# Pura Belpré Award

The Pura Belpré Award is a recognition presented to a Latino or Latina author and illustrator whose work best portrays the Latino cultural experience in a work of literature for children or youth. It was established in 1996. It was given every other year since 1996 until 2009 when it was changed to be given annually.
The award is named in honor of Pura Belpré, the first Latina librarian from the New York Public Library. As a children's librarian, storyteller, and author, she enriched the lives of Latino children through her pioneering work of preserving and disseminating Puerto Rican folklore.
The award is given 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).

## Criteria

From 1996 to 2020, two medals were awarded at ALA's annual conference, one to a Latinx author and one to a Latinx illustrator, for creating outstanding original children's (age 0-14) books that portray, affirm, and celebrate the Latinx cultural experience. Beginning in 2021, the author category was divided into two: one for a children's author and one for a young adult author. For the purpose of the award, "Latinx" is defined as people whose heritage emanates from any of the Spanish-speaking cultures of the Western Hemisphere.
To be eligible for the award, book must meet the following criteria:
* Published in the United States
* Author/illustrator is a resident or citizen of the United States
* Published in Spanish, English, or both
Books are judged individually, not based on the author/illustrator's body of work nor whether the author/illustrator has previously received the award. Honor books may be named, but if suitable candidates are not found, the awards will not be presented in that year. One person may be selected to receive the awards in both categories.

