Welcome to Alicia’s “Youth Literature Corner,” my space dedicated to youth literature and librarians’ work on promoting books for all children!

Below are links to resources from my work on Multicultural and Diverse Children’s and YA books. Feel free to contact me with any questions about this work.

~Alicia

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Alicia’s curated lists:

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Book Awards Appointments:

• 2026-2027: Mildred Batchelder Book Award – Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)
• 2022 Walter Dean Myers Award – We Need Diverse Books, Inc. (Chair)
• 2021 Walter Dean Myers Award – We Need Diverse Books, Inc. (Member)
• 2017-2018: Pura Belpré Award – ALSC and REFORMA (Chair)
• 2015-2016: Florida Teens Read – Florida Media in Education (FAME)
• 2013-2014: Pura Belpré Award – ALSC and REFORMA (Member)

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Resources on Diverse Book Awards:

The Pura Belpré Award

(Resources created for Book Evaluation Seminar @ REFORMA’s NRC VIII)*

The Pura Belpré Award (PBA), established in 1996, is presented annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. I was a member (2014), chairperson (2018), and Cultural Competence Consultant (2023-2024).

Lists of Pura Belpré Award (PBA)-winning titles to find in your library:

• PBA Latino books winners for text (Children):
  • Medal winners
  • Honors
• PBA Latino book winners for Illustration
  • Medal winners (illustration)
  • Honors (illustration)
• PBA Latino books for Young Adults
  • Medal winners (YA)
  • Honors (YA)

Lists of Pura Belpre Award (PBA) creators (author and illustrators):

• Alphabetical list of authors and illustrators with their Awards.

• Criteria for Literary Excellence (from PBA Manual)

• Bibliography (recommended readings for book selectors)

More information about the PBA:

• History of the Award (brief summary – PDF)

• Interview with Sandra Ríos Balderrama (Horn Book)

Award Statistics:

• 1996-2025 Belpré Award by the Numbers (Long)
• 1996-2021 Belpré Award by the Numbers (Lugo-Long, The Horn Book article)

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Walter Award

Every year, the Walter Dean Myers Awards celebrates and honors diverse books by diverse creators. Sponsored by We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) and affectionately called “The Walter,” this program is named for award-winning children’s and young adult author Walter​ ​Dean​ ​Myers​ ​(1937-2014).​ ​I was member (2021) and chairperson (2022). Below are the award presentations and children’s literature symposiums that occurred alongside the award ceremonies on the years that I was involved:

• 2022 Symposium (YouTube video)
• 2021 Symposium (YouTube video)

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Coretta Scott King Award

The Coretta Scott King (CSK) Awards encourage the artistic expression of the African American experience via literature and the graphic arts, including biographical, historical, and social history treatments.

As part of my efforts to bring diverse literature to all children, I am a volunteer at the Family Heritage House Museum (FHHM) in Florida. This museum owns a complete collection of all the Coretta Scott King Book Awards titles, which is housed in the non-circulating special collection. They are located in the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, Bradenton Campus Library. Children, families, librarians, and educators from the community can access those titles for research or enjoyment.

• FHH Museum’s website

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*Please use these materials with attribution – I do not give permission for use in AI tools or for AI training.