“The Tomás Rivera Children’s Book Award” staff is holding a meeting on Jan. 30 at 4:30 p.m. at the San Marcos Library to discuss ideas for their 30th Anniversary Literature Fair on March 7.
The free fair will feature a full day of presentations and activities for children, youth and families, starting with a parade. Thirteen past winning authors/illustrators will participate in the event, co-sponsored by the Texas State University College of Education and the San Marcos Library. Special guests will include David Bowles, Adriana Garcia, Guadalupe Garcia McCall, Michael Genhart among many others.
During the community input meeting, the staff will give information about the award and solicit ideas for events from members of the community in order to present the best fair possible.
The Texas State University College of Education created “The Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award” in 1995 to honor authors and illustrators who create literature that depicts the Mexican American experience. It is named in honor of Texas State University distinguished alumnus Dr. Tomás Rivera.
For more information on this award, visit education. txst.edu/ci/riverabookaward
Tomás Rivera, a native of Crystal City, Texas, is the first Mexican American to have been selected Distinguished Alumnus at Texas State University. Graduating with a M.Ed. in Educational Administration (1964) after having received his B.S. degree in English (1958), both from Texas State, he went on to the University of Oklahoma where he received his Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literature in 1969. Within ten years after receiving his Ph.D., he quickly rose to become Chancellor of the University of California, Riverside in 1979.
During this time, he published extensively in various locations, including his landmark novel “…y no se lo tragó la tierra…And the Earth Did Not Part” (1971), short stories and poetry posthumously gathered in “The Harvest/la cosecha,” and “The Searchers: Collected Poetry,” respectively. All of his works are now found collected with his essays in “Tomás Rivera: The Complete Works,”,edited by Julián Olivares in 1992.
The Tomás Rivera Children’s Book Award has dedicated 30 years to honoring the legacy of Dr. Rivera by promoting literacy in the community. When children and youth are given access to books that connect to their interests and life experiences, they show increased motivation to read and they read more. The more students have opportunities to read continuous text that connect to their interests, the more they build requisite literacy skills of fluency and comprehension. The winning books of the Tomás Rivera Award are high-interest books that connect to students’ cultural and linguistic experiences.
