April 4, 2008

• Annual prize recognizes multicultural children's literature

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Children's book author and illustrator Mordicai Gerstein has been selected to receive the 2008 Young Authors' Roberta Long Medal for distinguished contributions to literature celebrating the cultural diversity of children. The award will be presented to Gerstein during a ceremony at 4 p.m. Friday, April 25, in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Mervyn Sterne Library, Room 158, 917 13th St. S.

Along with writing and illustrating books for children, Mordicai Gerstein is a painter, sculptor and prize-winning designer and director of animated films. A native of Los Angeles, Gerstein attended the Chouinard Institute of Art before moving to New York City, where he lived and worked for 25 years making animated films for television.

Gerstein's books are wide-ranging in subject, style and the age groups addressed, from contemporary fantasy and Biblical retellings, to biography and absurd alphabets, for preschool and high school students and adults.

While in Birmingham, Gerstein will participate in the 23rd annual Young Authors' Conference, 9 a.m.-noon, Saturday, April 26, on the UAB campus. During the conference, children from local school districts will attend workshops led by Gerstein and other nationally recognized children's book authors and illustrators.

The Roberta Long Medal is named after the retired UAB professor of education for her passion for multicultural children's books, and for her efforts to encourage teachers to use diverse literature in their classrooms. The sponsors for the award ceremony are the UAB School of Education, the Alabama Young Authors Conference and the Red Mountain Writing Project.