Archive for the ‘Pura Belpre Award’ Category
Return to Sender
Alvarez, Julia. Return to Sender. Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. 324 pages. Tr. $16.99 ISBN-13 978-0-375-85838-3.
Summary
Written mostly in the form of letters to various people (including the Virgen de Guadalupe), Return to Sender is the story of a young illegal immigrant living with her father two sisters and her uncles. This tale is told in a gentle eye-opening and humanizing way about immigration and the fate of the American farm. The reader joins this story as Mari and her family have just moved to Vermont in order to work on a dairy farm. The owner of this farm is in desperate need of labor and the immigrants he hires are in desperate need of work. To add to this trying situation, Mari’s mom has been missing for over a year. Her family suspects she was kidnapped near the border and there is no way for them to contact her.
Evaluation
Return to Sender is an emotionally driven, suspenseful story. It is also unapologetically pro-immigration and Alvarez uses her considerable talents as a writer to humanize every aspect of the lives of illegal immigrants in this country. Her informed reasoning is sound and compelling, but Alvarez softens the blows of her head-on confrontation with immigration laws in the United States by telling the story from the perspective of a young girl. Also included are the insights from the farmer’s son, who struggles to understand immigration from the point of view of a family farm.
Alvarez combines English and Spanish language and traditions in such a way that each seems complimentary to each other, an idea carried throughout the story. Ages 9-12
Significance
Explaining the mixed feelings about immigration in the United States to children can be difficult. Return to Sender is an excellent vehicle to get a conversation started and to present some of the hidden difficulties in this issue that are rarely talked about.
Awards
ALA Notable Children’s Books, Older Readers 2010
Pura Belpre Award for Narrative 2010
Annotation
Hoping her missing mother will follow the trail of her letters to Vermont, 11-year-old Mari and what’s left of her family seem to be on the same path as the swallows that fly between New England and Mexico.
Links
Doña Flor: A Tall Tale About a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart
Dona Flor: A Tall Tale About a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart. Illustrated by Raul Colon. Random House Children’s Books, 2005. 40 page
s. Tr. $15.95 ISBN-13: 978-0-375-82337-4.
Genre
Picture Books, Tall Tales
Subject(s)
Giants, Hispanic Culture, Pumas
Summary
Dona Flor is a woman of gigantic proportions. She lives in a small town somewhere in the American Southwest. Dona Flor is loved by her neighbors because she lets the children use her flowers as trumpets and her leftover tortillas to build such things as rafts. The problem begins when a puma is heard howling in the countryside around their town and everyone is afraid. Even Dona Flor cannot find it. The other animals know where this puma is of course, and Dona Flor only has to follow their advice to find it.
Evaluation
A classic tall tale in its telling, the action just gets more unbelievable as Dona Flor tracks the puma. This story could also be considered a “pourquoi” story, which is a story that attempts to answer the question “why?” about a specific occurrence in Nature. Regardless of its category, Dona Flor’s exciting adventures and the surprising ending will be a treat for all readers. Ages 4-8
Significance
Author Pat Mora says that Tall Tales are a unique story structure found only in the United States. Mora uses this form beautifully to tell a fantastic story that takes place somewhere in the borderlands between the United States and Mexico.
Awards
ALA Notable Books for Children, 2006
Pura Belpe Award for Illustration, 2006
Annotation
Dona Flor is a gigantic woman with a gigantic hear. She does her best to protect her neighbors until one day when a gigantic Puma is heard in the hills.
Links
The Story Teller’s Candle
Gonzalez, Lucia M. The Story Teller’s Candle. Illustrated by Lulu Delacre. Children’s Book Press, 2008. 32 pages. Tr. $16.95 ISBN-13: 978-0-89239-222-3.
Genre
Historical Fiction, Picture Books for Children
Subject(s)
Pura Belpre, Librarians, Immigrants, the 1930’s
Summary:
Set in New York City during the Great Depression, The storyteller’s candle is a wonderful heartfelt story and an excellent ode to a larger than life librarian. This story is the tale of two children recently transplanted from Puerto Rico and experiencing their first New York Winter. They had never been inside their local branch of the public library as their mother had told them that the library was only for those who could speak English. The two children soon found out otherwise when their school was visited by a very special librarian by the name of Pura Belpre, who showed these children (and many others) that the library has a place inside for everyone in the community.
Evaluation:
The storyteller’s candle is written in both English and Spanish, making it accessible to a wide population. The text is presented in a graceful and easy to read design, regardless of which language one chooses to read it in. The text is offset by wonderful illustrations by Lulu Delacre, a frequent recipient of the Pura Belpre award. As with all of Delacre’s illustrations they are done with much artistic talent and respect for the story. Ages 4-8.
Significance:
Delacre also added to the story by carefully constructing a visual history of time and place, by using snippets of old newspapers and exactingly researched details about the clothing and lifestyle of the time. These details, along with Gonzalez’ story, which was filled with accurate details of Pura Belpre, make this not only a great story but an excellent historical lesson as well.
Awards
Jane Adams Peace Award, Nomination
Annotation:
Hildamar and Santiago walk past a tall building in Manhattan with welcoming windows everyday. Told that it is a library and that it is not for people who speak Spanish, they are surprised and delighted to find a visitor in their schoolroom who has some very different information.
Interview with Lucia M. Gonzalez
Lulu Delacre’s Website
Award Winning Books are Fun to Read 