The latest US Census statistics are truly astounding. The mainland US Latino population has grown over 60% in the last decade. It has become the fastest growing minority, and is surpassing the African American population (Latinos accounts for 39.2 million, while African Americans accounts for 36.4 million). I am very pleased that the ALA has finally acknowledged excellence in children's publishing for this community. I'm sure Pura Belpr? herself would also be pleased at the recognition.
In the last two years of attending library and educational conferences, I have found that the need for servicing throughout this community has quickly become an important issue to educators across the country. I have been approached by educators from all areas of the country who are being faced with providing for the growing Latino population in their own areas. In most instances, this is a whole new culture for them and they are at a loss for how to properly meet the needs of the Latino children in their care. I believe that the Pura Belpr? Award provides excellent guidance to those in this situation.
I agree with most of what is being said about the lack of books for the Latino community, but my take is that there is a lack of QUALITY books for the Latino community. One thing that has become very apparent is that many houses are beginning to publish for this community. In most cases they are translating their proven sellers into Spanish, although it is in many of their plans to begin publishing original materials in the future. But is a Spanish translation of "Curious George" or "Eloise" (as examples) really beneficial to the Latino community?
I wanted to caution educators that you will be finding more and more books for the Latino community in the very near future. But just because it is written in Spanish does not mean that a child will connect to the book. How will Curious George pertain to a migrant farm worker's child who is just starting his/her first English speaking school?
I'm not meaning to say that Anglo books translated into Spanish have no place in the world of children's literature. They certainly do. What I am saying is that in order to best service a group of specific children from the Latino community (and children from any community, really) is to provide them with a book where they can see themselves reflected back. The Pura Belpr? Award may be viewed as the perfect leader in what needs to be done to correctly provide for the Latino community.
There are a handful of small publishers who have been making books specifically for these children. Publishers like Children's Book Press, Lee
& Low, and Cinco Puntos have been getting to the heart of the community for years. Problem is, they are small and do not have the marketing dollars needed to promote to educators in every state, but the larger houses can offer that exposure. This may lead educators not familiar with the community to believe that the offering from the larger houses is all that is out there for the Latino community.
There are currently a wealth of quality books for--and more importantly--from the Latino community. But you'll need to look around. Magazines like "Critic?s" is an excellent resource for finding quality books that best portray the Latino community. Plus distributors like Lectorum, Attanasio and Associates, and Mariuccia Iaconni Book Imports can provide excellent guidance in your decisions. There are also numerous websites that provide that same guidance.
I wanted to quickly introduce those unfamiliar with our press to our story. Children's Book Press was started in 1975 with a grant to produce three books. The press has since continued our mission of publishing books of inclusion--books where children can see themselves and their cultures reflected back. We have been working very closely with the Latino community since our inception and take pride in introducing new authors and artists of the community to the world of children's literature. It is in our mission to try our best in assuring that these authors and artists come from the community they are writing about.
Children's Book Press publications have won numerous ALA awards, including past Pura Belpr? awards and honors. Receiving these awards has provided us with the best recognition possible for the work we are doing. Our book,
"Iguanas in the Snow and Other Winter Poems / Iguanas en la nieve y otros poemas de invierno," received an author honor this year. Two other books from the Magical Cycle of the Season books of poetry have also won Pura Belpr? author honors.
We are currently revamping our website to make it more interactive. In the very near future, we will be posting teachers guides for all our new books, plus developing guides for some of our backlist. The teacher's guides are free of charge via our website and will provide invaluable techniques for incorporating our books into the classroom in a culturally specific way. We will also be posting special monthly sales. To find out more information about our press, our mission, our community programs, and our books, please visit www.childrensbookpress.org
You may also want to visit these valuable resources: Cinco Puntos: http://www.cincopuntos.com/ Lee & Low: http://www.leeandlow.com/ Mariuccia Iaconni Book Imports: http://www.mibibook.com/ Lectorum: http://www.lectorum.com/
My apologies for straying off the specific topic of this year's Pura Belpr? awards. I hope that my comments were of help to those discovering the world of children's literature from the Latino community. I look forward to hearing other comments about this year's Pura Belpr? Awards.
Regards,
Robert P. Langdon Director of Sales & Marketing Children's Book Press 2211 Mission Street San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 821080 ext 12
(415) 821081 fax
----------------------------------------------Be sure to visit our website: www.cbookpress.org
AVAILABLE IN APRIL!!! Ezra Jack Keats winner, Juan Felipe Herrera, poetically recalls his childhood times spent at the flea market in GRANDMA AND ME AT THE FLEA / LOS MEROS MEROS REMATEROS. Through lively bilingual prose and vibrant artwork, the author and artist, Anita De Lucio-Brock, beautifully portray the true meaning of community and what it means to give and receive.
A paperback edition of MY FIRST BOOK OF PROVERBS / MI PRIMER LIBRO DE DICHOS is also on the way.
NOW AVAILABLE!!! The long-awaited fourth book in Francisco X. Alarc?n and Maya Christina Gonzalez?s magical cycle of the seasons, IGUANAS IN THE SNOW AND OTHER WINTER POEMS / IGUANS EN LA NIEVE Y OTROS POEMAS DE INVIERNO.
Received on Tue 26 Feb 2002 02:26:25 PM CST
Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 12:26:25 -0800
I am very intrigued reading everyone's e-mails regarding the state of children's publishing for the Latino community. I agree with most of what has been said, but coming from Children's Book Press, a nonprofit children's publisher that has been publishing for this community since 1975, I have a different perspective.
