Literature Awards

Before this week I had never really questioned whether or not specific awards for children's literature could be view as a negative. I like the idea that different cultural groups are being recognized and celebrated for the texts that they produce. It was not until, after researching the Pura Belpre award (and with a push from the readings) that I saw how limiting the awards can be and how they can not include writers and stories of their own cultural group. For example, the Pura Belpre award is for recognition of Hispanic/Latino authors and illustrators. Their definition of a Latino is limited to only descendant of a Spanish-speaking culture. This completely leaves out any author or illustrator that is Brazilian or Portuguese, since the language they speak is Portuguese even though they are considered Hispanic/Latino. I still like these awards, however I hope that the committees and organization that sponsor them will better evaluate the criteria for the category so that no author or illustrator is overlooked for an award because they do not fit the "criteria".