Children's books: Pura Belpré Award winners

The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented annually 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.

http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/belpremedal

You may be thinking that it would make a lot of sense to have looked up this particular award in September, National Hispanic Heritage month.  The idea is sound, but here is where I admit something embarrassing: I thought I was looking up the Schneider Family Book Awards, the category below it on my list.

Both awards are given - along with many others - through the American Library Association, so the first parts of the web address were the same. I was typing in a bit and looking to type more, and it was easy to get confused.

As it happens, the first book title I saw was Lucky Broken Girl, which could easily have fit into both awards. I did start noticing that the theme seemed different than what I expected, but I was requesting books as I looked them up. By the time I figured it out I just went with it.

Eventually I hope to have explored many categories, and it may not be in a completely logical order. I remain uncommitted to exploring diverse erotica.

Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar was the children's book. Parents are very frustrating in this book, and also sympathetic and loved, just like in real families. The protagonist herself does not always take being confined to a body cast well, nor the therapy that comes after, and that may provide some relief for young readers who struggle with their own obstacles. Some of the language is sometimes stilted, possibly an effect of attempting to portray non-native English speakers.

Picture books

The Princess and the Warrior: A Tale of Two Volcanoes by Duncan Tonatiuh

La Princesa and the Pea by Susan Middleton Elya and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal

I did not love the stories for these two. The first is an adaptation of a legend about the creation of two mountains, and the second is a version of a fairy tale that is not my favorite. They are still worth checking out for the gorgeous artwork.

Martinez-Neal takes her inspiration from different regional costumes of Peru, and since we are in Peru adds in guinea pigs for good measure. Tonatiuh's work is inspired by Aztec art. Both make good use of color, and are fascinating to look at.

Referencing something that exists visually already but may not be familiar to children leads us to...

Frida Kahlo and her Animalitos by Monica Brown, illustrated by John Parra.

As luck would have it I had just finished an art class that talked about gender and art, and spent some time on Kahlo and her use of animals in her art. That class went against the idea that the animals were substitutes for her children, which this book kind of perpetuated (that may be a long-standing orthodoxy). Regardless, it was wonderful to learn more about her history with her animals, to know that you can still go to the house and see the pyramid that she had Rivera build for them, and to appreciate the way Parra reminds you of Kahlo's art, opening the door for young readers to appreciate it. As they get older there will be so much more to it than cats and monkeys. Definitely recommended.

All Around Us by Xelena González, illustrated by Adriana M. Garcia

The most interesting thing about this book is that while it focuses on circles a lot, often only part of the circle is visible - not all of the connections and cycles are in view, but they are still there. That works well for a book on inter-generational relationships. That also leads us to...

Mango, Abuela, and Me by Meg Medina, illustrated by Angela Dominguez

True confession time: I had an aunt who would sometimes visit from Italy. I loved her but I would also get frustrated with another person in the house, and the language barrier, and the different ways of doing things. (I was more appreciate and mature by the time I started going to visit her and disrupting her household.) As the protagonist learns to adapt to her previously unfamiliar grandmother coming to live with them, I related to that. There is also a nice nod to the importance of pets.

Obviously I liked some of the books better than others - that's just inevitable - but I can see any and all of them inspiring good discussions, and being good reading experiences.