Pura Belpre Award Discussion

In our research, we found out many interesting topics surrounding the Pura Belpre Award. To begin with, it is a recent award as it was established in 1996. This award gives credit to the Latino/a author or illustrator whose work best represents the latino cultural experience with high literary quality for children. This award is particularly interesting because it can be given to the author of the book or the illustrator.

Belpre was the first Latino librarian at the New York Public Library. While she was born in Puerto Rico (where she attended formal schooling) she spent most of her life in New York. While she was under the title of New York Public librarian Belpre achieved many successes as a result of sharing Puerto Rican folklore with New York children. Belpre was particularly important in preserving this type of literature that might otherwise be lost.

The Pura Belpre Award is co-sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), and the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking, an ALA Affiliate. Some of the books that have recieved this award are Chato and the Party Animals by Gary Soto and illustrated by Susan Guevara, Cesar by Carmen Bernier-Grand and illustrated by David Diaz, as well as Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan

Insider/Outsider Debate

To me, the insider outsider debate is very interesting. I find that there are many valid points on each side. Overall, I believe that this debate is situational. Each piece of multicultural literature must be evaluated individually. The topic, the author's context, and the readers lens are all important aspects when evaluating multicultural literature. After reading the required articles, I found many interesting arguments in each one. This prompt will focus on the debate found in the first three articles.
Patrick Shannon, who I most identify with culturally, writes how he is unsure if he is able to critically write on the topic of multiculturalism. He openly targets himself as an oppressor and asks if it is possible for him to be accepted as a multicultural author. As a student discussing these sensitive topics I recognize his concerns.
Our second author, Rudine Sims Bishop replies to Shannon's question to tell him that as the oppressor he is at the center of this multicultural storm, however, it is best to let multicultural literature remain written by those culture. "I do know the difference between race and culture, and what I tried to say is that you have to know a culture intimately if you're going to reflect it accurately in your fiction" (Sims Bishop, p. 73).
The last author, Violet Harris is most interesting to me because of her inconsistencies. She references Cornel West in a positive manner by explaining how "prophetic criticism" includes seeking truth by an examination process, which engages in self criticism. However, one paragraph later she criticize Patrick Shannon for labeling himself as a "white, heterosexual, able-bodied, and able-minded male..." (Shannon, 1). Shannon targets himself as the cannon of oppression, is this not self criticism? Also in her article, Harris writes that no invitations are needed to write about multicultural literature, but she gives no suggestions on how the oppressor can authentically approach such sensitive topics.
In the end, I have found that I am always interested to learn about other cultures, but I am critical of my sources. No matter what race or culture, I want my references to be well researched in their subject matter. And as for me, I do not even think I know enough about my culture to reflect it accurately. I know about me and that is what I can reflect.

TE448 Hello! My name is Caeth Bourbeau. I am a senior at Michigan State University. I am currently majoring in Child Development, with an emphasis on Language Arts. I am very excited for this semester because I am beginning my student teaching (FCE 424) as well as enrolled in two Teacher Education courses, including TE 448. I became interested in diverse literature during TE 250 as well as TE 348. In these previous courses, I gained much knowledge on the importance of diverse literature in the classroom. Through taking TE 448, I hope to expand on the ideas I have learned in these courses and transfer them into my current and future classrooms.