SCHOLARSHIP AND AWARDS
Scholarship
Travel Award
Literature Awards
Scholarship
Announcement
Harrison W. Inefuku has been selected as the recipient
of the 2010 APALA Scholarship. Harrison is currently completing
a dual degree in Archival Studies and Library and Information Studies
at the University of British Columbia. He completed his undergraduate
studies at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.
His research interest focuses on appraisal policies of South Africa
and how archives in South Africa are working to ensure documentation
of minority and marginalized groups whose records were lost or confiscated
during apartheid. Harrison hopes to become a professor in Archival
Studies and participate in the "recruiting and mentoring of
APA librarians in the library/information science professions.
Travel
Award Announcement
Lessa Kanani'opua Pelayo-Lozado is the winner of the 2010 APALA
Travel Grant. Lessa currently works at the Woodcrest Library for
the County of Los Angeles Public Library System. She is a Children's
Services Librarian and is passionate about serving the diverse patrons
of her library. She has a research interest in library services
to Pacific Islanders, and is an active member of several APALA committees
and task forces. She has served on the APALA Literature Award Committees
for Youth Literature and Picture Books, and is also a member of
the APALA Family Literacy Task Force.
Award
for Literature Press Release
(APALA) 2010
February 24, 2010
The Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA)
announces the following titles as winner and honor books in the
2010 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature. The awards
promote Asian/Pacific American culture and heritage, based on
literary and artistic merit. The books were chosen from titles
by or about Asian Pacific Americans published in 2009.
Adult Fiction Winner
Ford, Jamie. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. New York:
Ballantine Books, 2009.
Honorable Mention for Adult Fiction
See, Lisa. Shanghai Girls. New York: Random House, 2009.
Adult Non-Fiction Winner
Tsui, Bonnie. American Chinatown: A People's History of Five
Neighborhoods. New York: Free Press (Simon & Schuster), 2009.
Honorable Mention for Adult Non-Fiction
Hirabayashi, Lane Ryo. Japanese American Resettlement: Through
the Lens, Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado, 2009.
Picture Book Winner
Gilmore, Dorina K. Lazo. Cora Cooks Pancit. Illustrated by
Kristi Valiant. Walnut Creek, CA: Shen's Books, 2009.
Honorable Mention for Picture Book
Iyengar Malathi Michelle. Tan to Tamarind. Illustrated by Jamel
Akib. San Francisco: Children's Book Press, 2009.
Youth Literature Winner
Woo, Sung. Everything Asian. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2009.
Honorable Mention for Text in Youth Literature
Russell, Ching Yeung. Tofu Quilt. New York: Lee & Low, 2009.
BOOKS
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Adult Fiction Winner
Ford, Jamie. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.
New York: Ballantine Books, 2009.
Jamie Ford’s first novel Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and
Sweet is a poignant and deeply touching story set in the Japanese
and Chinese neighborhoods of Seattle during World War II.
The story begins with a crowd of curious people milling around
the front of the Panama Hotel a Seattle Landmark that once
stood at the entrance to Seattle’s Japantown. Old Henry Lee
watches with trepidation as the hotel’s new owner uncovers
what once belonged to a group of Japanese families who were
taken away to internment camps during the war. At the sight
of a colorful Japanese parasol Henry is overcome with emotion
as a host of memories flash by. He believes the parasol belonged
to his dear friend Keiko and thoughts of the innocent friendship
they had shared and his love for Keiko come back to haunt
him; filling him with a desperate longing to find her. Jamie
Ford also approaches the father son relationship in this novel
with great sensitivity and creates an emotionally absorbing
story weaving various parts of the narrative into an exquisite
masterpiece.
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet was selected
as APALA’s award winner because it vividly brings to life
a critical period in the history of Asian Pacific Americans
and reveals the tragic impact of war and discrimination on
the hearts and lives of these vulnerable people. Jamie Ford
has approached this complex theme with great sensitivity,
and has created a heartwarming story that tells of the power
of love, commitment, sacrifice and forgiveness. (Suhasini
Kumar)
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Honorable Mention for Adult Fiction
See, Lisa. Shanghai Girls. New York: Random House, 2009.
Lisa See’s Shanghai Girls is a sweeping historical
novel about two sisters that spans 20 years, two countries,
and two wars. We meet young, carefree May and Pearl, the
eponymous characters of the novel, who are suddenly thrust into
family tragedy brought on by a gambling father and the Japanese
invasion of Shanghai. From here, readers find the surprising
and unexpected strength and resourcefulness of these women,
who are bound not only by their love for each other but also
by the secrets they share. We follow their harrowing journey
through war-torn China to make their way to their new husbands
in America. While there is no lack of sibling rivalry,
May and Pearl also find much refuge in each other. See’s
flowing narrative makes the history come alive with vivid detail
and urgency, giving us a glimpse into the international character
and enchantment of pre-World War II Shanghai and the horrors
of wartime treachery, as well as the unique detention experience
on Angel Island and subsequent life as immigrants making their
tenuous way in the US. (Janet Clarke) |
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Adult Non-Fiction Winner
Tsui, Bonnie. American Chinatown: A People's History of Five
Neighborhoods. New York: Free Press (Simon & Schuster),
2009.
