Interview with Julie Kline
by Aline Pereira*

Julie Kline has worked since 1986 as Outreach and Academic Program Coordinator in the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  Funded in part by the U.S. Department of Education, the center supports educational outreach programs and services for K-16 educators.  Kline’s experience working with Brazilian children’s books while on a fellowship at the International Youth Library in Munich deepened her interest in cultural content in children’s literature.  In the early 1990s she worked with the Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP) to initiate the Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, which just completed its sixteenth year. 
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To begin, please tell us a little bit about the Américas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature.

The Américas Award was established in 1993; I had proposed the award to the Teaching and Outreach Committee of CLASP, the Consortium of Latin American Studies Program, in 1992, modeled in part on the Children’s Africana Book Awards, established by the African Studies Association. Graciela Italiano-Thomas played an integral role in shaping the new award, as did members of the Teaching and Outreach Committee and members of the early Américas review committee. Since its inception, the award has been further refined by review committees.

The first award was presented in 1994 for Lulu Delacre’s Vejigante/Masquerader (Scholastic, 1993).  To date, 316 titles have been recognized as Américas Award winners, honor books or commended titles.

How has this award evolved, since its creation? Have there been any major changes in the criteria and/or the way the selection process is conducted?

Our award criteria have become more nuanced over time.  The original criteria included that loaded word of cultural “authenticity,” which has changed to read cultural “sensitivity.”  I should also point out that the Américas Award is for the book as a whole; it’s not intended as a prize for writing or illustration.  Another criterion which makes the Américas stand out is the criterion, “potential for classroom use.”  That emphasis is directly linked to the mission of CLASP as the award’s sponsor.

How would you describe your role in the award process? What are some of the skills one must have in order to qualify for being a committee Chair or coordinator?

I provide support for the award process and for the committee and its chairperson:  circulating award announcements; logging submissions; scheduling conference calls; handling correspondence; maintaining the website and database; coordinating the award presentation; and publicizing the award and commended list.  I also am the guidelines clarification person and the institutional memory.  We have had a marvelous group of individuals participate on the review committees over the years.  Rubbing shoulders with them has enriched my own education about children’s literature.

The essential skills I can point to are good organizational abilities and attention to detail, a heartfelt love of children’s books, and a belief in the Américas Award and its mission.  I also need to leave my personal opinions aside, as I am not a reading (voting) member of the committee.

Would you please tell us about this year’s selection process? Was it difficult for the committee to come to an agreement? Have any of the winner or honor books come as a surprise, or been considered controversial, by the public, as far as you know?

I anticipated that the decisions on this year’s award winners, honor books and commended titles might be more difficult than they actually were.  Committee members will joke about having titles they will fight tooth and nail to defend, but the results came together very amiably.  It helps that we build a lot of flexibility into the award structure.  The committee can recognize one or two winners; if two, they don’t necessarily have to be one picture book and one novel.  There is no set number of honor books that can be recognized, nor is there a limit of titles that can make the commended list.  The 2009 winners (The Surrender Tree by Margarita Engle and Just in Case by Yuyi Morales) have received wide recognition elsewhere, so no surprises there.   

How have disagreements and/or controversies been handled in the past?

We include in our guidelines that a simple majority vote (with a 5 member committee) can be used to resolve any impasses, but the Américas committee has been remarkable over the years (even as committee members change) for its ability to reach consensus.  I wonder sometimes if our committee structure encourages an above-and-beyond dimension of professional respect.  Our members are K-12 classroom teachers, public and school librarians, university children’s literature or bilingual education faculty, and outreach specialists.  That blend of backgrounds makes for wonderful book discussions; I think it also means that each member recognizes that someone else brings a different facet of expertise to the group, and any disagreements take that into account.  I should also add that all committee business is conducted by conference call, so the dynamic plays out a little differently without face-to-face meetings.

I remember a particular year when two classroom teachers on the committee spoke on behalf of a picture book that others on the committee were prepared to dismiss.  The teachers had used the book in their classrooms and conveyed how their students connected to the content and illustration style.  The book was eventually chosen as a commended title.

What have been some of the most challenging and most rewarding aspects of being part of your award committee?

Trying to build awareness of the Américas Award is the biggest, ongoing challenge; seeing evidence that Américas books are being used in classroom teaching and library classroom development is the most rewarding. I also got a huge kick out of seeing that the award became a dissertation topic along the way (of Dr. Jamie Naidoo, currently on the review committee).

Of all the books that have won or been honored during the years you’ve been involved with the award, which one has left a lasting impression on you, more so than any other?

I’m in the process right now of finalizing a reading list for an online course based on the Américas books.  I’ve whittled the list down to thirteen (!) of my favorites, but just one?  Hmmm… I always come back to Mama and Papa Have a Store (Dial Books, 1998), based on author/illustrator Amelia Lau Carling’s experiences growing up in a Chinese-Guatemalan family in Guatemala City.  That book really captures for me the diversity within Latin America and the Caribbean that we want the Américas Award to highlight.

Do you have an opinion about the controversy surrounding ethnic book awards, such as happens with the Coretta Scott King Award, which requires that a writer and/or illustrator must belong to a particular ethnic group to qualify?

It is a worthwhile debate to have, I think, because it encourages us to think about insider/outsider perspectives, and broader cultural understandings.  I don’t feel I can comment on other awards, but I can say that the Américas Award is different in that way; Latino/Latina cultural heritage of the writer or illustrator is not a prerequisite to be eligible for the award.  I work in the field of international education, so I am committed to the notion that cultural sensitivity can be learned and expressed, and we’re all the better for it as world citizens.  I think it’s a matter of honesty of voice that is discernible to a reader.  I’m thinking of two of Laura Reseau’s books, What the Moon Saw and Red Glass, Américas honor and winning titles, respectively.  She structures her narratives around the voices of outsiders who learn from within a culture.

A member of the original Américas committee once told me that the world is made up of “lumpers” and “splitters” - those who seek out commonalities and ways to unite, and those who feel more comfortable parsing the world out into smaller and smaller pieces or definitions or categories.  I would like to think that the Américas Award has erred more on the side of the “lumpers.”

Please tell us a little bit about the efforts that have been made to promote the award.

We’ve participated in ALA and REFORMA conference sessions; been featured in journal articles in Children and Libraries, Bookbird, and School Library Journal, among others; served as the focus of school district book discussion groups and after school reading clubs; produced online curricula to accompany Américas titles; and contributed to  Latin American Studies educational outreach programming at several universities.

Can you recommend any forums for teachers to share their experiences of working with Américas award-winning books in their classrooms?

I am not aware of any existing forums, and I would love to add one to our website, perhaps as a "Américas Award Books in the Classroom” wiki.

*Aline Pereira is PaperTigers Managing Editor

Posted June 2009

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