## Recipients

Pura Belpré Medal winners and honors :
| Year | Category | Recipient | Title | Result |
| 1996 | author | Judith Ortiz Cofer | An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio | Winner |
| 1996 | author | Lucía M. González | El Gallo de Bodas: A Traditional Cuban Folktale | Honor |
| 1996 | author | Gary Soto | Baseball in April, and Other Stories | Honor |
| 1996 | illustrator | Susan Guevara | Chato's Kitchen | Winner |
| 1996 | illustrator | George Ancona | Pablo Remembers: The Fiesta of the Day of the Dead | Honor |
| 1996 | illustrator | Lulu Delacre | El Gallo de Bodas: A Traditional Cuban Folktale | Honor |
| 1996 | illustrator | Carmen Lomas Garza | Cuadros de Familia | Honor |
| 1998 | author | Victor Martinez | Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida | Winner |
| 1998 | author | Floyd Martinez | Spirits of the High Mesa | Honor |
| 1998 | author | Francisco X. Alarcón | Jitomates Risueños y otros poemas de primavera | Honor |
| 1998 | illustrator | Stephanie Garcia | Snapshots from the Wedding | Winner |
| 1998 | illustrator | Carmen Lomas Garza | En mi familia | Honor |
| 1998 | illustrator | Enrique O. Sánchez | The Golden Flower: a Taino Myth from Puerto Rico | Honor |
| 1998 | illustrator | Simón Silva | Gathering the Sun: an Alphabet in Spanish and English | Honor |
| 2000 | author | Alma Flor Ada | Under the Royal Palms: A Childhood in Cuba | Winner |
| 2000 | author | Francisco X. Alarcón | Del Ombligo de la Luna y Otro Poemas de Verano | Honor |
| 2000 | author | Juan Felipe Herrera | Laughing out Loud, I Fly: Poems in English and Spanish | Honor |
| 2000 | illustrator | Carmen Lomas Garza | Magic Windows | Winner |
| 2000 | illustrator | George Ancona | Barrio: José's Neighborhood | Honor |
| 2000 | illustrator | Felipe Dávalos | The Secret Stars | Honor |
| 2000 | illustrator | Amelia Lau Carling | Mama & Papa Have a Store | Honor |
| 2002 | author | Pam Muñoz Ryan | Esperanza Rising | Winner |
| 2002 | author | Francisco Jiménez | Breaking Through | Honor |
| 2002 | author | Francisco X. Alarcón | Iguanas in the Snow | Honor |
| 2002 | illustrator | Susan Guevara | Chato and the Party Animals | Winner |
| 2002 | illustrator | Joe Cepeda | Juan Bobo Goes to Work | Honor |
| 2004 | author | Julia Alvarez | Before We Were Free | Winner |
| 2004 | author | Nancy Osa | Cuba 15 | Honor |
| 2004 | author | Amada Irma Pérez | Mi Diario de Aquí Hasta Allá | Honor |
| 2004 | illustrator | Yuyi Morales | Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book | Winner |
| 2004 | illustrator | Robert Casilla | First Day in Grapes | Honor |
| 2004 | illustrator | David Diaz | The Pot That Juan Built | Honor |
| 2004 | illustrator | Yuyi Morales | Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez | Honor |
| 2006 | author | Viola Canales | The Tequila Worm | Winner |
| 2006 | author | Carmen T. Bernier-Grand | César: ¡Sí, Se Puede! Yes, We Can! | Honor |
| 2006 | author | Pat Mora | Doña Flor: A Tall Tale About a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart | Honor |
| 2006 | author | Pam Muñoz Ryan | Becoming Naomi León | Honor |
| 2006 | illustrator | Raúl Colón | Doña Flor: A Tall Tale About a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart | Winner |
| 2006 | illustrator | Lulu Delacre | Arrorró, Mi Niño: Latino Lullabies and Gentle Games | Honor |
| 2006 | illustrator | David Diaz | César: ¡Sí, Se Puede! Yes, We Can! | Honor |
| 2006 | illustrator | Rafael López | Me Llamo Celia: La Vida de Celia Cruz | Honor |
| 2008 | author | Margarita Engle | The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano | Winner |
| 2008 | author | Carmen Agra Deedy | Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale | Honor |
| 2008 | author | Carmen T. Bernier-Grand | Frida: ¡Viva la vida! Long Live Life! | Honor |
| 2008 | author | Marisa Montes | Los Gatos Black on Halloween | Honor |
| 2008 | illustrator | Yuyi Morales | Los Gatos Black on Halloween | Winner |
| 2008 | illustrator | Raúl Colón | Me llamo Gabito: la vida de Gabriel García Márquez | Honor |
| 2008 | illustrator | Maya Christina Gonzalez | Mis colores, mi mundo | Honor |
| 2009 | author | Margarita Engle | The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom | Winner |
| 2009 | author | Yuyi Morales | Just In Case | Honor |
| 2009 | author | Francisco Jiménez | Reaching Out | Honor |
| 2009 | author | Lucía M. González | The Storyteller's Candle | Honor |
| 2009 | illustrator | Yuyi Morales | Just In Case | Winner |
| 2009 | illustrator | Rudy Gutierrez | Papá and Me | Honor |
| 2009 | illustrator | Lulu Delacre | The Storyteller's Candle | Honor |
| 2009 | illustrator | Amy Córdova | What Can You Do With a Rebozo? | Honor |
| 2010 | author | Julia Alvarez | Return to Sender | Winner |
| 2010 | author | Carmen T. Bernier-Grand | Diego: Bigger Than Life | Honor |
| 2010 | author | Georgina Lazaro | Federico García Lorca | Honor |
