From: Hatfield at jcl.lib.ks.us <Hatfield>
Date: Fri, 1 Mar 2002 14:22:32 -0600

As a member of the Belpre committee this year, I want to thank you all for contributing your insights and comments on the list that we chose. I will be doing a program at the Kansas Library Association on the Belpre list and will undoubtedly be looking back at your comments as I prepare for the presentation. Personally, I am proud of the list and of my involvement with the committee. Our discussions were lively and informative and Eliza Dresang did a great job of keeping the committee focused on our task.

I will say that initially I was not that impressed with "Chato and The Party Animals" and dismissed it from my "prime" list. But as we discussed in our committee and as we looked closer at the artwork, at the "angel" that follows Novio Boy through the story and at the many details that are reminiscent of the murals and other styles of Mexican art (the tree of life that Novio Boy receives as a gift) from the Chicano communities, I realized how wonderful the book was. That's the benefit of committee discussions!

We also were impressed with the brilliance of the colors in Cepeda's illustrations so I was pleased to read his explanation of how he does his illustrations.

I hope that the next Belpre committee has twice as many books submitted to them! That will reflect the growth of the number of Latino authors and illustrators which is something that we all are looking forward to.

I also want to invite all of you who are attending the ALA annual conference in Atlanta to join us for the "celebracion" of the Belpre Award on Sunday, June 16 at 2:00 pm. You will have an opportunity to meet the authors and illustrators and to applaud their efforts in person.

Jean Hatfield Associate Director for Program Services Johnson County Library Box 2933 Shawnee Mission KS 6620133 913&1#45 hatfield at jcl.lib.ks.us
Received on Fri 01 Mar 2002 02:22:32 PM CST