Pura Belpre Award Books

The following new books were recently announced as winners of the Pura Belpre Awards honoring "Latino authors and illustrators whose work best portrays, affirms and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in children's books".

Award book for illustration:

Los Gatos Black on Halloween - illustrated by Yuyi Morales
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.




Honor books for illustration:

My Name Is Gabito: The Life of Gabriel Garcia Marquez - illustrated by Raul Colon
As a boy, Gabito had the ability to imagine many things. He lived in a small house with a large family. He would grow up to become a writer known as Gabriel García Márquez.

My Colors, My World - Maya Christina Gonzales
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.




Honor Author Books (we already had the award book, The Poet Slave of Cuba):

Frida: Viva la Vida! - Carmen T. Bernier-Grand
Biographical poems about the life and work of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

Martina, the Beautiful Cockroach - Carmen Agra Deedy
In this humorous retelling of a Cuban folktale, a cockroach interviews her suitors in order to decide whom to marry.

Los Gatos Black on Halloween (see above)