Américas Award

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Staff -- School Library Journal, 08/01/2000

The Américas Award is given annually in recognition of U.S. works of fiction, poetry, folklore, or selected nonfiction (from picture books to works for young adults) published in the previous year in English or Spanish that authentically and engagingly portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latinos in the United States. By combining and linking the Americas, the award reaches beyond geographic borders, as well as multicultural-international boundaries, focusing instead upon cultural heritages within the hemisphere. The award is sponsored by the national Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP).

The award winners and commended titles are selected for their 1) distinctive literary quality; 2) cultural contextualization; 3) exceptional integration of text, illustration, and design; and 4) potential for classroom use. Suggested reading level by grade is designated in parentheses.

Annotated lists of all Américas commended titles (1993-1999) can be found at www.uwm.edu/Dept/CLA/outreach_americas.html.

1999 AMÉRICAS AWARD WINNER

CrashBoomLove: A Novel in Verse
by Juan Felipe Herrera,

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Magic Windows/Ventanas mágicas
by Carmen Lomas Garza

Cuba: After the Revolution
by Bernard Wolf

COMMENDED LIST

Angels Ride Bikes/Los ángeles andan en bicicleta
by Francisco Alarcón

Carnaval
by George Ancona

Island in the Sun
by Harry Belafonte & Lord Burgess.

A Is for the Americas
by Cynthia Chin-Lee & Terri de la Peña

Erandi's Braids
by Antonio Hernández Madrigal