The Pura Belpre Award is given each year to the author(s) and illustrator(s) whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience. There may also be one or more Honor books named. It was named after the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library, and was established in 1996.
Learn more about the Pura Belpre Award.
The titles in each section below are arranged in reverse chronological order (newest to oldest). Note that the year a book is awarded is one year after the publication date. For example, a book that came out in 2018 would be the 2019 winner.
Author: Susan Middleton Elya; Juana Martinez-Neal (Illustrator)
Published: 2017
Location: Bethlehem & Monroe
"A rhyming twist on a classic fairy tale in which a queen places a pea under a young lady's mattress to see if she is truly a princess. Incorporates Spanish words and includes a glossary"--Publisher's description.
Author: Juana Medina (Illustrator)
Published: 2016
Location: Bethlehem
"A spunky young girl from Colombia loves playing with her canine best friend and resists boring school activities, especially learning English, until her family tells her that a special trip is planned to an English-speaking place"--Publisher's description.
Author: Campbell Geeslin; Ana Juan (Illustrator)
Published: 2015
Location: Bethlehem & Monroe
"This story follows a girl in the 1920s as she strives to become a drummer, despite being continually reminded that only boys play the drums, and that there has never been a female drummer in Cuba. The book includes notes about Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, who inspired the story, and 'Anacaona,' the all-girl dance band she formed with her sisters"--Publisher's description.
Author: Meg Medina; Anglea Dominguez (Illustrator)
Published: 2015
Location: Bethlehem & Monroe
"Mia's abuela has left her sunny house with parrots and palm trees to live with Mia and her parents in the city. Mia helps Abuela learn English, and Mia learns some Spanish too, but it's still hard to understand each other. Then Mia sees a parrot in the pet-shop window and has the perfecto idea for how to help them all communicate a little better"--Publisher's description.
Author: Susan Middleton Elya; Susan Guevara (Illustrator)
Published: 2014
Location: Bethlehem & Monroe
"A rhyming twist on the classic fairy tale in which a little girl saves her grandmother from a wolf. Includes glossary of Spanish words"--Publisher's description.
Author: Yuyi Morales (Illustrator); Tim O'Meara (Illustrator)
Published: 2014
Location: Bethlehem & Monroe
"With spare text and vibrant illustrations, this book examines Frida Kahlo's creative process"--Publisher's description. In English and Spanish.
Author: Roseanne Greenfield Thong; John Parra (Illustrator)
Year Published: 2014
Location: Bethlehem & Monroe
"A little girl discovers all the bright colors in her Hispanic American neighborhood"--Publisher's description.
Author: Duncan Tonatiuh
Published: 2013
Location: Bethlehem & Monroe
"When Papa Rabbit does not return home as expected from many seasons of working in the great carrot and lettuce fields of El Norte, his son Pancho sets out on a dangerous trek to find him, guided by a coyote"--Publisher's description.
Author: Monica Brown; Sara Palacios (Illustrator)
Published: 2013
Location: Bethlehem
"A creative, unique, bilingual Peruvian Scottish-American-soccer-playing artist celebrates her uniqueness."--Publisher's description. Parallel English and Spanish text.
Author: Angela Dominguez
Published: 2013
Location: Bethlehem & Monroe
Text in English and Spanish.
"In this bilingual version of the classic rhyme, set in Peru, Maria takes her llama to school one day"--Publisher's description.
Author: Eric Velasquez
Published: 2010
Location: Bethlehem
"Eric and Grandma visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a school project, where he sees a painting by Diego Velasquez and realizes for the first time that he could be an artist when he grows up. Grandma presents Eric with the perfect Christmas gift: a sketchbook and colored pencils to use in his first steps toward becoming an artist. Text in English and Spanish"--Publisher's description.
Author: Carmen Agra Deedy; Michael Austin (Illustrator)
Published: 2007
Location: Bethlehem
"In this humorous retelling of a Cuban folktale, a cockroach interviews her suitors in order to decide whom to marry"--Publisher's description.
Author: Marisa Montes; Yuyi Morales (Illustrator)
Published: 2006
Location: Bethlehem & Monroe
"Easy-to-read, rhyming text about Halloween night incorporates Spanish words, from las brujas riding their broomsticks to los monstruos, whose monstrous ball is interrupted by a true horror"--Publisher's description.
Author: Maya Christina Gonzalez
Published: 2007
Location: Bethlehem & Monroe
"Maya, who lives in the dusty desert, opens her eyes wide to find the colors in her world, from Papi's black hair and Mami's orange and purple flowers, to Maya's red swing set and the fiery pink sunset"--Publisher's description.
Author: Carmen T. Bernier-Grand; David Diaz (Illustrator)
Published: 2004
Location: Bethlehem
Born in 1927 in Yuma, Arizona, César Chavez lived the hard-scrabble life of a migrant worker during the Depression. He grew to be a charismatic leader and founded the National Farm Workers Association.
Author: Nancy Andrews-Goebel
Published: 2002
Location: Bethlehem
"A cumulative rhyme summarizes the life's work of renowned Mexican potter, Juan Quezada. Additional information describes the process he uses to create his pots after the style of the Casas Grandes people"--Publisher's description.
Author: Marisa Montes; Joe Cepeda (Illustrator)
Published: 2000
Location: Bethlehem
"Although he tries to do exactly as his mother tells him, foolish Juan Bobo keeps getting things all wrong"--Publisher's description.
Author: Carmen Lomas Garza; David Schecter (Editor); Harriet Rohmer (Editor); Francisco X. Alarcón (Translator)
Published: 1996
Location: Bethlehem
"The author describes, in bilingual text and illustrations, her experiences growing up in an Hispanic community in Texas."--Publisher's description.