| 2010 | illustrator | Rafael López | Book Fiesta!: Celebrate Children's Day/Book Day; Celebremos El día de los niños/El día de los libros | Winner |
| 2010 | illustrator | David Diaz | Diego: Bigger Than Life | Honor |
| 2010 | illustrator | Yuyi Morales | My Abuelita | Honor |
| 2010 | illustrator | John Parra | Gracias • Thanks | Honor |
| 2011 | author | Pam Muñoz Ryan | The Dreamer | Winner |
| 2011 | author | Margarita Engle | The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette's Journey to Cuba | Honor |
| 2011 | author | Enrique Flores-Galbis | 90 Miles to Havana | Honor |
| 2011 | author | George Ancona | ¡Ole! Flamenco | Honor |
| 2011 | illustrator | Eric Velasquez | Grandma's Gift | Winner |
| 2011 | illustrator | Amy Córdova | Fiesta Babies | Honor |
| 2011 | illustrator | David Diaz | Me, Frida | Honor |
| 2011 | illustrator | Duncan Tonatiuh | Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin | Honor |
| 2012 | author | Guadalupe Garcia McCall | Under the Mesquite | Winner |
| 2012 | author | Margarita Engle | Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck | Honor |
| 2012 | author | Xavier Garza | Maximilian and the Mystery of the Guardian Angel: A Bilingual Lucha Libre Thriller | Honor |
| 2012 | illustrator | Duncan Tonatiuh | Diego Rivera: His World and Ours | Winner |
| 2012 | illustrator | Rafael López | The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred | Honor |
| 2012 | illustrator | Sara Palacios | Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match / Marisol McDonald no combina | Honor |
| 2013 | author | Benjamin Alire Sáenz | Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe | Winner |
| 2013 | author | Sonia Manzano | The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano | Honor |
| 2013 | illustrator | David Diaz | Martín de Porres: The Rose in the Desert | Winner |
| 2014 | author | Meg Medina | Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass | Winner |
| 2014 | author | Margarita Engle | The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba's Greatest Abolitionist | Honor |
| 2014 | author | Matt de la Peña | The Living | Honor |
| 2014 | author | Duncan Tonatiuh | Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant's Tale | Honor |
| 2014 | illustrator | Yuyi Morales | Niño Wrestles the World | Winner |
| 2014 | illustrator | Angela Dominguez | Maria Had a Little Llama/María Tenía una Llamita | Honor |
| 2014 | illustrator | Rafael López | Tito Puente: Mambo King/Rey del Mambo | Honor |
| 2014 | illustrator | Duncan Tonatiuh | Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant's Tale | Honor |
| 2015 | author | Marjorie Agosín | I Lived on Butterfly Hill | Winner |
| 2015 | author | Juan Felipe Herrera | Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes | Honor |
| 2015 | illustrator | Yuyi Morales | Viva Frida | Winner |
| 2015 | illustrator | John Parra | Green Is a Chile Pepper | Honor |
| 2015 | illustrator | Susan Guevara | Little Roja Riding Hood | Honor |
| 2015 | illustrator | Duncan Tonatiuh | Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family's Fight for Desegregation | Honor |
| 2016 | author | Margarita Engle | Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir | Winner |
| 2016 | author | David Bowles | The Smoking Mirror | Honor |
| 2016 | author | Meg Medina | Mango, Abuela, and Me | Honor |
| 2016 | illustrator | Rafael López | The Drum Dream Girl | Winner |
| 2016 | illustrator | Antonio Castro | My Tata's Remedies; Los remedios de mi tata | Honor |
| 2016 | illustrator | Angela Dominguez | Mango, Abuela, and Me | Honor |
| 2016 | illustrator | Duncan Tonatiuh | Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras | Honor |
| 2017 | author | Juana Medina | Juana & Lucas | Winner |
| 2017 | author | Alexandra Diaz | The Only Road | Honor |
| 2017 | illustrator | Raúl Gonzalez | Lowriders to the Center of the Earth | Winner |
| 2017 | illustrator | Duncan Tonatiuh | Esquivel!: Space-Age Sound Artist | Honor |
| 2017 | illustrator | Duncan Tonatiuh | The Princess and the Warrior: A Tale of Two Volcanoes | Honor |
| 2018 | author | Ruth Behar | Lucky Broken Girl | Winner |
| 2018 | author | Celia C. Perez | The First Rule of Punk | Honor |
| 2018 | author | Pablo Cartaya | The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora | Honor |
| 2018 | illustrator | Juana Martinez-Neal | La Princesa and the Pea | Winner |
| 2018 | illustrator | Adriana M. Garcia | All Around Us | Honor |
| 2018 | illustrator | John Parra | Frida Kahlo And Her Animalitos | Honor |
| 2019 | author | Elizabeth Acevedo | The Poet X | Winner |
| 2019 | author | David Bowles | They Call Me Güero | Honor |
| 2019 | illustrator | Yuyi Morales | Dreamers / Soñadores | Winner |
| 2019 | illustrator | José Ramírez | When Angels Sing | Honor |
| 2019 | illustrator | Leo Espinosa | Islandborn | Honor |
| 2020 | author | Carlos Hernandez | Sal and Gabi Break the Universe | Winner |
