2015 Youth Media Awards, Belated Congratulations and a Giveaway!

Obviously, I am the worst blogger ever. I blame it on being in hibernation mode. In case you get your news strictly from this blog (dude, what's wrong with you), the 2015 winners of the Pura Belpré Award were announced on February 2 in Chicago at the Youth Media Awards. If you weren't able to attend and want to live the excitement of the ceremony, you can watch the webcast. This is pretty sweet. Despite living in Chicago, I wasn't able to attend so it was nice to still be able to watch it live. You can scream for joy and curse in disappointment in the privacy of your own home.

Big felicidades to the winners and honorees!

Marjorie Agosín - Pura Belpré Author Award for I Lived on Butterfly Hill
Juan Felipe Herrera - Author Honor for Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes
Yuyi Morales - Pura Belpré Illustrator Award for Viva Frida
Susan Guevara - Illustrator Honor for Little Roja Riding Hood
John Parra - Illustrator Honor for Green is a Chili Pepper
Duncan Tonatiuh - Illustrator Honor for Separate is Never Equal: Silvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation

An additional congratulatory shout out to Pat Mora who was awarded the May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture, to Isabel Quintero who won the Morris Award for Gabi, A Girl in Pieces and to Yuyi Morales who won a Caldecott Honor for Viva Frida. 

This was probably the most diverse year to date at the awards, right? Give yourselves a pat on the back! This was definitely a result, in part, of the more open and honest discussions that have been taking place in public forums. The hope is that talking about uncomfortable topics will lead to accountability and change. Lots more to say about awards and dissatisfied grumblings, but I'll save that for another entry.

Speaking of awards, Isabel Quintero and Duncan Tonatiuh were also honored with the Tomás Rivera Book Award (among numerous other awards) for Gabi, A Girl in Pieces and Separate is Never Equal. Right on!

In case you missed it, the Cooperative Children's Book Center released their annual report, Children's Books By and About People of Color Published in the United States. This year they are planning to publishing title lists as well, a really great addition to this already useful and important resource. I'm looking forward to the release of the list of books by / about Latinos.

Last thing for now, I'm doing the We Need Diverse Books resolution and pledged to read at least 25 diverse books this year. I'm documenting this year's reading on my tumblr page if you're interested in seeing what I'm reading. Take the challenge!

To get you started with your challenge, I'm doing a giveaway! I have one copy of Claudia Guadalupe Martinez's Pig Park up for grabs. Just leave a comment on this post. Recommend a diverse book to read in 2015 if you feel inclined. Drawing will take place next Thursday, March 5. If you enter, please include your email address or be on the look out for drawing results so I don't have to hunt you down to send your book if you win.