Nominations sought for Mexican American children’s book award

Date of release: 10/08/03

SAN MARCOS — Nominations are being sought for the Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award for books published in 2003.

The award, established at Texas State University-San Marcos in 1995, is designed to encourage authors, illustrators and publishers to produce books that authentically reflect the lives of Mexican American children and young adults in the United States.

The 2002 Rivera award, sponsored by the Texas State College of Education, was presented Sept. 25 to author Pat Mora and illustrator Beatriz Vidal for A Library for Juana, their illustrated story of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz’s life and a testament to the power of knowledge.

Texas State developed the Tomás Rivera award to congratulate and acknowledge authors and illustrators dedicated to depicting the values and culture of Mexican Americans. Rivera, a Distinguished Alumnus of Texas State who died in 1984, published his landmark novel in 1971 titled ...y no se lo tragó la tierra/ ...And the Earth Did Not Part. In 1979, Rivera was appointed chancellor of the University of California-Riverside, the first Hispanic chancellor named to the University of California system.

The deadline for nominations for books with a 2003 publication date is Feb. 1, 2004. That award will be presented in the fall of 2004. Nominations should be sent to: The Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award, Texas State University School of Education, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX, 78666.

For more information on the award or ceremonies, please visit http://www.education.txstate.edu/subpages/tomasrivera/index.html.