| 2020 | author | Rebecca Balcárcel | The Other Half of Happy | Honor |
| 2020 | author | Angela Cervantes | Lety Out Loud | Honor |
| 2020 | author | Anika Aldamuy Denise | Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré | Honor |
| 2020 | author | Duncan Tonatiuh | Soldier for Equality: José de la Luz Sáenz and the Great War | Honor |
| 2020 | illustrator | Rafael López | Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln | Winner |
| 2020 | illustrator | Carlos Aponte | Across the Bay | Honor |
| 2020 | illustrator | Raúl Gonzalez | ¡Vamos! Let's Go to the Market | Honor |
| 2020 | illustrator | Zeke Peña | My Papi Has a Motorcycle | Honor |
| 2021 | children's author | Ernesto Cisneros | Efrén Divided | Winner |
| 2021 | children's author | Adrianna Cuevas | The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez | Honor |
| 2021 | children's author | Donna Barba Higuera | Lupe Wong Won't Dance | Honor |
| 2021 | illustrator | Raúl Gonzalez | ¡Vamos! Let's Go Eat | Winner |
| 2021 | illustrator | Elisa Chavarri | Sharuko: El Arqueólogo Peruano/Peruvian Archaeologist Julio C. Tello | Honor |
| 2021 | young adult author | Yamile Saied Méndez | Furia | Winner |
| 2021 | young adult author | Lilliam Rivera | Never Look Back | Honor |
| 2021 | young adult author | Jenny Torres Sanchez | We Are Not from here | Honor |
| 2022 | children's author | Donna Barba Higuera | The Last Cuentista | Winner |
| 2022 | children's author | Alda P. Dobbs | Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna | Honor |
| 2022 | children's author | Gloria Amescua | Child of the Flower-Song People: Luz Jiménez, Daughter of the Nahua | Honor |
| 2022 | children's author | Nomar Perez | De aquí como el coquí | Honor |
| 2022 | illustrator | Raúl Gonzalez | ¡Vamos! Let's Cross the Bridge | Winner |
| 2022 | illustrator | C. G. Esperanza | Boogie Boogie, Y’all | Honor |
| 2022 | illustrator | Loris Lora | May Your Life Be Deliciosa | Honor |
| 2022 | illustrator | Yuyi Morales | Bright Star | Honor |
| 2022 | illustrator | Nomar Perez | De aquí como el coquí | Honor |
| 2022 | young adult author | Raquel Vasquez Gilliland | How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe | Winner |
| 2022 | young adult author | Jonny Garza Villa | Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun | Honor |
| 2022 | young adult author | Laekan Zea Kemp | Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet | Honor |
| 2022 | young adult author | Marcia Argueta Mickelson | Where I Belong | Honor |
| 2023 | children's author | Claribel A. Ortega | Frizzy | Winner |
| 2023 | children's author | Karina Nicole González | The Coquíes Still Sing | Honor |
| 2023 | children's author | Stephen Briseño | The Notebook Keeper: A Story of Kindness from the Border | Honor |
| 2023 | children's author | Celia C. Pérez | Tumble | Honor |
| 2023 | illustrator | Adriana M. Garcia | Where Wonder Grows | Winner |
| 2023 | illustrator | Krystal Quiles | The Coquíes Still Sing | Honor |
| 2023 | illustrator | Duncan Tonatiuh | A Land of Books: Dreams of Young Mexihcah Word Painters | Honor |
| 2023 | illustrator | Mirelle Ortega | Magic: Once Upon a Faraway Land | Honor |
| 2023 | illustrator | Loris Lora | Phenomenal AOC: The Roots and Rise of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez | Honor |
| 2023 | illustrator | Kat Fajardo | Srta. Quinces | Honor |
| 2023 | illustrator | Magdalena Mora | Still Dreaming/Seguimos soñando | Honor |
| 2023 | young adult author | Vincent Tirado | Burn Down, Rise Up | Winner |
| 2023 | young adult author | Natalia Sylvester | Breathe and Count Back from Ten | Honor |
| 2023 | young adult author | Camille Gomera-Tavarez | High Spirits | Honor |
| 2023 | young adult author | Sonora Reyes | The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School | Honor |
| 2024 | children's author | Pedro Martín | Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir | Winner |
| 2024 | children's author | Donna Barba Higuera | Alebrijes | Honor |
| 2024 | children's author | Jasminne Mendez | Aniana del Mar Jumps In | Honor |
| 2024 | children's author | Mariana Llanos | Benita y las Criaturas Nocturnas | Honor |
| 2024 | children's author | Jesús Trejo | Papá's Magical Water-Jug Clock | Honor |
| 2024 | children's author | Andrea Beatriz Arango | Something Like Home | Honor |
| 2024 | illustrator | Pedro Martín | Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir | Winner |
| 2024 | illustrator | José B. Ramírez | Mi papá es un agrícola/My Father, the Farmworker | Honor |
| 2024 | illustrator | Eliza Kinkz | Papá's Magical Water-Jug Clock | Honor |
| 2024 | illustrator | Adriana M. Garcia | Remembering | Honor |
| 2024 | young adult author | Ari Tison | Saints of the Household | Winner |
| 2024 | young adult author | David Bowles | The Prince and the Coyote | Honor |
| 2024 | young adult author | Edel Rodriguez | Worm: A Cuban American Odyssey | Honor |

