The Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award is named for the
internationally renowned educator, poet, anthologist and passionate advocate of
poetry for young people. Established in 1993, the award is presented annually
to an American poet or anthologist for the most outstanding new book of poetry
for children published in the previous calendar year.
Selected by a panel of authors, librarians, teachers and
scholars, the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award was the first award of its kind
in the United States. The Pennsylvania Center for the Book, the Penn State
University Libraries, and Lee Bennett Hopkins share joint administration of the
annual award.
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This year’s winner is “Somos como las nubes/We Are Like the
Clouds” written by Jorge Argueta, published by Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press. Jorge Argueta will
accept the award and the $1,000 prize, courtesy of Lee Bennett Hopkins, at Penn
State this fall.
Judges' Comments
In few words and brief poems, Argueta is able to capture the
safety of home and the mundane with the pain of not knowing what awaits on the
other side. A refugees' journey is a difficult topic to present in poetry, but
Argueta's words are able to balance the struggles, happiness, uncertainty,
sadness, fears, and the mixture of feelings that the child narrator
experiences. The pictures perfectly complement the rich poetry.
In Somos como las nubes /We are Like the Clouds, the
reader is pulled into the story visually from the beautiful illustrations and
rhythmically from the poetic language. The bilingual aspect adds authenticity
to the story and connectivity for more children.
Somos como las nubes /We are Like the Clouds helps bring
the idea of immigration to a more personal and relatable reality by beautifully
expressing hardships, uncertainty and hope.
The poems are imaginative, musical, and beautiful, conveying a
message of empathy and hope that is powerful and significant. The
bilingual format makes these poems accessible to more children than any single
language book could reach.
Argueta takes young readers on the harrowing and
heartwarming journey of so many children. In musical language we
experience the emotional range of migration—from gangs to the ultimate
destination of American. The imagery of clouds threads through a story
told with rhyme, repetition, and wonderful pacing.
Library of Dreams
From the author, Jorge
Argueta,
Please consider making a donation in any amount.
For a donation of a $100 or more, you will receive
a signed copy of my most recent book, We Are Like the Clouds. This book
recently received the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award from the University of
Pennsylvania.
The Library of Dreams, a library that opened in November of 2016
in San Jacinto El Salvador to promote reading and writing for children living
under means and in vulnerable areas.
Our children in El Salvador love to read,
paint and sing. At The Library of Dreams we do this and
much more. Soon we will start planting vegetables, and finishing the murals we
have already started. This is a beautiful project that needs strengthening and
growth in order to continue to provide our children with these services, which they
need so much and help them grow healthy and positive minds. To continue with
these services I need your support. I have begun the process
of converting The Library of Dreams into a non-profit
organization. This is a process that will take one or two years. As we
wait for non-profit status, The Library of Dreams wishes to continue supporting
our children - for this reason I have created this campaign.
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