Carmen Agra Deedy
Encyclopedia
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of children’s literature, storyteller
Storytelling
Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and in order to instill moral values...
and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
contributor. Born in Havana, Cuba, she immigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with her family in 1963 after the Cuban Revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
. Deedy grew up in Decatur, Georgia
Decatur, Georgia
Decatur is a city in, and county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. With a population of 19,335 in the 2010 census, the city is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple zip codes in unincorporated DeKalb County bear the Decatur name...
.
Storyteller
As a storyteller, Deedy has performed across the United States and CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
including the Disney Institute
Disney Institute
Disney Institute is the professional development and external training arm of The Walt Disney Company. The company showcases 'the business behind the magic' through seminars, workshops and presentations, as well as programs for professionals from many different industries, including healthcare,...
, the New Victory Theater, the Folger Shakespeare Library
Folger Shakespeare Library
The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare materials from the early modern period...
and the Kennedy Center as well as numerous storytelling festival
Storytelling festival
A storytelling festival is often an annual event that features local, regional and/or nationally known oral storytellers. Each storyteller will have a scheduled amount of time to share a story with an audience...
s including the St. Louis Storytelling Festival, the Athens Storytelling Festival, the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival and as a Featured Teller at the National Storytelling Festival
National Storytelling Festival
The National Storytelling Festival is held the first full weekend of October in Jonesborough, Tennessee at the International Storytelling Center. The National Storytelling Festival was founded by Jimmy Neil Smith, a high school journalism teacher in 1973...
. She delivered the 2010 commencement address for the women's college of Brenau University
Brenau University
Brenau University is a private university in Gainesville, Georgia, USA, that was founded in 1878 as Georgia Baptist Female Seminary, though it has never been affiliated with the Baptist Church. The total enrollment of Brenau University tops 2,500 students in its four schools...
in Gainesville, Georgia
Gainesville, Georgia
-Severe Weather:Gainesville sits on the very fringe of Tornado Alley, a region of the United States where severe weather is common. Supercell thunderstorms can sweep through any time between March and November, but are concentrated most in the spring...
, where she was also awarded an honorary doctorate.
English
Deedy is the author of eight children’s books written in English, with two titles published in Spanish. All of her books were published by Peachtree Publishers. They are listed below with some of the honors they have received.- Agatha’s Feather Bed: Not Just Another Wild Goose Story (Laura L. Seeley, illustrator), September 1994
- TreeMan (Douglas J. Ponte, illustrator), October 1993
- 1993 Georgia Author of the Year for Juvenile Literature
- The Library Dragon (Michael P. White, illustrator), October, 1994
- 1997 Flicker Tale Children's Book Award Honor Book
- 1997-1998 Children's Book Award (Honor Book), Florida Reading Association
- 2002 Volunteer State Book Award (master list)
- 2003 Selected book for GA for National Book Festival by GA Center for the Book
- Georgia Top 25 Reading List, Georgia Center for the Book
- The Last Dance (Debrah Santini, illustrator), September, 1995
- The Secret of Old Zeb (Michael P. White, illustrator), September 2002
- Award of Merit, Southern Books Competition, Southeastern Library Association
- The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of DenmarkChristian X of DenmarkChristian X was King of Denmark from 1912 to 1947 and the only King of Iceland between 1918 and 1944....
(Henri Sorensen, illustrator), September 2000- 2000 Parent's Choice Gold AwardParents' Choice AwardThe Parents' Choice Award is an award presented by the non-profit Parents' Choice Foundation to recognize "the very best products for children of different ages and backgrounds, and of varied skill and interest levels." It is considered a "prestigious" award among children's products, and has been...
- 2000 Best Bets for the Classroom, Virginia Center for Children's Books
- 2000 Parent's Guide to Children's Media Award
- 2001 Book Sense 76, Book Sense
- 2001 Bologna Ragazzi AwardBologna Children's Book FairThe Bologna Children's Book Fair or La fiera del libro per ragazzi is the leading professional fair for children's books in the world.Since 1963, it is held yearly for four days in March or April in Bologna, Italy...
- 2001 Christopher Award (books for young people)
- 2001 ABC Children's Booksellers' Choices (non-fiction), Association of Booksellers for Children
- 2001 Notable Children's Books of Jewish Content, Association of Jewish Libraries
- 2001 Jane Addams Peace Association Honor Book AwardJane Addams Children's Book AwardsThe Jane Addams Children's Book Award is given annually to a children's book published the preceding year that advances the causes of peace and social equality. The awards, which have been presented annually since 1953, are given jointly by the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom ...