## Recipients of multiple medals and honors

George Ancona, Yuyi Morales, and Duncan Tonatiuh have received medals or honors for their roles as both author and illustrator. Duncan Tonatiuh is the only person to receive multiple awards in one year for two different works.

### Belpré Medals

One person has won six Belpré Medals.
* Yuyi Morales, as illustrator 2004, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2019.
Three people have won three Belpré Medals.
* Margarita Engle, as author 2008, 2009, 2016.
* Rafael López as illustrator 2010, 2016, 2020
* Raúl Gonzalez, as illustrator 2017, 2021, 2022
Multiple people have won two Belpré Medals: Julia Alvarez as author, Susan Guevara as illustrator, and Pam Muñoz Ryan as author.

### Belpré Honors

One person has won eight Belpré Honors.
* Duncan Tonatiuh, as illustrator 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, and twice in 2017; as author 2014 and 2020.
Two people won four Belpré Honors
* David Diaz, as illustrator 2004, 2006, 2010, 2011.
* Yuyi Morales, as illustrator 2004, 2010; 2022; as author 2009.
Multiple people have won three Belpré Honors.
* Francisco X. Alarcón, as author 1998, 2000, 2002.
* George Ancona, as illustrator 1996, 2000; as author 2011.
* Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, as author 2006, 2008, 2010.
* Lulu Delacre, as illustrator 1996, 2006, 2009.
* Margarita Engle, as author 2011, 2012, 2014.
* Rafael López, as illustrator 2006, 2012, 2014.
* John Parra, as illustrator 2010, 2015, 2018.
* David Bowles, as author, 2016, 2019, 2024
Multiple people have won two Belpré Honors. As illustrator: Amy Córdova, Angela Dominguez, and Carmen Lomas Garza. As author: Juan Felipe Herrera, and Francisco Jiménez as author.

### Medal and Honor

Several authors have received both a Belpré Medal and a Belpré Honor: Raúl Colón, David Diaz, Margarita Engle, Carmen Lomas Garza, Susan Guevara, Rafael López, Meg Medina, Yuyi Morales, Pam Muñoz Ryan, and Duncan Tonatiuh.

#### Works with multiple awards

* Diego: Bigger than Life was the subject of two honors for author and illustrator in 2010.
* The Storyteller's Candle was the subject of two honors for author and illustrator in 2009.
* Just In Case was the subject of a medal for illustrator and an honor for author in 2009.
* Los Gatos Black on Halloween was the subject of a medal for illustrator and an honor for author in 2008
* Doña Flor: A Tall Tale About a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart was the subject of a medal for illustrator and an honor for author in 2006.
* César: ¡Sí, Se Puede! Yes, We Can! was the subject of two honors for author and illustrator in 2006.
* 'El Gallo de Bodas: A Traditional Cuban Folktale was the subject of two honors for author and illustrator in 1996.