Lacapa Spirit Prize for Southwest Children's Literature: 2007 Winner

The 2007 Lacapa Spirit Prize was awarded to Little Crow to the Rescue: El Cuervito Al Rescate, written by Victor Villasenor, illustrated by Filipe Ugalde Alcantara.


From the press release:

Villaseñor’s bilingual fable, Little Crow to the Rescue, delightfully explores the interdependence of humans and animals. Crows learn to fear humans, sons learn from their fathers, fathers learn from their sons—all have knowledge that must be shared. One prize judge noted, “Villaseñor and illustrator Filipe Ugalde Alcántara have teamed up to create a book that will entertain and inspire young readers …Told with humor and respect for tradition, Victor Villaseñor hopes this story will inspire young people to share their wisdom with their elders. Illustrator Filipe Ugalde Alcántara uses brilliant color and bold images to visually tell this story. His paintings portray the curvature of the earth and suggest the circular nature of story that begins and ends by asking and answering the question of why humans cannot catch crows. Both story and illustration spring from Villaseñor and Alcántara’s Mexican heritages and have greatly enriched the body of Southwest children’s literature.”

The 2007 Lacapa Honor Prize for Narrative was given to Evangeline Parson Yazzie for Dzání Yázhí Naazbaa’: Little Woman Warrior Who Came Home: A Story of the Navajo Long Walk, published by Salina Book Shelf and the 2007 Lacapa Honor Prize for Illustration went to Kendrick Bennaly’s illustrations for Frog Brings Rain, also from Salina Bookshelf.

Lacapa (Apache, Tewa and Hopi) worked with the Apache tribe in developing multicultural educational curricula for Native school-age children and often used storytelling as a teaching tool. He was an exceptional storyteller and the talented illustrator of such books as The Magic Hummingbird, Spider Spins a Story, and The Good Rainbow Road. He is the author/illustrator of The Flute Player, Antelope Woman and Less Than Half, More Than Whole, the latter co-authored with his wife Kathy.

The Lacapa Spirit Prizes will be awarded to recipients during the 10th Annual Northern Arizona Book Festival in Flagstaff, April 20-22, 2007. This prize is made possible through the generous support of the Northern Arizona Book Festival and Rising Moon/Luna Rising, imprints of Northland Publishing, Michael Lacapa’s first publisher. More information on submissions requirements for next year’s award and the Northern Arizona Book Festival schedule may be found
at www.nazbookfestival.org

Kathleen and Michael Lacapa's Less Than Half, More Than Whole

In the first year of my graduate studies, I came across a book that deeply touched me. The illustrations are terrific, but it was the content of the illustrations that meant so much to me. Page after page had something that spoke directly to me, a Pueblo Indian, living in today's society. To some, it may sound odd to say "living in today's society" but that phrase is important. Necessary. Vital. So many books about Pueblo Indians cast us in the past, in romantic contexts, or somber ones, or ignorant and racist ways, or just plain wrong (see my entry on Ten Little Rabbits, which is in my post: Indian Bunny. No! Now it is Brave Bunny).

This book was different. Its pages showed Native teens in t-shirts. One holds a basketball. In another, a man leans against a fence, with a red ball cap on his head. Another depicts the inside of their home; Native art and basketry is shown. As I read the story itself, I came to a page that has this word "Saiya" and another with "TaTda" (I'm unable to place diacritic marks). I KNEW how to say those words. I knew what they meant. One is grandma and the other is grandfather.

My daughter's recent experiences at school made me think of that book. She didn't need it herself. Her identity as a young Pueblo Indian woman is strong. It speaks to us, though, because of what it can offer to others who know so little about American Indians of today. People see skin color and make a lot of assumptions. Being Native, being Pueblo... it is more than how you look. Less Than Half, More Than Whole is a gentle book that helps its readers think about the complexities of culture, of skin color, of identity. I highly recommend it.