Teachers who work with English as a Second Language learners will find ESL/ESOL/ELL/EFL reading/writing skill-building children's books, stories, activities, ideas, strategies to help PreK-3, 4-8, and 9-12 students learn to read.
Pura Belpré: Her Life and Legacy
Pura Belpré was the first Puerto Rican librarian to be hired by the New York Public Library system. A gifted storyteller and puppeteer, she celebrated the stories that had been handed down across generations of her family, and her story "Pérez and Martina," which she published in 1932, has become a classic of children's literature.
Pura Belpré also believed in welcoming everyone to the library, offering numerous programs and titles in Spanish to her neighbors at a time when such "community outreach" — especially to the Spanish-speaking community — was unheard of.
Learn more about Pura Belpré, her legacy of librarianship, and the children's book award in her honor from the following resources!
About Pura Belpré
The Storyteller's Candle / La velita de los cuentos
By: Lucía González
Illustrated by: Lulu Delacre
This is the story of librarian Pura Belpré, told through the eyes of two young children who are introduced to the library and its treasures just before Christmas. Lulu Delacre's lovely illustrations evoke New York City at the time of the Great Depression, as well as the close-knit and vibrant Puerto Rican community that was thriving in El Barrio during this time. Bilingual text.
Interviews with Lucía González & Lulu Delacre
Learn more about Pura Belpré from the author and illustrator of The Storyteller's Candle Lucía González and Lulu Delacre!
The full interviews with Lucía and Lulu are available in our Meet the Authors section.
The Pura Belpré Book Award
Celebrating Latino Cultural Experiences
The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.
It is co-sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), and REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking, an ALA affiliate.
A list of Previous winners of Pura Belpre Award is availabe on the ALSC website.
2012 Pura Belpré Award Winners
The winners of the 2012 Pura Belpré Award were recently announced by the Association for Library Services to Children and REFORMA. Congratulations to all of the authors and illustrators — some of whom are featured in our Meet the Author section!
2012 Pura Belpré Author Award
Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
Told in verse sprinkled with Spanish terms (a glossary is included), this story of Lupita's high school years details her increasing responsibility within her large Mexican American family after Mami is diagnosed with cancer. Caring for seven younger siblings, keeping up with schoolwork and her drama roles, and staying connected with her classmates and friends while the worries gnaw at her take their toll, but she is strong.
There are also moments of intense vulnerability. As high school graduation nears, Lupita sees that her mother may not be there for it: "Suddenly I realize / how much I can't control, how much / I am not promised." The close-knit family relationships, especially Mami and Lupita's, are vividly portrayed, as is the healing comfort Lupita finds in words, whether written in her notebooks or performed onstage. — Booklist
2012 Pura Belpré Illustrator Award
Diego Rivera: His World and Ours by Duncan Tonatiuh
Duncan Tonatiuh introduces young readers to muralist Diego Rivera and his many sources of inspiration, such as the Cubism movement that he discovered in Paris, the ruins of ancient Mexican civilizations, and the daily lives of the Mexican people.
He concludes by asking what Diego Rivera would paint today — the way we live and play? Luchadores in their colorful costumes? Creatures from outer space? These intriguing reflections are brought to life by Tonatiuh's compelling, playful illustrations which evoke some of Diego's best known scenes and murals. 2012 Pura Belpré Illustrator Award.
Author Honor Books
- Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck by Margarita Engle
- Maximilian and the Mystery of the Guardian Angel: A Bilingual Lucha Libre Thriller by Xavier Garza
Author Illustrator Books
- The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred, by Samantha R. Vamos and illustrated by Rafael López
- Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match /Marisol McDonald no combina, by Monica Brown and illustrated by Sara Palacios
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