Ms. Escamilla’s Annotated Bibliographies: Pura Belpré Award

Delacre, Lulu. (2004). ARRORRÓ, MINIÑO: LATINO LULLABIES AND GENTLE GAMES. Lee & Low Books, Inc. ISBN 9781584301592

2006 Pura Belpré Honor Book for Illustration

There is a special bond between a mother and her child, and moments are even more extraordinary when a sweet song is sung while simply just being there together. This book provides a collection of many lullabies and games people in the Hispanic heritage might recognize. Both Spanish and English translations are written to better share with a more diverse group of readers. The illustrations represent happy and content mothers with their children either held in their hands or sitting right beside them. This is what true love looks like. A perfect read to carry on traditions, especially at bed time!

Engle, Maragarita. (2015). DRUM DREAM GIRL. Ill. by Ráfael López. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780544102293

2016 Pura Belpré Medal Winner for Illustration

Inspired by a time when Cuba only allowed males to be drummers, this stimulating picture book is about a young girl who constantly dreamed of making her own drumbeats. She was aware of the gender discrimination on her island, so she had to always imagine herself making music and all the joyous adventures that would come from it. Realizing how passionate she was about the drums, her father finally decided to see if his daughter was worth breaking the stereotype. She did just this, creating history for the rest of the females who longed to create beautiful music. Rich cultural heritage is also seen through the vivacious illustrations, adding diversity to the needs of the music world.

González, Xelena. (2017). ALL AROUND US. Ill. by Adriana M. Garcia. El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos Press. ISBN 9781941026762

2018 Pura Belpré Honor Book for Illustration

We may not realize it, but circles are all around us. In this book, a young girl’s grandfather points out how many things we observe every day (i.e. the sun, our eyes, etc.) are extremely beautiful. Then he compares life to circles, sharing with his granddaughter that even life itself is just one huge and continuous circle. Even when we pass away, our ashes can be buried andcreate another life for something new. The author and illustrator successfully collaborated with the “circle” theme while incorporating arched texts and colorful digital paintings that highlight the beliefs of birth and death rituals for several cultures.

Medina, Juana. (2016). JUANA & LUCAS. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763672089

2017 Pura Belpré Medal Winner for Narrative

Juana loves her city, her dog, Astroman, reading, and so much more! However, she is not a big fan of everything happening in school, especially the fact that she is required to learn how to speak the English language while there. Juana at first protests this, for she believes that hernative language of Spanish is perfect and the only thing she will need to communicate in life. Juana soon realizes that there are many places outside of Colombia that she will hopefully have an opportunity to visit one day (i.e. Spaceland); therefore, maybe learning English won’t be abad thing after all. She’ll maybe even grow to like it! Medina’s narration and illustrations help readers recognize that Juana is proud of her current identity, but she needs to explore other opportunities to grow herself.

Morales, Yuyi. (2013). NIÑO WRESTLES THE WORLD. New York, NY: Roaring Brook Press. ISBN 9781596436046

2014 Pura Belpré Medal Winner for Illustration

A popular form of professional wrestling within Spanish-speaking countries is called lucha libre. Niño, the young protagonist, imagines that he is one of these talented wrestlers and uses his childlike wits and objects to defeat his opponents (i.e. a puzzle to confuse the Olmec Head). There is no match for him, for he always figures out a way to be the champion! That is until he has to go against his baby sisters, in which he needs to come up with a new strategy quickly! Yuyi Morales embraces imagination within this text with Spanish vocabulary, onomatopoeia, and comic-like art.

Morales, Yuyi. (2014). VIVA FRIDA. New York, NY: Roaring Brook Press. ISBN 9781596436039

2015 Pura Belpré Medal Winner for Illustration

When people view Frida Kahlo’s paintings, curiosity arises. What do her paintings mean and represent? Who exactly is this artist and what is she all about? It is obvious that Kahlo was different when it came to her physical appearance and “weird” thoughts, but she was truly onebeautiful human being. Yuyi Morales captures Kahlo’s beauty in various self-awareness phrases and even more beautiful art to represent the legacy. Her story shows that Kahlo understood herdifferences, but instead of pointing them out as flaws, she simply embraced them. Readers will be in awe with the stop-motion puppets/dolls, photography, and life-like paintings, for they are excellent portrayals to the Mexican culture, in which Kahlo also did with her own art.

