Pura Belpré Book Awards

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.

For more information see: The Pura Belpré Book Awards


2023 Author & Illustrator Award Winners



Frizzy

Claribel Ortega / Rose Bousamra

| 2023 Children's Author Award


Burn Down, Rise Up

Vincent Tirado

| 2023 Young Adult Author Award

Where Wonder Grows

Adriana M. Garcia, Xelena González|  2023 Youth Illustration Award

2022 Author & Illustrator Award Winners


¡Vamos! Let's Cross the Bridge

Raúl Gonzalez​​​​​​​ |  2022 Youth Illustration Award

Past Author & Illustrator Award Winners



Efrén Divided

Ernesto Cisneros

| 2021 Children's Author Award


Furia

Yamile Saied Méndez

| 2021 Young Adult Author Award

¡Vamos! Let’s Go Eat

Raúl Gonzalez​​​​​​​ |  2021 Youth Illustration Award

Kids & Teens