CLACS summer ser
Contents Feature Stories CLACS summer series features children’s lit JAMS instructor’s book covers teen refugees Linguistics student studies moms, reading, ‘T’ Biologist named Animal Behavior Society fellow Atmospheric scientist explains hurricane forces New grant will diversify UWM study abroad UWM lands a supercomputing grant
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Columns In the Media People in Print Upcoming Events Passings Video Story Laurels and Accolades Alumni Accomplishments
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The International Youth Library was established in Germany in the aftermath of World War II. Founder Jella Lepman strongly believed that children’s books were one of the best vehicles with which to raise children in a world of empathy and understanding. Today, Julie Kline tears up when she thinks about that mission. “There are a lot of people in children’s books with good will who are really keen to make connections,” she said. That’s one of the reasons she and Natasha Borges Sugiyama were so excited to virtually host children’s authors for this year’s annual CLACS summer series. Kline is the associate director of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at UWM, and Sugiyama is its director. As part of the Center’s mission to provide outreach and support for Latin American education in the region and around the world, they organize the CLACS summer series each year, which focuses on a unique aspect or issue pertaining to Latin America. This year, the focus was on children’s authors. CLACS was well-poised for such an event; for 18 years, the Center administered the Americas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Books which recognizes authors who “authentically and engagingly portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latinos in the United States.” Arranging authors The summer series spanned six sessions, each held virtually in both English and Spanish. Starting in June and taking place periodically throughout the summer, each talk was hosted by a moderator and invited book authors and illustrators to discuss their stories. Kline worked closely with the International Youth Library to coordinate the events. She reached out to the Jochen Weber, in charge of the Latin American section of the library, to collaborate. Weber was delighted to help; he suggested six authors and also suggested moderators to lead the sessions, resulting in lively conversations. “A partnership with an organization in Germany to identify authors based in Latin America – it’s really this global reach that Julie was able to pull off, which is so incredible,” Sugiyama said.
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Meeting each author was inspiring and educational, but for Kline, Brazilian illustrator Roger Mello particularly stood out.