Tsui, Bonnie. American Chinatown: A People's History of Five
Neighborhoods. New York: Free Press (Simon & Schuster),
2009. For many Americans, their city’s Chinatown is not merely
a tourist destination – it is a community, a place where regular
people live, work, run errands, and spend time with friends. Behind
striking architectural façades and weathered buildings are
vibrant neighborhoods, whose roots can be recent or stretch
back to the late 19th century.
Lively, edifying, and personal, Bonnie Tsui’s exploration
of five Chinatown communities across America leads readers
on a cross-country odyssey of life behind the bus tours and
array of souvenir shops that a typical Chinatown tourist may
experience. Through informative historical vignettes
and individual stories told both people both old and young,
newcomers and long-standing residents, Tsui provides readers
a peek into the lives of Chinatown inhabitants in five diverse
American cities, from New York to Honolulu. Readers learn
about Los Angeles Chinatown’s rich heritage of collaboration
with Hollywood, the young Asian-Americans in San Francisco
who serve as Chinatown tour guides to dispel misconceptions
about their community, and the glitz of the inaugural Miss
Chinatown pageant in Las Vegas, the site of the United States’
newest Chinatown.
Tsui’s revealing and affectionate book is overall the story
of ordinary and upstanding Americans -- their strength in
the face of prejudice and changing economic times, their appreciation
for their past, their optimism for better jobs and lives for
their families, their pleasure in socializing with their friends,
and their zeal for bettering their communities by improving
their businesses, social services, and leisure activities.
For its educational and engaging portrayal of Asian Pacific
American life, Bonnie Tsui’s American Chinatown: A People’s
History of Five Neighborhoods is the 2009-2010 recipient of
the Adult Non-Fiction Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature
(APAAL). (Rebecca Kennedy)
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Honorable Mention for Adult Non-Fiction
Hirabayashi, Lane Ryo. Japanese American Resettlement: Through
the Lens. Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado, 2009.
The War Relocation Authority, the U.S. civilian agency responsible
for overseeing the internment of Japanese Americans, generated
over 17,000 photographs of the internees between 1942-1945.
This volume focuses on the work of one official WRA photographer,
Hikaru Iwasaki, and more specifically on the WRA’s political
motivations for creating the photographs. Although the WRA set
up and administered the camps, as early as 1943 negative publicity
induced the WRA to try to persuade "loyal" Japanese
Americans to leave the camps and resettle into society (but
only in certain areas, away from the West Coast). The photographs
were also intended to persuade the white American public to
accept Japanese Americans into their communities. This excellent
pictorial collection reproduces about one hundred images by
Iwasaki, along with the captions designed to influence both
internees and the public at large. Hirabayashi, a professor
at UCLA, contributes background information about the WRA photography
project, the photographers, and the restrictions under which
they worked. He analyzes the effect of the photographs both
in the short term, as propaganda, and in the long term, as historical
artifacts, and pays tribute to the spirit of the internees,
which transcends these carefully staged images.(Coliss Lee)
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Picture Book Winner
Gilmore, Dorina K. Lazo. Cora Cooks Pancit. Illustrated
by Kristi Valiant. Walnut Creek, CA: Shen's Books, 2009.
Cora longs to be a grown-up cook but is always left out as the
youngest child. With all her siblings gone one day, she leaps
at the opportunity to be her mother’s assistant in the kitchen.
Watch Cora as she learns how to make pancit, a Filipino noodle
dish. Cora’s expressive face is delightful to follow as she
works hard to put together a dish her family will enjoy. The
simple act of cooking evokes historical memories and culture
while warm, engaging illustrations complement the simple text.
For any reader of this book, the message of cooking as a labor
of love and family is universal. The author includes a glossary
of Tagalog terms and a recipe for pancit for the reader’s enjoyment.(Susan
Hoang)
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Honorable Mention for Picture Book
Iyengar, Malathi Michelle. Tan to Tamarind. Illustrated
by Jamel Akib. New York: Children's Book Press, 2009.
Each of the fifteen gorgeously illustrated poems in Malathi
Michelle Iyengar’s Tan to Tamarind celebrates the spectrum and
beauty of brown in a variety of shades and cultures. Artist
Jamel Akib’s warm chalk pastel drawings accent Iyengar’s joyful
poems about the pride and richness of "masala tea brown,"
"ocher brown," and "adobe brown," among
other hues. The poems and illustrations also delightfully depict
intergenerational relationships between children and adults.
One of the most touching parts of the book is at the end, in
the author’s biography, where Iyengar briefly describes how
she was taunted about her own brown skin color when she was
growing up in South Carolina. She remembered, "sitting
in the bathtub and hoping that if [she] just scrubbed hard enough
the brown would go away." As she grew older, Iyengar discovered
“lots of wonderful stories and poems about the color brown,
written by and about proud brown people,” which helped her to
discover her brown pride. Iyengar and Akib have certainly added
to this great tradition with Tan to Tamarind. (Candice Mack)
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Youth Literature Winner
Woo, Sung. Everything Asian. New York: Thomas Dunne Books,
2009.