- 2001 Children's Literature Choice List (short books or picture books with more text than usual for younger readers)
- 2001 Notable Books for a Global Society, IRA
- 2001 Teachers' Choices (Intermediate Category), IRA
- 2001 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People (Selector's Choice), NCSS/CBC
- 2001 Combined Book Exhibit: Children's Books Mean Business, CBC
- 2002-2003 Texas Bluebonnet Master List
- 2001 Teacher's Choice, International Reading Association
- Selector's Choice, 2001 Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People
- 2001 Notable Books for a Global Society, International Reading Association
- 2001 Storytelling World Awards Stories for Adolescent Listeners
- 2002 National Literary Association of England WOW! Award
- 2002-2003 Texas Bluebonnet Award (Master List)
- 2003-2004 Land of Enchantment Book Awards (Master List)
- 2000 Parent's Choice Gold Award
- Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale (Michael Austin, illustrator), September 2007
- 2007 CybilsCybils AwardsThe Cybils Awards, or Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards, are a series of book awards given by children's and young adult book bloggers...
(nominee, fiction picture books) - 2008 Pura Belpré AwardBelpre MedalThe Pura Belpré Award is a recognition presented to a Latino or Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays the Latino cultural experience in a work of literature for children or youth. It was established in 1996. It has been given every other year since 1996...
(Honor) - 2008 Best Children's Books of the Year, Bank Street College of Education
- 2008 Society of School Librarians International Book Awards (honor book, Language Arts picture books)
- 2008 Irma Simonton and James H. Black Award for the Best Picture Book of the Year (honor book)
- 2008 Kansas State Reading Circle Recommended Reading List (Primary, starred)
- 2008 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, NCSS/CBC
- 2008 International Latino Book Awards (Best Children's Picture Book, English), Latino Book & Family Festival, Latino Literacy Now
- 2008 Americas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature (commended title), National Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP)
- 2008-2009 Children's Book Award, Florida Reading Association
- 2009 Storytelling World Resource Awards (winner, Stories for Young Listeners)
- 2009 Read On Wisconsin! (primary age group)
- 2009-2010 Volunteer State Book Awards (master list, K-3)
- 2009-2010 Texas Bluebonnet Award (Master List)
- 2011 California Young Reader MedalCalifornia Young Reader MedalThe California Young Reader Medal is an award given annually to books nominated and voted on by children in California. The medal was established in 1974 and encourages recreational reading...
(Primary)
- 2007 Cybils
- 14 Cows for America (Thomas Gonzalez, illustrator. Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah, afterword)
- 2010-2011 Texas Bluebonnet Award (Master List)
Spanish
- La Cama De Plumas De Agata (Alfaguara Infanfil) (Laura L. Seeley, illustrator), Santillana USA Publishing Company (December 1996)
- Martina una cucarachita muy linda: Un cuento cubano (Michael Austin, illustrator. Cristina de la Torre, translator)
- 2008 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, NCSS/CBC
- A Junior Library Guild Selection
- Un colchon de plumas para Agata: Un cuento de "ALAS" para ninos (Laura L. Seeley, illustrator. Cristina de la Torre, Translator)
Radio/audio
Deedy has contributed to National Public Radio’s Weekend All Things Considered and Latino USALatino USA
Latino USA is a nationally syndicated public radio program produced by KUT-FM radio in Austin, Texas and distributed nation-wide by National Public Radio . As a radio magazine, the weekly, half-hour radio program focuses on issues of concern to the Latino community while maintaining the technical...
. Her audio collection of twelve short stories originally heard on NPR, Growing up Cuban in Decatur, Georgia, (Peachtree Publishers, 2004) was named Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
1995 Best Audiobook--Adult Storytelling and received the Parents' Choice
Parents' Choice Award
The Parents' Choice Award is an award presented by the non-profit Parents' Choice Foundation to recognize "the very best products for children of different ages and backgrounds, and of varied skill and interest levels." It is considered a "prestigious" award among children's products, and has been...
Gold Award 1996. Deedy's most recent audio recording is her CD for Martina the Beautiful Cockroach, which includes a reading of the book in both English and Spanish, as well as a performance version of the story. That CD is an ALA Notable Children's Recording and an Odyssey Award Honor.
See also
External links and references
- Carmen Agra Deedy's official website
- Peachtree Publishers
- Library of Congress Webcast, Bookfest 02, October 12, 2002
- Biography, Educational Paperback Association
- TED Talks: Carmen Agra Deedy spins stories at TEDTED (conference)TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
in 2005 - The Pura Belpre Award Winners Association for Library Service to ChildrenAssociation for Library Service to ChildrenThe Association for Library Service to Children is a division of the American Library Association. Its members are concerned with the profession of children's Librarianship...