The latest US Census statistics are truly astounding. The mainland US Latino population has grown over 60% in the last decade. It has become the fastest growing minority, and is surpassing the African American population (Latinos accounts for 39.2 million, while African Americans accounts for 36.4 million). I am very pleased that the ALA has finally acknowledged excellence in children's publishing for this community. I'm sure Pura Belpr? herself would also be pleased at the recognition.
In the last two years of attending library and educational conferences, I have found that the need for servicing throughout this community has quickly become an important issue to educators across the country. I have been approached by educators from all areas of the country who are being faced with providing for the growing Latino population in their own areas. In most instances, this is a whole new culture for them and they are at a loss for how to properly meet the needs of the Latino children in their care. I believe that the Pura Belpr? Award provides excellent guidance to those in this situation.
I agree with most of what is being said about the lack of books for the Latino community, but my take is that there is a lack of QUALITY books for the Latino community. One thing that has become very apparent is that many houses are beginning to publish for this community. In most cases they are translating their proven sellers into Spanish, although it is in many of their plans to begin publishing original materials in the future. But is a Spanish translation of "Curious George" or "Eloise" (as examples) really beneficial to the Latino community?
I wanted to caution educators that you will be finding more and more books for the Latino community in the very near future. But just because it is written in Spanish does not mean that a child will connect to the book. How will Curious George pertain to a migrant farm worker's child who is just starting his/her first English speaking school?
I'm not meaning to say that Anglo books translated into Spanish have no place in the world of children's literature. They certainly do. What I am saying is that in order to best service a group of specific children from the Latino community (and children from any community, really) is to provide them with a book where they can see themselves reflected back. The Pura Belpr? Award may be viewed as the perfect leader in what needs to be done to correctly provide for the Latino community.
There are a handful of small publishers who have been making books specifically for these children. Publishers like Children's Book Press, Lee
& Low, and Cinco Puntos have been getting to the heart of the community for years. Problem is, they are small and do not have the marketing dollars needed to promote to educators in every state, but the larger houses can offer that exposure. This may lead educators not familiar with the community to believe that the offering from the larger houses is all that is out there for the Latino community.
There are currently a wealth of quality books for--and more importantly--from the Latino community. But you'll need to look around. Magazines like "Critic?s" is an excellent resource for finding quality books that best portray the Latino community. Plus distributors like Lectorum, Attanasio and Associates, and Mariuccia Iaconni Book Imports can provide excellent guidance in your decisions. There are also numerous websites that provide that same guidance.
I wanted to quickly introduce those unfamiliar with our press to our story. Children's Book Press was started in 1975 with a grant to produce three books. The press has since continued our mission of publishing books of inclusion--books where children can see themselves and their cultures reflected back. We have been working very closely with the Latino community since our inception and take pride in introducing new authors and artists of the community to the world of children's literature. It is in our mission to try our best in assuring that these authors and artists come from the community they are writing about.
Children's Book Press publications have won numerous ALA awards, including past Pura Belpr? awards and honors. Receiving these awards has provided us with the best recognition possible for the work we are doing. Our book,
"Iguanas in the Snow and Other Winter Poems / Iguanas en la nieve y otros poemas de invierno," received an author honor this year. Two other books from the Magical Cycle of the Season books of poetry have also won Pura Belpr? author honors.
We are currently revamping our website to make it more interactive. In the very near future, we will be posting teachers guides for all our new books, plus developing guides for some of our backlist. The teacher's guides are free of charge via our website and will provide invaluable techniques for incorporating our books into the classroom in a culturally specific way. We will also be posting special monthly sales. To find out more information about our press, our mission, our community programs, and our books, please visit www.childrensbookpress.org
You may also want to visit these valuable resources: Cinco Puntos: http://www.cincopuntos.com/ Lee & Low: http://www.leeandlow.com/ Mariuccia Iaconni Book Imports: http://www.mibibook.com/ Lectorum: http://www.lectorum.com/
My apologies for straying off the specific topic of this year's Pura Belpr? awards. I hope that my comments were of help to those discovering the world of children's literature from the Latino community. I look forward to hearing other comments about this year's Pura Belpr? Awards.
Regards,
Robert P. Langdon Director of Sales & Marketing Children's Book Press 2211 Mission Street San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 821080 ext 12
(415) 821081 fax
----------------------------------------------Be sure to visit our website: www.cbookpress.org
AVAILABLE IN APRIL!!! Ezra Jack Keats winner, Juan Felipe Herrera, poetically recalls his childhood times spent at the flea market in GRANDMA AND ME AT THE FLEA / LOS MEROS MEROS REMATEROS. Through lively bilingual prose and vibrant artwork, the author and artist, Anita De Lucio-Brock, beautifully portray the true meaning of community and what it means to give and receive.
A paperback edition of MY FIRST BOOK OF PROVERBS / MI PRIMER LIBRO DE DICHOS is also on the way.
NOW AVAILABLE!!! The long-awaited fourth book in Francisco X. Alarc?n and Maya Christina Gonzalez?s magical cycle of the seasons, IGUANAS IN THE SNOW AND OTHER WINTER POEMS / IGUANS EN LA NIEVE Y OTROS POEMAS DE INVIERNO.
Received on Tue 26 Feb 2002 02:26:25 PM CST
