Golden Kite, Golden Dreams in Laredo

The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) is now located at Texas A&M International University for students and children of all ages. Award-winning illustrations were presented on Thursday, Sept. 6, with an opening reception at the art gallery at the Fine and Performing Arts Center, which was free and open to the public.

The SCBWI is a non-profit organization for writers and illustrators that specializes on children and young adult literature. Awards and grants are given annually to chosen illustrators who showcase their artwork. The Golden Kite Awards consist of four different categories which include fiction, nonfiction, picture book text, and illustration. In addition, the authors will also receive an all expense paid trip to attend the award ceremony and a lifetime membership.

The exhibition consisted of more than 51 books and over 70 pieces of art that derived from these works. This exhibition can be useful for anyone interested in becoming a children's writer or pursuing a degree in education. Even though this gallery is displayed mostly to 4th grade students, kids of all ages are welcome to see the art and read the books. Families and students visited the gallery and were able to read the books and make the connection with the artworks. Bede Leyendecker, Department Chair for the Fine and Performing Arts, stated, "it's very interesting to see that transformation of the arts. Several of the pieces show the stages that the artwork goes through before [it] finally makes it into the book."

Artwork ranged from Aki Sogabe, representing Chinese history with paper cutting; Uri Chulevitz, Richard Jesse Watson, Jerry Pinkney, who has been illustrating children's books since 1964; Jean Casels, Amy Walrod, Loreng Long, and others.

The arts department will exhibit this gallery until Nov. 18. Any school, group, or individual is welcome to visit the gallery. An upcoming reading will be hosted with a local children's writer and sponsor of the book for the Laredo community.

To arrange a single or group visit, the public may contact Bede Leyendecker at (956) 326-2649 or visit the FPA 207. For more information about the Golden Kite and SCBWI Awards, you may visit www.scbwi.org

(Sandy Lugo may be reached at sandylugoespinoza@dusty.tamiu.edu)