Continuing a conversation that began a year ago about in the kidlit blog world about ethnic literary awards, Mitali Perkins and Esme Raji Codell commented on this year's ALA award winners, including the Coretta Scott King Award and the Pura Belpre Award.
Yuyi Morales, this year's winner of the Pura Belpre for her book, Just in Case, wrote an immensely moving response to the discussion, from her point of view as a author/illustrator of color, and winner.
Among her many thoughtful observations, Yuyi writes:
Yuyi Morales, this year's winner of the Pura Belpre for her book, Just in Case, wrote an immensely moving response to the discussion, from her point of view as a author/illustrator of color, and winner.
Among her many thoughtful observations, Yuyi writes:
"I have expressed in the past that I see the Pura Belpre Award as a regalo, a gift that is given to someone when you least expected it. At first the regalo goes to a book creator; and artist or a writer, and we receive the gift joyfully and gratefully. But after that, the gift is given to everybody. Once the award brings out the voice that there is a book worth of looking at, it is the readers who receive the gift next. In a way, the decision of the Pura Belpre committee to give an award to a person (an "ethnic" person for that matter) and not exactly to his or her book, has interesting consequences."Thank you, Yuyi, for your lovely and heartfelt comments!
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