2013 Pura Belpré Award

Each year delegates from the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the
National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking (REFORMA) present the Pura Pura Belpré Award to an author and illustrator "whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth."

Benjamin Alire Sáenz was presented the author award for the coming of age novel Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. This groundbreaking title also won the Stonewall Book Award and the Michael L. Printz Award.





David Diaz won the illustrator award for the picture book biography, Martín de Porres: The Rose in the Desert.

I really loved both books. 

'Tis the season

Here are some great books about the winter holidays:

Christmas in New York by Chuck Fischer

Fischer, Chuck. Christmas in New York: A Pop-Up Book. New York: Bulfinch Press, 2005.

Buy this beautifully crafted pop-up book for your favorite New Yorker.

Rosen, Michael J., and Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson.
Elijah's Angel: A Story for Chanukah and Christmas.
San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992.

Elijah's Angel is about the friendship between a young Jewish boy and an elderly African-American folk artist. Considering the subject matter, the story is surprisingly sap-free and believable.

Demi. The Legend of Saint Nicholas. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2003.

I love that Demi doesn't worry about being politically correct. The author writes freely about religion and manages not to come across as preachy. This book is probably best suited for older readers as it includes some gory details about how St. Nicholas brought three children back to life after they had been murdered and marinated.

Demi. Mary. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2006.

This book is gentler than Demi's Saint Nicholas, but the writing style is a bit lofty for young readers. No matter. As with most of Demi's works, the pictures are what really counts.


And on the lighter side . . .

Seuss. How the Grinch Stole Christmas. New York: Random House, 1957.

Who doesn't love this Seuss classic? My favorite part is when the Grinch tries to disguise his dog as a reindeer.

Soto, Gary, and Ed Martinez. Too Many Tamales. New York: Putnam, 1992.

Personally, I don't think there's any such thing as too many tamales. I even like the frozen Goya ones.

Katz, Karen. My First Kwanzaa. New York: H. Holt, 2003.

This simple picture book is perfect for a preschool storytime program.

Kimmel, Eric A., and Trina Schart Hyman. Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins.
New York: Holiday House, 1989.

I love a good Hershel story. (There are also some good ones in Shari Lewis's One-Minute Jewish Stories.)

Lenny Bruce on Judaism

Bruce, Lenny. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People: An Autobiography. Chicago: Playboy Press, 1965.

" . . . if you live in New York or any other big city, you are Jewish. It doesn't matter even if you're Catholic; if you live in New York you are Jewish . . . Italians are all Jews."
--Lenny Bruce

Since I live in Boca Raton, and Boca Raton is known as The Sixth Borough, I guess you could say I'm Jewish. I'm also Italian-American and Catholic.

One time when I was waiting in line at Walgreens, I overheard the person behind me griping about how "the damn, cheap-ass Jews take over Boca every winter." I turned around and asked loudly, "What did you say?????" The person in front of me said, "Are you Jewish?" I boldly answered, "Yes." Someone else in line said, "Do you know where I can buy a yahrzeit candle around here?" I answered "Publix, aisle three near the gefilte fish."

And we all lived happily ever after.

More Milk and Honey

Yolen, Jane, Louise August, and Adam Stemple. Milk and Honey: A Year of Jewish Holidays. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1996.

As I mentioned the other day, the title of Cracker's new CD, Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey, is a reference to the Old Testament verse:

"And I have come down to rescue them from the clutches of the Egyptians and bring them up out of that country, to a country rich and broad, to a country flowing with milk and honey . . ."
--Exodus 3:8.

One of my favorite collections of Jewish folklore is also named after this verse--Jane Yolen's Milk and Honey: A Year of Jewish Holidays (Putnam's Sons, 1996). I'm Catholic, but I'm fascinated by Jewish traditions and I learned a couple of new things from this book. For instance, the reason lots of fried dishes are served during Chanukah is to celebrate the miracle oil that kept the temple menorah alight for eight days.

Lewis, Shari, and Roberta Collier-Morales. One-Minute Jewish Stories. New York: Doubleday, 1989.

Another great collection of Jewish folklore is One-Minute Jewish Stories by Shari Lewis (Doubleday, 1989). You know Shari Lewis as the mother of Lamb Chop the sheep puppet. She brings humor to the Old Testament with stories like "How Moses Became a Stutterer" and "King David and the Spider's Web."

