Yuyi Morales and Margarita Engle Win 2008 Pura Belpré Awards
By Ximena Diego -- Críticas, 1/15/2008
The Pura Belpré Awards, one of the most prestigious distinctions for Latino/Latina authors and illustrators of children’s books, were presented on January 14 at the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia. Yuyi Morales’s Los Gatos Black on Halloween (Colt, 2006), a picture book about spooky monsters gathering for a Halloween ball, received the Illustrator Award, while the Author Award went to Margarita Engle for The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano (Colt, 2006), a moving biography of a young slave with extraordinary intellectual powers.
The jury highlighted the humor and cultural references in Morales’s work. “Morales’s eerily glowing illustrations capture the blend of traditional Halloween and Día de los Muertos symbols, matching the humorous interplay of Spanish and English in the text,” said Jean Hatfield, award committee chair. “Historical allusions and whimsical figures delight the eye in this timeless story.” Morales, a Mexican artist who lives in San Francisco, is also the author of Nochecita (Roaring Brook Press, 2007) and the illustrator of Cosechando esperanza: la historia de César Chávez (Harcourt, 2004).
Written in verse, The Poet Slave of Cuba is based on Manzano’s autobiographical notes and poems. “(This) is a heartbreaking, memorable story of love, determination, and hope,” said Hatfield. “The stark language and vivid imagery provide a sensory experience that allows the reader to enter another time and place.”
Engle, a Cuban-American poet, journalist, and novelist who lives in Northern California, has written extensively about Cuba. Her upcoming book, The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle to Freedom (Colt, 2008), is due in April.
Moreover, the Pura Belpré Committe named three Author Honor Books. Martina, una cucarachita muy linda: Un cuento cubano (Peachtree, 2007), retold by Carmen Agra Deedy; Frida: ¡Viva la vida! Long Live Life! (Marshall Cavendish, 2007), by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand; and Los Gatos Black on Halloween (Holt), by Marisa Montes. The committee also selected two honor books for illustration: My name is Gabito: The Life of Gabriel García Márquez/Me llamo Gabito: la vida de Gabriel García Márquez (Luna Rising, 2007), illustrated by Raul Colón; and My Colors, My World/Mis colores, mi mundo (Children’s Book Press, 2007), written and illustrated by Maya Christina González.
The biannual Pura Belpré Awards, which will be annual beginning in 2009, honor Latino authors and illustrators whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in children’s books.
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