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Caldecott and Diversity
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From: Reid, Robert A. <REIDRA_at_uwec.edu>
Date: Wed, 08 May 2013 13:11:44 +0000
Concerning the question - how are multicultural artists represented among C aldecott books?, my take is - shamefully few.
I sense there is a mindset among the dominant culture that artists of color have awards of color and we'll honor those works that way. We in the domin ant culture find more familiarity in picture books such as A Ball for Daisy , House in the Night, A Sick Day for Amos McGee. I love those books, but I' m looking down the list of winners and seeing too few of the winners of the BIG Caldecott award awarded to artists of color. Jerry Pinkney finally won the big one (five honors?), but notice it wasn't for one of his books repr esenting African-American culture. Yes, it was set in Africa but it was an Aesop animal fable and maybe that was a factor in this particular book winn ing. Otherwise, it's been years since David Diaz won for Smokey Night (1995 ), Allen Say for Grandfather's Journey (1994), Ed Young for Lon Po Po (1990 ), down to Leo and Diane Dillon's back-to-back years in 1976 and 1977. I lo ok at E.B. Lewis's work on The Other Side and wonder why that didn't win th e Caldecott. I look at Kadir Nelson's w ork on Moses: When Harriet Tubman Le d Her People to Freedom and wonder why it didn't win the Caldecott. I look at the most amazing double-page spread I have ever seen in any picture book - the girl in front of the American flag from Martin's Big Words - and won der why Bryan Collier didn't win the Caldecott. I love the Coretta Scott Ki ng Award and the Pura Belpre Award, but I wonder why many works don't win t hose awards AND the Caldecott Award at the same time.
Rob Reid
CCBC-Net Celebrates the Caldecott at 75! We're devoting the entire month of May on CCBC-Net to the 75th Anniversary of the Caldecott Medal. We want to explore the award from a variety of perspectives, including:
* Caldecott Books: What are your personal favorites? Which have stood the test of time?
* Caldecott Art: We invite your thoughts on everything from styles and media to Caldecott books that broke new artistic ground (or at least helpe d blaze a trail) in literature for children.
* Social issues and the Caldecott: How well are multicultural artists represented among Caldecott books? What do you do with an outdated but pop ular Caldecott title?
Received on Wed 08 May 2013 01:11:44 PM CDT
Date: Wed, 08 May 2013 13:11:44 +0000
Concerning the question - how are multicultural artists represented among C aldecott books?, my take is - shamefully few.
I sense there is a mindset among the dominant culture that artists of color have awards of color and we'll honor those works that way. We in the domin ant culture find more familiarity in picture books such as A Ball for Daisy , House in the Night, A Sick Day for Amos McGee. I love those books, but I' m looking down the list of winners and seeing too few of the winners of the BIG Caldecott award awarded to artists of color. Jerry Pinkney finally won the big one (five honors?), but notice it wasn't for one of his books repr esenting African-American culture. Yes, it was set in Africa but it was an Aesop animal fable and maybe that was a factor in this particular book winn ing. Otherwise, it's been years since David Diaz won for Smokey Night (1995 ), Allen Say for Grandfather's Journey (1994), Ed Young for Lon Po Po (1990 ), down to Leo and Diane Dillon's back-to-back years in 1976 and 1977. I lo ok at E.B. Lewis's work on The Other Side and wonder why that didn't win th e Caldecott. I look at Kadir Nelson's w ork on Moses: When Harriet Tubman Le d Her People to Freedom and wonder why it didn't win the Caldecott. I look at the most amazing double-page spread I have ever seen in any picture book - the girl in front of the American flag from Martin's Big Words - and won der why Bryan Collier didn't win the Caldecott. I love the Coretta Scott Ki ng Award and the Pura Belpre Award, but I wonder why many works don't win t hose awards AND the Caldecott Award at the same time.
Rob Reid
CCBC-Net Celebrates the Caldecott at 75! We're devoting the entire month of May on CCBC-Net to the 75th Anniversary of the Caldecott Medal. We want to explore the award from a variety of perspectives, including:
* Caldecott Books: What are your personal favorites? Which have stood the test of time?
* Caldecott Art: We invite your thoughts on everything from styles and media to Caldecott books that broke new artistic ground (or at least helpe d blaze a trail) in literature for children.
* Social issues and the Caldecott: How well are multicultural artists represented among Caldecott books? What do you do with an outdated but pop ular Caldecott title?
Received on Wed 08 May 2013 01:11:44 PM CDT
