Awards List: Pura Belpre Winners and Honors

Pura Belpre Award

The Pura Belpre Award 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 Tequila Worm

Canales, V. (2005). The tequila worm. Wendy Lamb Books.

Young Sofia grows up in McAllen Texas thirsting for more than what her world offers. She is raised by her parens and many other important people in her town that teach her the importance of family and heritage. While she clings to these ideals, she also wants to learn more and have adventures which are not offered in her town. The part of this book which really resonated with me is when Sofia had to be the one to tell her father to let go and pass. That he indeed was holding on for her. My father did the same thing when I was pregnant with my first child. My father was diagnosed with cancer and did not tell me to spare me the worry. He held on long enough to see a picture of his grandson and talk to me on the phone to ensure my son and I were both healthy. Then, he like Sofia's dad let go but left a huge hole in my heart.

Viola Canales is an American writer, professor, and former attorney. Some other notable works from Viola Canales are Orange Candy Slices and Other Secret Tales and The Little Devil and The Little Rose.

Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreno Played the Piano for President Lincoln

Engle, M. (2019). Dancing hands: how Teresa Carreno played the piano for President Lincoln. Athenium Book for Young Readers.

The story of young Teresa who learned to play piano from her father. The family has to leave their country and start over in America. Through her ability to play piano Teresa becomes well known and gets invited to play for the President. The book has glorious illustrations that are both light and dark, which is a theme which runs throughout the story. This would be a great mentor text for teaching similes because they are found throughout the book. 

Magic Windows/Ventanas Magicas

Garza, C.L. (2003). Magic windows/ventanas magicas. Children’s Book Press.

The introduction of this text explains the cut-paper art in Mexico. The story is told in English and Spanish and shows cut out the author has created and explained what they are and how they are made. Each cutout shares part of Carmen Lomas Garza's family heritage with stories and her Mexican culture.

Carmen Lomas Garza is a Chicana narrative artist who is also responsible for In My Family and Family Pictures.

The Bossy Gallito

Gonzalez, L.M. (1994). The Bossy Gallito. Scholastic.

The Bossy Gallito is based on a traditional Cuban folktale. The words are in English and Spanish. The story details Rooster who is on his way to his uncle's wedding and against his better judgement eats corn he found in mud. Rooster gets his beard dirty and looks for help to get it clean in order to go to the wedding. He stops to tell grass to clean him, but grass says no and as he continues his requests for help are denied. One friend finally said yes, the Sun. Then everyone asked before who replied no change their answers to yes and Rooster is cleaned and ready for the wedding. The end of the book has a glossary, about story information, about illustrations, the cast, the setting, and tradition and culture are explained. This would be a great mentor text for personification.

Lucia Gonzalez is an American author and librarian. Check out some of her other works like The Storyteller's Candle and Senor Cat's Romance.

Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez

Krull, K. (2003). Harvesting hope: the story of Cesar Chavez. Harcourt.

Harvesting Hope is full of beautiful flowing illustrations. It details the childhood of Cesar Chavez and his family losing their ranch in Arizona and relocating to California as farm workers. His mother had always taught him to use his mind and mouth to solve problems and his put this practice in action when he joined groups who wanted fair wages and treatment for farm workers. He ended up leading a peaceful protest from Delano to Sacramento and signed the first contract for farm workers. The author's note give a lot of more detailed information concerning farm workers and earning rights for them.

Kathleen Krull was a children's book author and former editor. Her other works may include Wilma Unlimited and Lives of Extraordinary Women.

Los Gatos Black on Halloween

Montes, M. (2016). Los gatos black on Halloween. Henry Holt and Company, New York. 

The glossary of Spanish words as well as the publication information are found on the last page of this book. The book is comprised of 4 line rhyming stanzas on each page. The stanzas put together a story of witches, skeletons, ghosts, a wolfman, and others gathering at a haunted house to celebrate Halloween. The party is broken up by knocks on the door by children out trick-or-treating. The story is told in English with Spanish words peppered throughout. The illustrations are detailed and use very dark colors.

Marisa Montes' other works include Juan Bobo Goes to Work and A Circle of Time.

Gracias/Thanks

Mora, P. (2005). Gracias/thanks. Lee & Low Books.

The story is told in Spanish and English. There are bright, vivid illustrations with much detail in each illustration. The story is a little boy who takes the time to give thanks for small non-material things in life like the sung, bugs, and waves. This would be a great mentor text for a lesson on being thankful for non-material things or a great topic for a class book.

Pat Mora is an American poet and author who is responsible for other titles like My Singing Nana and A Library for Juana.

Esperanza Rising

Ryan, P.M. (2000). Esperanza rising. Scholastic, Inc.

The story of young Esperanza leaving her privileged life in Mexico to come to America for a new life. Esperanza has to grow up quickly by taking care of others and herself. She works in the fields picking foods and making very little money while her mother recovers from a long illness in the hospital. She matures in so many ways when she is forced to do things she has never done before. I appreciate this story did not flow into a love story to make her a complete person, but her strength and firendships helped her grow.

Pam Munoz Ryan is an American writer with a focus in the multicultural genre. Riding Freedom and Echo are other notable titles from Pam Munoz Ryan.

Chato's Kitchen

Soto, G. (1997). Chato’s kitchen. Puffin Books.

This book has very fluid, almost poetic writing. The writing shows the reader what happens, it does not tell. Full of large colorful illustrations, Chato's Kitchen is a story of a cat who prepares a dinner for his newest neighbors, mice. A large menacing dog ends up bringing the mice to dinner, so in the end all of the guests end up eating the food they've made and not each other. The book starts with a glossary and Chato's Menu. This would be a great mentor text for a lesson on word choice.

Gary Soto is an American author, poet, novelist, and memoirist. Other titles by Gary Soto are Buried Onions and The Skirt.

Grandma's Gift

Velasquez, E. Grandma's gift. (2010). Walker Publishing Company, Inc., a division of Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc. 

A young boy spends the winter break from school in El Barrio with his Puerto Rican grandmother. The story is peppered with Spanish because grandma on speaks Spanish. She knows all the best places to buy what they need to make pastales. He and his grandmother travel to the museum to see a special display his teacher had assigned as homework. This would be a great mentor text for recipes or any Spanish vocabulary classes. There is an author's note discussing the portrait the boy and his grandmother had seen at the museum by Diego Valezquez, as well as a small glossary. 

Eric Valesquez was born in Spanish Harlem to Afro-Puerto Rican parens. Other titles by Eric Valesquez are Looking for Bongo and A Thirst for Home.