• Teachers will be able to select culturally appropriate books from the Pura Belpré Award list to build classroom libraries rich in the Latino cultural experience as well as books to share during read aloud with students.

• Pura Belpré Award began in 1996 to acknowledge "Latino/Latina writers and illustrators representing the Latino cultural experience in literature for children and young adults" (Botelho & Rudman, 2009).
• She was the first Latina librarian of the New York City Library.
• Was also an author and a storyteller.
• She enjoyed telling Puerto Rican folklore to children in the United States.
• She was a pioneer in multicultural literature and one of the first to express the need for diversity with children's literature (Sanchez-Gonzalez, 2015).
  

• Represent students in all Latino cultures
• Provide authentic multicutural literature
• Students will feel represented in the books we share with them
• Book winners are a true representation of our students
• Students can make connections with what they read

• Vast number of books
• Some books are for all ages
• Some for young adults
• Books are versitile
• Poetry books also win awards!

Clipart: Google Images

2004 Illustrator Honor

by Kathleen Krull and Yuyi Morales

The Story of Cesar Chavez, one of America's greatest Civil Rights leaders, lead a peaceful protest to help improve the lives of migrant farm workers.

2015 Illustrator Honor

By Duncan Tonatiuh

The story of the Mendez family going up against the Westminster school district to earn their right to attend the school closer to their home and not the "Mexican School".

2016 Illustrator Honor

By Margarita Engle and Rafael Lopez

The story of a girl of Chinese-African Cuban decent wants to play the drums, but girls don't play drums, until now.

2015 Author Honor

By Juan Felipe Herrera and Raul Colon

This book contains various mini-biographies about Hispanic American heroes. Some included are Ellen Ochoa, Dolores Huerta, and Desi Arnaz, to name a few. All persons included have had a positive impact on society.

2014 Author and Illustrator Honor

By Duncan Tonatiuh

A story about a rabbit who sets off to find his father after he doesn't return from working the carrot and lettuce fields. Along the way he meets coyote and they eat and talk but soon the food is gone and coyote has a palate for rabbit.

2006 Author Honor and Illustrator Winner

By Pat Mora and Raul Colon

A tall tale about Flor, a giant woman in the Southwest who is helpful to the people in her village. After a strong wind blows in and Flor goes to the highest mesa to try and save her friends in the village

2006 Author Honor

By Pam Munoz Ryan

A story about a girl from an Anglo-Mexican background, deals with daily troubles at school, questions who she is. Her mother comes back after being absent for 6 years and tries to take her away from the life she knows. She searches for her father in Mexico and finds the answers to things she always questioned.

2013 Author Honor

By Sonia Manzano

The story of a girl living in Spanish Harlem when protests erupt. How does Evelyn feel about all this? And then there's' her grandmother who has a sassy attitude, just arrived from Puerto Rico. Why are there protests?

2010 Author Winner

By Julia Alvarez

A story about a boy Tyler, living on a Vermont farm, whose father is injured and is forced to hire farm workers from Mexico. He isn't sure of their legal status and is constantly butting heads with the eldest daughter of the workers, Mari. She is proud of being Mexican but they must learn to be friends.

2011 Author Honor

By Enrique Flores-Galbis

A story about Julian who leaves Cuba with he parents and siblings for a better life in Miami. He and his brothers must survive living in a whole new world where not everyone is welcoming them with open arms.

2002 Author Honor

By Francisco Jimenez

At the age of 14 Francisco and his family is deported and they travel back to California and attempt to keep their family together. They face prejudice, poverty, and long hours of labor. Despite, the family keeps their hope of a better life alive.

2017 Author Honor

By Alexandra Diaz

A story about Jaime, a 12 year old boy making a journey from Guatemala to the United States in search of a better life. After the death of his cousin, by the hands of a gang, Jaime must leave his native country because if he doesn't join this gang, he is good as dead.

1998 Author Honor

By Francisco X. Alarcon and Maya Christina Gonzalez

Playing tribute to the children who work the fields, Alarcon does a marvelous job at humorously putting these poems about life together.

2000 Author Honor

By Juan Felipe Herrera

A poetry book in English and Spanish about growing up in the jumbled world of two cultures, Mexican - American.

Please meet with fellow teachers to discuss success stories about the books used from the Pura Belpré Award list. Teachers can share books and make suggestions. What worked, what didn't work so well.

Email: bjurado@irvingisd.net
Website: http://msjuradosclass.weebly.com/
Location: ASJ Library
Phone: 972-600-7700
Twitter: @msjuradosclass

Bui, Y. N., & Fagan, Y. M. (2013). The Effects of an Integrated Reading Comprehension Strategy: A Culturally Responsive Teaching Approach for Fifth-Grade Students’ Reading Comprehension. Preventing School Failure, 57(2), 59-69.

C. (2012, May 14). Pura Belpré, A Storyteller (Trailer). Retrieved February 13, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=375vw6lS4-Y

Jiménez-García, M. (2014). Pura Belpré Lights the Storyteller's Candle: Reframing the Legacy of a Legend and What it Means for the Fields of Latino/a Studies and Children's Literature. Centro Journal, 26(1), 110-147.

Morrell, E., & Morrell, J. (2012). Multicultural readings of multicultural literature and the promotion of social awareness in ELA classrooms. New England Reading Association Journal, 47(2), 10-16,81. Retrieved from https://login.ezproxy.uta.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.uta.edu/docview/940889714?accountid=7117

Sanchez-Gonzalez, L. (2015). The stories I read to the children: The life and writing of pura belpre, the legendary storyteller, children's author and new york public librarian by lisa sanchez-gonzalez. Latino Studies, 13(1), 137-139. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.uta.edu/10.1057/lst.2014.67