Pura Belpre

The Pura Belpre award is named after Pura Belpre, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. "The award was established in 1996 and is presented to a Latino/Latina (people whose heritage eminates from any of the Spanish speaking cultures of the Western Hemisphere) writer and illlustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth" (American Library Association). The award is given out bi-annully and is co-sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). The books considered for this award must be published in either the U.S. or Puerto Rico and must be either/or both English and Spanish. The committee to select these books must be members of the ALA and are preferablly Spanish speakers.

Some 2006 Pura Belpre Award Winners:For Narrative:"The Tequila Worm" by Viola CanalesFor Illustration"Dona Flor: A Tall Tale About a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart" by Raul Colon

One of our class books, "Becoming Naomi Leon" by Pam Munoz Ryan, is a Pura Belpre Honor book for it's narrative.To research this award more go to:http://www.ala.org/

Post #2 Multicultural literature

When it comes to the insider/outsider debate about authors of multicultural literature I personally feel any individual educated enough to accurately inform and educate individuals about a topic should be considered a reliable source. I feel that simply because an individual is not necessarily a native to the culture or social group does not automatically mean they are inaccurate. This does not mean that I will believe everything I read, however if an individual is for example an anthropologist that studies a specific topic may be educated to the extend to write in an imformed manner about the topic. I also feel that simply becuase an individual is considered part of an ethnic, cultural, or social group does not mean they are an expert and can write accurately.

One idea I would like to examine further in class is an idea presented in the Harris article that we read for class. An idea that really struck me as interesting was the idea that natural coalitions exist. "Anthony ans Stanton did not hesitate in resorting to racism when they argued for the right of white, educated, and native-born women to vote. ...one assuems that natural coallitions exist among the groups placed under the rubric of multiculturalism," (Harris, 10). I found this idea to be very interesting and until now this thought never really crossed my mind.

Post #1

My name is Jennifer Daveluy and I am a senior at Michigan State University. I am studying Child Develop with a minor in Language Arts. I plan on teaching in an elementary school when I graduate and complete my internship.

I am interested in studying diverse literature because I have never really been exposed to it. The neighborhood I lived in and the school I attended were a caucasian majority. Therefore I have not been exposed to very many cultures, races, or ethnicities. I feel it is very important to learn as much as possible about each in order to understand others. I have taken a few classes at Michigan State that have exposed me to other cultures, races, or ethnicities differing from my own and learned the importants of understanding one another. Differences are not necessarily a negative thing, however sometimes they can be misinterpreted.

Throughout this class I would like to learn affective ways or texts to teach in the classroom. I would like to explore the differences between truly "good" or accurate diverse literature versus "bad" or stereotyped literature.I think teachers play a major role in whether or not children learn about a variety of cultures, ethnicities, and races. I want to learn how literature can teach an individual about cultures, races, and ethnicities.