Congratulations to all the winners!

2011 Américas Award Winners

– Clemente! by Willie Perdomo.  Illustrated by Bryan Collier.  Holt

– The Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan,  Illustrated by Peter Sis.  Scholastic

Américas Award Honorable Mention

– The Firefly Letters by Margarita Engle.  Holt, 2010

Américas Award Commended Titles   

– Arroz con Leche / Rice Pudding: Un poema para cocinar / A Cooking Poem by Jorge Argueta.  Illustrated by Fernando Vilela.  Groundwood.

– Biblioburro:  A True Story from Colombia by Jeanette Winter.  Beach Lane, 20102

– César Chávez: A Photographic Essay by Ilan Stavans.  Cinco Puntos

– Dear Primo by Duncan Tonatiuh.  Abrams.

– Dizzy in your Eyes: Poems about Love by Pat Mora.  Knopf

– Eight Days:  A Story of Haiti by Edwidge Danticat.  Illustrated by Alix Delinois.  Orchard

– Fiesta Babies by Carmen Tafolla.  Illustrated by Amy Córdova.  Tricycle.

– From North to South / Del norte al Sur by René Colato Laínez.  Illustrated by Joe Cepeda.  Children’s Book Press

– Grandma’s Gift by Eric Velasquez.  Bloomsbury, 2010.

– How Tia Lola Learned to Teach by Julia Alvarez.  Knopf, 2010.

– The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork.  Scholastic

– Me, Frida by Amy Novesky.  Illustrated by David Diaz.  Abrams.

– Napi funda un pueblo / Napi Makes a Village by Antonio Ramirez.  Illustrated by Domi.  Groundwood

– Ole! Flamenco by George Ancona.  Lee & Low

– Star in the Forest by Laura Resau.  Delacorte

2011 Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature

The Américas Award is given in recognition of U.S. works of fiction, poetry, folklore, or selected non-fiction (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 both 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.  The winning books will be honored at a ceremony (fall 2011) during Hispanic Heritage Month at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.