Pura Belpré Book Awards
The award is named after Pura Belpré, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. 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.
Find these books and more online at http://catalog.coolcat.org
2013
Winner
Fifteen-year-old Ari Mendoza is an angry loner with a brother in prison, but when he meets Dante and they become friends, Ari starts to ask questions about himself, his parents, and his family that he has never asked before.
Honor Books
2012
Winner
Throughout her high school years, as her mother battles cancer, Lupita takes on more responsibility for her house and seven younger siblings, while finding refuge in acting and writing poetry. Includes glossary of Spanish terms.
2011
Winner
A fictionalized biography of the Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, who grew up a painfully shy child, ridiculed by his overbearing father, but who became one of the most widely-read poets in the world.
2010
Winner
After his family hires migrant Mexican workers to help save their Vermont farm from foreclosure, eleven-year-old Tyler befriends the oldest daughter, but when he discovers they may not be in the country legally, he realizes that real friendship knows no borders.
Honor Books
- Diego : Bigger Than Life by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand Illustrated by David Diaz
- Federico Garcia Lorca by Georgina Lazaro
2009
Winner
Cuba has fought three wars for independence, and still she is not free. This history in verse creates a lyrical portrait of Cuba.
Honor Books
- Just In Case by Yuyi Morales Illustrated by Yuyi Morales
- Reaching Out by Francisco Jimenez
- The Storyteller's Candle / La velita de los cuentos by Lucia M Gonzalez Illustrated by Lulu Delacre
2008
Winner
Juan Francisco Manzano was born in 1797 into the household of wealthy slave owners in Cuba. He spent his early years at the side of his owner's wife, entertaining her friends. His poetry was his outlet, reflecting the beauty and cruelty of his world. Written in verse.
2006
Winner
Sofia grows up in the close-knit community of the barrio in McAllen, Texas, then finds that her experiences as a scholarship student at an Episcopal boarding school in Austin only strengthen her ties to family and her "comadres."
Honor Books
- Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan
- Cesar : Si, Se Puede! Yes, We Can! by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand Illustrated by David Diaz
- Dona Flor : A Tall Tale About a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart by Pat Mora Illustrated by Raul Colon
2004
Winner
In the early 1960s in the Dominican Republic, twelve-year-old Anita learns that her family is involved in the underground movement to end the bloody rule of the dictator, General Trujillo.
2002
Winner
Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great Depression.
Honor Books
2000
Winner
The author recalls her life and impressions growing up in Cuba.
Honor Books
- From the Bellybutton of the Moon and Other Summer Poems / Del Ombligio de la Luna y Otro Poemas de Verano by Francisco Alarcon
- Laughing Out Loud, I Fly : Poems in English and Spanish by Juan F Herrera
1998
Winner
Manny relates his coming of age experiences as a member of a poor Mexican American family in which the alcoholic father only adds to everyone's struggle.
Honor Books
- Laughing Tomatoes and Other Spring Poems / Jitomates Risuenos y otros poemas de primavera by Francisco Alarcon
- Spirits of the High Mesa by Floyd Martinez
1996
Winner
Twelve stories about young people caught between their Puerto Rican heritage and their American surroundings.
