2019 Pura Belpré Award Winners

The Pura Belpré award is named after the first Latina (Puerto Rican) librarian at the New York Public Library. The award was established in 1996. It 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.

The Pura Belpré Award is presented annually to outstanding #ownvoices literature that best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience.
Photo Credit: Colorin Colorado

It is co-sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), REFORMA, and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking.

Ms. Belpré was a gifted storyteller and puppeteer. She celebrated the stories that had been handed down across generations of her family.  Furthermore, “Pérez and Martina,” her book published in 1932, has become a classic of children’s literature.

Pura Belpré believed in welcoming everyone to the library. She offered numerous programs and titles in Spanish. This was a revolutionary act in her neighborhood because this kind of “community outreach” was unheard of, especially to the Spanish-speaking community.

Learn more about Pura Belpré, her legacy of librarianship, and the 2019 winners of her children’s book award HERE!

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