This award is based on literary and artistic merit that promote Asian and Pacific American culture and to honor and recognize the works. There are three different categories within this award; they are, Adult Non-Fiction, Illustration in Children's Literature and Young Adult Literature. Here are some of the eligibility requirements:
1. Works must be published for general commercial release in the U.S. and published between January 1st and December 31st of the year to be elgible for that particular year.
2. The works do not necessarily need to be written or illustrated by an Asian/Pacific American, but they must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
3. Self published works or exclusive internet publications are not eligible.
4. Works by more than one author are not eligible.
5. Works must be originally written in English.
6. Any works that have previously won another award are not eligible.
7. If no books are found to meet these criteria, no award is given.
I thought a couple of these requirements were interesting. The one that caught my attention the most would be #7. It really makes me wonder if there has ever been a year that they did not give out an award, if they really did not see any book worthy of the award. Or perhaps, there is not enough Asian/Pacific American literature published each year, that they are very hard pressed to find some?
Requirement #2 also stood out to me as it deals with our infamous insider/outsider debate. So the author does not have to be of Asian/Pacific descent, necessarily, but they do need to be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. So the author does not necessarily need Asian/Pacific ties, but the author does need American ties? Interesting. My personal view point is that good literature is good literature, regardless of who wrote it so I am unsure of why this clause is necessary. But, maybe it is to narrow the field a little or because it is an award based in the U.S. for Americans. Not sure.
Anyway, here is a list of the latest recipients of this award.
Adult Non-Fiction: Driven Out: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans by Jean Pfaelzer
Honorable Mention: Bento Box in the Hartland: My Japanese Girlhood in Whitebread America by Linda Furiya
Illustrations in Children's Literature: Surfer of the Century by Ellie Crowe Illustrations by Richard Waldrep
Honorable Mention: Hiromi's Hands by Lynne
Young Adult Literature: Hiroshima Dreams by Kelly Easton
Honorable Mention: Keeping Corner by Kashmira Sheth
**On a personal note I read Hiromi's Hands and definitely enjoyed it. It is about a young girl who badly wants to be a sushi chef like her father, which is generally not a job for a woman. But since her family has moved to America, her father finally agrees to show her the ways and she becomes a very popular and talented sushi chef. It has wonderful illustrations and a solid story that explains some of the differences between Japan's culture and America's that I think kids will really enjoy.
I also read Surfer of the Century and while the main character is extremely inspirational and amazing, it is quite a slow read and could not keep my attention the whole way. It is very long for a children's book and I do not think many children will be able to stay connected for as long as they would need to for this story.
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