Set in early-1980s suburban New Jersey, David Kim is a 12 year
old who just moved from Korea to America with his older sister
Susan and mother to reunite with his father who moved years
earlier. The journey only begins once the family reunites and
face many obstacles to bond and adjust living together in a
new country. Without any memory of his father or knowing any
English, David spends most of his free time helping out at East
Meets West, his father's gift shop in a strip mall where the
family really gets to know each other and their mall neighbors.
Everything Asian presents a well-rounded portrayal of
the joys and troubles of the immigrant experience told mostly
from the perspective of David, as well as the Kims and other
mall merchants to get a full, inside-out understanding of the
family and the community that surrounds them. Through David
and Susan, this novel articulately details the experience of
1.5 generation Asian Americans, a perspective not commonly found
in youth literature. From lighthearted comedy to very serious
issues, Everything Asian covers a wide range of experiences
and emotions that many Asian immigrants can relate to, but not
always communicate. From choosing American names, taking English
night classes and cooking turkey for Thanksgiving for the very
first time, Everything Asian also portrays everything Asian
Pacific American. (Jeffrey Sichaleune) |
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Honorable Mention for Youth Literature
Russell, Ching Yeung. Tofu Quilt. New York: Lee &
Low, 2009.
Tofu Quilt, by Ching Yeung Russell, is a beautiful collection
of poetry depicting one young girl’s struggles to get the same
education as her male counterparts. Set in Hong Kong in the
1960s, the collection shows Yeung Ying reciting poems that even
her older cousins cannot remember. As a reward, her uncle takes
her all the way to another town for "dan lai", a special
milk custard dish. She thinks, "dan lai must be a very
special reward," and the delicious treat motivates her
to continuing learning so she can become a writer. Yeung Ying
explains that her mother, a “highly educated” woman, believes
that women should be educated the same as men. She also tells
the reader about Mr. Hon, who was the first teacher to display
her stories even though she was “just a girl.” In these ways,
the collection pays homage to the people who supported Yeung
Ying’s education.
The poems are well written, poignant, and accessible even when
addressing intense issues, such as how gender preferences have
socialized and impacted girls, as well as the importance of
literacy, self-advocacy and persistence. The author’s note describes
how she continued to learn after she moved to the United States
so she could share her childhood stories with American readers.
Russell shows great promise in her debut poetry collection,
and the committee felt the quality of her writing, as well as
the content of her story, is worthy of the APALA Literature
honor award. (Sarah Park) |
Dora Ho, Chair
Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Committee
Young Adult Librarian
Los Angeles Public Library - Young Adult Services
630 W. Fifth St.
Los Angeles, CA 90071
213-228-7518
fax 213-228-7529
dorah2005@gmail.com
Members of the Awards Committee:
Janet H. Clarke
Associate Librarian, Head, Instruction Program
Stony Brook University Libraries, Stony Brook, NY
Cora Dompor
Branch Manager, San Diego Public Library - Skyline Hills
Branch, San Diego, CA
Jennifer Donohue
San Francisco, CA
Susan Hoang
Adjunct Librarian
East Los Angeles College, Los Angeles, CA
Rebecca Kennedy
(Former) Reference Librarian,
Chicago Public Library, Chicago, IL
Suhasini Kumar
Coordinator Information & Research Services
Carlson Library, The University of Toledo, Toledo, OH
Jiun Kuo
Head of Cataloging and Metadata Services
Rice University, Houston, TX
Corliss Lee
American Cultures Librarian
UC Berkeley Library, Berkeley, CA
Candice Mack
Young Adult Librarian
Los Angeles Public Library
Encino-Tarzana, CA
Michelle Miller
Jamestown, OH
Susan L. Minobe
Library Assistant,
Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Kyung-Ah Gina Moon
Youth Services Coordinator, Broward County
Public Library, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Anchalee Pangabutra-Roberts
Assistant Professor, Metadata & Multicultural Services Librarian
& Women's and Gender Studies Library Liaison & Program Faculty
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
Sarah Park
Assistant Professor
St. Catherine University MLIS Program, St. Paul, MN
Lessa K. Pelayo-Lozada
Librarian
Woodcrest Library, Los Angeles, CA
Liladhar R. Pendse
Librarian for Central and Eastern European, Slavic and Eurasian,
South Asian, Pan-Asian, Central Asian Studies & Interim Librarian
for Philosophy
Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Jeffrey Sichaleune
Adult Services Librarian
County of Los Angeles Public Library, Norwalk, CA
Becky Lasswell Stromberg
Life Sciences Librarian
UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA
Kate Vo Thi-Beard
PhD student, SLIS,
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Duluth, MN
Melanee Vicedo
2010 Fellow
Online Computer Library Center, Dublin, Ohio
Please see the APALA website (www.apalaweb.org) for descriptions
of the books as well as lists of past winners.
Past Winners 02-03 04-05
07 08
09
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