TEACHING THE AMÉRICAS AWARD FOR CHILDREN’S AND YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE TFLTA Conference, Friday, November 8 th, 2013 Connie Fogle Sharp, Jones Paideia School, MNPS Claire González, CLAS Vanderbilt

PURPOSE OF THE AMERICAS AWARD Encourage and commend authors, illustrators and publishers who produce quality children's and young adult books that portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latinos. Provide teachers with recommendations for classroom use, the national Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP) offers up to two annual book awards, together with a commended list of titles.

AWARD GUIDELINES Up to two awards are given in recognition of U.S. published works of fiction, poetry, folklore, or selected non-fiction. Books must authentically and engagingly portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latinos in the United States. By linking the Americas, the intent is to reach beyond geographic borders, as well as multicultural-international boundaries, focusing instead upon cultural heritages within the hemisphere.

HOW BOOKS ARE JUDGED Distinctive literary quality Cultural contextualization Exceptional integration of text, illustration and design Potential for classroom use

RECENT WINNERS 2013 Award The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano by Sonia Manzano; Scholastic Press 2013 Honorable Mention Martin de Porres: The Rose in the Desert by Gary D. Schmidt; Clarion Books 2013 Commended Titles Aristotle and Dante Discover Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Saenz; Simon and Schuster Drummer Boy of John John by Marc Greenwood; Lee and Low Books, Inc. In Darkness by Nick Lake; Bloomsbury

THE DREAMER (2010) PAM MUÑOZ RYAN Recommended ages: Country: Chile Neftali finds beauty and wonder everywhere: in the oily colors of mud puddles; a lost glove, sailing on the wind; the music of birds and language. He loves to collect treasures, daydream, and write- -pastimes his authoritarian father thinks are for fools. Against all odds, Neftali prevails against his father's cruelty and his own crippling shyness to become one of the most widely read poets in the world, Pablo Neruda. This moving story about the birth of an artist is also a celebration of childhood, imagination, & the strength of the creative spirit. Themes: Chile, Pablo Neruda, magical realism, biography, poetry

HURRICANE DANCERS (2011) Country: Cuba Recommended Age Level: Quebrado, a slave of Taino Indian and Spanish ancestry, has been traded from pirate ship to ship in the Caribbean Sea for as long as he can remember. When a hurricane sinks the ship and most of its crew, it is Quebrado who escapes to safety. He learns how to live on land again, among people who treat him well. And it is he who must decide the fate of his former captors. This is a novel written in verse told in five different voices. Instructional Ideas or Theme: free verse poetry, point of view, create a diorama of a Taino village, point of view of indigenous groups

DRUMMER BOY OF JOHN JOHN (2012) Country: Trinidad Recommended Age Level: 5-10 A young boy in Trinidad wins the Carnival band competition after he discovers he can create tunes by banging on discarded metal tins and cans. Drummer Boy is based on the true story of Winston “Spree” Simon ( ). He is credited for being one of the first to tune the steel oil drums that were discarded from the oil refineries on the island. The steel pan drum is now the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago. Instructional Ideas or Theme: onomatopoeia, create your own musical instruments out of found objects, Carnival, cultural differences

MARTIN DE PORRES: THE ROSE IN THE DESERT (2012) Country: Peru Recommended Age Level: 5-11 Martin de Porres was the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and former slave, who was born into extreme poverty. Martin was a servant boy who became well-known for performing miracles to the people in the barrios. Martin continued to serve in the church, until he was finally received by the Dominican Order, no longer called the worthless son of a slave, but rather a saint and the rose in the desert. Instructional Ideas or Theme: biography, perseverance, prejudice and tolerance

CLEMENTE (2010) Country: Puerto Rico Recommended Age Level: 8-12 A young boy by the name of Clemente discovers that his name takes after a well-known baseball player by the name of Roberto Clemente. The young boy explores the biography of Roberto and shares fascinating information including Roberto’s outstanding 4 batting titles and 240 homeruns. Clemente was a committed baseball player for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the first Latin American player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Clemente was greatly known for “not only for his exceptional baseball skills but also for his extensive charity work in Latin America.” Instructional Ideas or Theme: perseverance, baseball, namesake, humanitarian, create a baseball card of Clemente

PABLO NERUDA: POET OF THE PEOPLE (2011) Country: Chile Recommended Age Level: 5-11 Neftalí is different from other children. He is incredibly shy and quite frail. The majority of his time is spent reading, writing and day dreaming all by himself. He finds beauty in the smallest things in the life such as the colors that make up a mud puddle, and the songs. He manages to reconcile his dreams with his father's dreams and become the artist that he always wanted to be. Instructional Ideas or Theme: Pablo Neruda, Chile, Poetry

THE REVOLUTION OF EVELYN SERRANO (2012) Country: United States Recommended Age Level: Evelyn is a fourteen year old girl growing up in East Harlem in She lives with her Puerto Rican mother and stepfather during a time when conditions in her neighborhood are less than desirable. When the Young Lords, a Puerto Rican activist group, start protesting about the living conditions in El Barrio, her grandmother steps in to lead the fight. Evelyn must decide if she will stand up and fight or take a more conservative approach like her mother. Instructional Ideas or Theme: Puerto Rico, cultural diversity, activism, Young Lords

RESOURCES FOR AMERICAS AWARD Vamos a leer blog Americas Award on CLASP website Vanderbilt’s Center for Latin American Studies

¡GRACIAS!