Review: Pura Belpré

 Have you heard of the ALA Pura Belpré Award?

It's an award given to Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature.

And it's because of this woman here:

Pura Belpré grew up in Puerto Rico but came to the US for her sister's wedding. She never left. Instead, she found a job at a library where the head librarian was starting to admit children into the library. She wanted someone to engage them. 

Pura Belpré was a natural storyteller; she was very engaging. She spoke Spanish and brought cultural stories to a storytime. She created puppets to help elevate the storytime. She was a pioneer in the field of Librarianship. She wrote her own stories and wrote English versions of the Puerto Rician tales. 

My Thoughts: I've read a couple picture books biography about this amazing woman, but this book highlighted much more about her life. I loved learning about her. 

Library Recommendation: A must have book for your school and public library's collection

Series Spotlight: She Persisted

She Persisted

I've read several of these books. I just finished:

And it was super good. Of course, I've heard of Maria Tallchief, but besides being awesome at dancing, I didn't know much. And I know a lot more. I know when she fell in love with ballet, how she went to New York City by herself, and how her sister was also a talented dance. I learned how she valued her Osage heritage, how she was the first American ballet dancer on many world stages, and that ballets were written just for her. 

Talk about inspiring! 

Every time I read a She Persisted book, I feel inspired by these women and their stories. I love their big dreams, their determination, and of course their persistence. These books are perfectly wonderful, perfectly feminist, and perfectly fun to read while learning about amazing women.

I'm so happy that more are being published. I have a few to catch up on. But I have so enjoyed the ones that I've read.

Library Recommendation: Must have books for your school and public libraries