And speaking of the Old Testament . . .

Fischer, Chuck. In the Beginning: The Art of Genesis : a Pop-Up Book. New York: Little, Brown, 2008.

You have got to check out my friend Chuck Fischer's latest pop-up book: In the Beginning: The Art of Genesis (Little, Brown, 2008). The attention to detail in this art book is amazing. In addition to the intricate 3D paper art structures, there are little lift-the-flap style booklets with information about the Bible stories depicted on each page.



Chuck is an AMAZING artist. Visit his studio at chuckfischer.com. In addition to illustrating books, he is a master muralist and he also designs china patterns for Lenox.

ps. Pre-order your copy of Cracker's newest CD at Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, and iTunes.

St. Cajetan

Saint Cajetan, Patron Saint of Job Seekers

I'm a huge Cracker fan, and I can't believe that I forgot to mention St. Cajetan in yesterday's post. Check out this live performance of one of my favorite songs.


My adopted big brother Johnny is such a guitar god.

St. Cajetan Church, Denver

Saints

I love being a Roman Catholic. Every day is a feast day! Yesterday was the feast day of Saint Maximilian Kolbe (patron of drug addicts), tomorrow is the feast day of Saint Armel (patron invoked against fever, headache, and gout), and today (a holy day of obligation) we celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

I could spend hours pouring over the fascinating stories and gorgeous illustrations in Tom Morgan's gift book, Saints: A Visual Almanac of the Virtuous, Pure, Praiseworthy, and Good. It is so much fun to look up the saints for different professions, hobbies, and ailments. For instance, Saint Jerome is the patron saint of librarians, Saint Cecilia watches over musicians, and there are two patron saints for syphilis sufferers. Misplace something? Pray to Saint Antony of Padua. Stressed out? Try Saint Dympna.

Morgan, Tom. Saints: A Visual Almanac of the Virtuous, Pure, Praiseworthy, and Good. San Francisco: Chronicle Book, 1994.

Here are some more good hagiographies:

Kelly, Sean and Rosemary Rogers. Saints Preserve Us!
New York: Random House, 1993.



Butler, Alban, and Paul Burns. Butler's Lives of the Saints. Collegeville, Minn: Liturgical Press, 2003.



Mulvihill, Margaret and David Farmer. The Treasury of Saints and Martyrs.
New York: Viking, 1999.

Italia

My relatives are leaving for Italy in a couple of days. I'm really going to miss them. I think it's so cool that they will be celebrating Easter with our cousins in Cosenza. Easter has always been my favorite holiday. I have such fond memories of spending the day at Great Grandma's house eating frittata and Italian Easter bread.


Back in 1983 I visited Italy with our school's madrigal singing group. (We sang sacred music as well as the more folksy madrigal songs.) Needless to say, it was the trip of a lifetime. We even got to sing for the Pope! Look at the size of that crowd. I wasn't even nervous because I didn't realize that we were being amplified.

Mary Baker Eddy & Pope John Paul II

This morning I had a doctor's appointment, and I've been in a foul mood ever since. I absolutely hate going to the doctor--maybe because many of the relatives on my father's side of the family are Christian Scientists. When my Grandmother Swensen died at age 89, I thought it was so cool that she never wasted a minute of her life sitting in a doctor's waiting room.

Speaking of Christian Science, if you're ever in Boston, be sure to visit the Mary Baker Eddy Library. The library holds all sorts of interesting artifacts, plus, the building is incredibly beautiful. Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Church of Christian Science, was quite a trailblazing feminist. My Uncle Rolf has published many interesting papers about her.

In case you're wondering, I'm not a Christian Scientist. I'm a Roman Catholic. I think Christian Science is pretty cool, though. Their newspaper, The Christian Science Monitor, is certainly a lot more catholic than ours.

Learning something new every day

Today Cathy from Archives showed me how to use a scanner. It was pretty easy! I scanned some old photos onto a CD, opened a Flickr account, and uploaded the pictures onto it. I'm still playing around with Flickr. It's a little more complicated than I had expected.

This photograph is one of my most cherished possessions. It was taken back in 1983 when my high school's madrigal singing group performed for Pope John Paul II. Can you tell which one is me?