Pura Belpré Award

Pura Belpré 25th Anniversary

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Join REFORMA, ALSC, and YALSA this summer as we celebrate 25 years of the Pura Belpré Award. Hear from the 2021 award recipients, as well as past recipients over the last quarter of a century.

Pura Belpré Award 25th Anniversary Celebración
Sunday, June 27, 2021
1:00 PM – 2:30 PM CT
Event Program / Schedule (PDF)

 

Celebrate with Us

Seeking to promote Pura Belpré’s legacy and the books awarded in her honor throughout the years:

In 2021, we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Pura Belpré Award and we—REFORMA, ALSC, and YALSA, the award’s sponsors—are looking for the support of the ALA membership and others from our community of librarians, publishers, and professionals from the publishing industry in the USA. Please join us to celebrate, commemorate, and preserve the pioneering work of Puerto Rican librarian, author, and storyteller Pura Belpré.

For the last 25 years, the Pura Belpré Award has been promoting outstanding works of Latinx children’s literature among and beyond ALA members because publishers and librarians serve a larger community of patrons who need to see their stories in children’s books. The Pura Belpré Award allows Latinx children to see themselves represented, and for all children to see Latinx protagonists in their books. 

Part of Pura Belpré’s legacy was her willingness to create awareness for Latinx children and to open the doors of public libraries con libros en español and storytelling in the Spanish language. Her example led us to create the Pura Belpré Award to celebrate Latinx and Hispanic authors who reside in the United States.
 

the horn book special issue

Now at the door of the 25th anniversary of the Pura Belpré Award, we want to honor her memory with a community project in the East Harlem neighborhood, the same neighborhood where Pura Belpré lived and worked. In collaboration with REFORMA, ALSC, YALSA, the East Harlem Community Partnership, and the New York Public Library, we are hosting a book donation event for 100 families in East Harlem, during which they will receive a commemorative tote bag with Belpré Award winning books, a gift card per family, a copy of the Horn Book Magazine’s special issue devoted to the Pura Belpré Award, and information about the New York Public Library’s summer reading program. This community event in Pura Belpré’s honor will take place on June 3, 2021. Please check back for more details.

The special issue of the Horn Book Magazine about the 25th anniversary of the Pura Belpré Award was released at the end of April 2021.This issue represents a great opportunity to read more about Pura Belpré, the creation of the award, and what winning the Pura Belpré Award has meant to numerous Latinx and Hispanic authors and illustrators.

Support Our Community Project

Pura Belpre
New York Public Library

In honor of the 25th anniversary of the Pura Belpré Award, we are celebrating the legacy of librarian, author, and storyteller Pura Belpré through a book-themed community event in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York City, where Pura Belpré lived and worked. This community has been hit hard by COVID-19, and we want to comfort and inspire the neighborhood’s children through the gift of Pura Belpré Award winning books, share the story of Pura Belpré and her impact on their community, and provide resources to their families. This book-related event will take place on June 3, 2021, with the help and support of REFORMA, ALSC, YALSA, the East Harlem Community Partnership, the New York Public Library, the Horn Book Magazine, and YOU.
 
Please make a donation to help support this event in honor of Pura Belpré and the 25th anniversary of the Pura Belpré Award. Any donations not used for the June 3 event will support the Pura Belpré Celebración endowment.
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Pura Belpré