Pura Belpre Award

The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. It is co-sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), and the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking (REFORMA), an ALA affiliate.

The award is named after Pura Belpré, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. As a children's librarian, storyteller, and author, she enriched the lives of Puerto Rican children in the U.S.A. through her pioneering work of preserving and disseminating Puerto Rican folklore.

It is now an annual award.  It was a biennial award from its inaugural year in 1996 through 2008. 

Administered by:

Author Award

2013 Winner(s)

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

written by Benjamin Alire Sáenz,published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

2013 Honor(s)

The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano

by Sonia Manzano, published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.

Illustrator Award

2013 Winner(s)

Martín de Porres: The Rose in the Desert

illustrated by David Diaz, written by Gary D. Schmidt and published by Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company