Middleton Elya, Susan. (2014). LITTLE ROJA RIDING HOOD. Ill. by Susan Guevara. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. ISBN 9780399247675

2015 Pura Belpré Honor Book for Illustration

A variant based off the beloved fairytale, Little Roja Riding Hood is modern and very responsive to the Hispanic culture. Roja’s grandmother is sick and needs sopa for her tos, so Roja needs to go deliver her some. Along the way in the forest, Roja bumps into a “Cholo” wolf, who distracts her from her trip for a bit and runs to her grandmother’s house to get there first. We all know that the wolf disguises him as the young girl, but there’s a twist. Abuela sees past his foolishness and fights back with fierceness! The colorful illustrations are so culturally relatable and humorous, which will definitely be a hit with young readers! There are a few words within the text that are in Spanish, but all readers are able to follow along with the amazing glossary at the beginning of the book.

Rivera-Ashford, Roni Capin. (2015). MY TATA’S REMEDIES / LOS REMEDIOS DE MI TATA. Ill. by Antonio Castro L. El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos Press. ISBN 9781935955917

2016Pura Belpré Honor Book for Illustration

Tata Gus is well-known for his various herbal and at-home remedies, that’s why everybody always goes to him when they are sick and/or hurt. His grandson, Aaron is so fascinated with them that he decides to be Tata’s “student” and learn and assist his grandfather when it comes to healing others. The author and illustrator portray Tata as the loving grandfather who is excited to have his grandson on board, which allows the reader to see how different generations interact and pass/receive traditions from one another. Many native cultures follow the remedies Tata performs in the book, and many diverse readers will most likely be able to recognize them as the story’s plot progresses. This bilingual book is an excellent read for families who embrace quality time together.

Tonatiuh, Duncan. (2014). SEPARATE IS NEVER EQUAL: SYLVIA MENDEZ & HER FAMILY’S FIGHT FOR DESEGREGATION. New York, NY: Abrams Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9781419710544

2015 Pura Belpré Honor Book for Illustration

Many people are familiar with Brown v.Board of Educationand how it desegregated schools in the country. However, many people have not heard of the victory of the Mendez v.Westminster School District case, which happened seven years before that. It was 1944 when Sylvia and her brothers were trying to enroll in the nearest public school, but they were denied enrollment because they were Mexican and had to attend the “Mexican school”. This injustice left Sylvia and her brothers stuck with a school with poor education and learning conditions. Her father was not going to let this slide and witness his children suffer, so for a very long time, he fought for their rights by getting signatures for petitions, filing a lawsuit, and gathering support from even other cultures who were mistreated in the school system. Tonatiuh’s characters of Mendez’s family are illustrated as dark brown comparing to the other children and staff members of the Westminster school, for this was an effort to show that their skin colors were the only qualities that were different and that they were equal to one another in many other numerous ways.

Tonatiuh, Duncan. (2016). THE PRINCESSAND THE WARRIOR: A TALE OF TWOVOLCANOES. New York, NY: Abrams Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9781419721304

2017 Pura Belpré Honor Book for Illustration

There are two volcanoes near Mexico City, and there is a legend about how they were formed. In Tonatiuh’s picture book, the setting is set back in Aztec times. A princess falls in love with a warrior, a man who goes away to fight in a war in order to protect his own and also prove hislove for her. To threaten the love, the enemy of the warrior sends a fake messenger to the princess to lie and claim that the warrior had been killed. She was also tricked into drinking a potion, causing her to fall into a deep sleep. The warrior soon returns home and stays by her side,hoping she will eventually wake up. It is believed that since the warrior and the princess were out in the snow and did not move, they transformed into the well-known volcanoes over time. Tonatiuh’s illustrations are culturally beautiful and portray the message of honoring and keepingpromises.