Alabama authors, NYC illustrator share Caldecott honor for ‘The Cat Man of Aleppo’
By Bob Blalock February 9, 2021
Irene Latham, left, and Karim Shamsi-Basha, right, sign copies of The Cat Man of Aleppo at The Alabama Booksmith. (Phil Free / Alabama NewsCenter)
Stray cats wandering a city in war-torn Syria almost a decade ago led to two Alabama writers and a New York City artist sharing one of the most prestigious awards for children’s literature this year.
“The Cat Man of Aleppo,” written by Irene Latham and Karim Shamsi-Basha and illustrated by Yuko Shimizu, is one of four books chosen as a Caldecott Honor Book. “We are Water Protectors,” illustrated by Michaela Goade and written by Carole Lindstrom, was the Caldecott Medal winner. Each year, the American Library Association recognizes the nation’s top picture books for children with Caldecott awards.
Alabama authors win ‘the Oscar of children’s books’
Updated Feb 03, 2021;
Posted Feb 03, 2021
Karim Shamsi-Basha and Irene Latham co-wrote The Cat Man of Aleppo, a children s book that won the Caldecott Honor for 2021. (Photo courtesy of Karim Shamsi-Basha)
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Birmingham-area authors Karim Shamsi-Basha and Irene Latham recently learned that the children’s picture book they wrote together has been named a 2021 Caldecott Honor Book. “The Cat Man of Aleppo” was published in April of 2020 by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, with illustrations by Yuko Shimizu.
The book had been well received, earning five-star reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist. But then, on a Zoom call, their editor told them it was a Caldecott Honor Book – “like the Oscar of children’s books,” Karim said.
Updated: 12:18 AM CST Jan 30, 2021 WVTM 13 Digital Two Alabama authors in the race to win the 2021 Caldecott Medal, the top award in children s literature, have been recognized as honorary participants for The Cat Man of Aleppo. In the book by Blount County s Irene Latham and Birmingham s Karim Shamsi-Basha, which is based on a true story, Syrian man Mohammad Alaa Aljaleel decides to stay in his country and drive ambulances during the Syrian War. While driving ambulances, he realizes how many cats were left to fend for themselves after their families fled and decided to care for all of them. Now, Aljaleel operates a sanctuary in Syria where his group cares for hundreds of cats.In the video above, WVTM 13 s Jeff Eliasoph tells you how the Cat Man s story made it all the way to authors in Alabama.To learn more about the real-life Cat Man of Aleppo, click here!