LOVE FOR LITERATURE

ECU faculty member helps choose Caldecott Award winner

An East Carolina alumnus and faculty member helped choose this year’s Caldecott Award winner for children’s literature.

Alan Bailey, associate professor and head of services for the Teaching Resources Center at Joyner Library, served on this year’s Caldecott Medal Selection Committee. As head of the Teaching Resources Center, he oversees a collection of more than 70,000 children’s books.

“Children’s literature has been a lifelong passion of mine, and serving on this prestigious committee was both an honor and privilege,” he said.

A self-confessed child at heart, Bailey discovered his passion for literature at an early age.

“My oldest sister became a language arts teacher and she … exposed me to literature and language in general,” said Bailey. “I used to think she was just the most eloquent person on this earth because she had a beautiful voice. She sang. She had taken French in high school and was almost fluent in it. And she was a great storyteller and she used to read to me a lot. That was really where I gained my love for literature, especially children’s literature.”

A group of 15 children’s literature experts chose the Caldecott Award winner, nominating one picture book as the most distinguished of its kind printed in 2015. Presented by the American Library Association, the Caldecott Award is the most prestigious accolade for picture books and is named in honor of 19th century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott.

“Before you put that gold or silver seal on a book, there are so many things you’ve got to make sure of,” said Bailey. “Even though the award is given to the artist, you’ve got to have text that works well with the art, too, because you can’t have one without the other. It needs to be a good marriage of the two.”

This year’s winner, “Finding Winnie,” tells the true story of a bear that inspired the beloved character Winnie-the-Pooh. “Finding Winnie” was written by Lindsay Mattick and illustrated by Sophie Blackall. Mattick is the great-granddaughter of Captain Harry Colebourn, the soldier who trained Winnie.

“This book really talks about how Winnie was actually found and nurtured,” said Bailey. “It [explains] how Christopher Robin really does exist and how Christopher Robin actually encountered Winnie.”

Bailey is no stranger to evaluating children’s books. In 2009 and 2010, he served on the Coretta Scott King Award committee, selecting exceptional children’s books by African American authors and illustrators.

The selection committee made the final decision about “Finding Winnie” at the American Library Association’s midwinter conference in Boston.

“The text is delightful and the illustrations are just perfect for the text,” said Bailey. “The style that the illustrator uses is just simply beautiful.”

Bailey earned his master’s degree in the Library Science in 1995. He speaks nationwide about the importance of diversity in children’s literature.

Bailey‘s first book, “Building a Core Print Collection for Preschoolers,” is a manual intended to guide those who are purchasing children’s books for preschoolers. It was published by the American Library Association in 2014.

The Caldecott selection committee made the final decision about “Finding Winnie” at the American Library Association’s midwinter conference in Boston. Alan Bailey received personalized art featuring the book’s main character (right).