Planting Stories

The Life of Librarian
and Storyteller Pura Belpre

(Harper Collins Publishers)
(pub. 1.15.2019) 
40 pages

A True Tale with
A Cherry On Top   

A uthor: 
 Anika Aldamuy Denise

 and illustrator: Paola Escobar
 
C haracter: Pura Belpre

O verview: 
     "Follow la vida y el legado of Pura Belpre, the first Puerto Rican librarian in New York City.
     When she came to American in 1921, Pura carried the cuentos folkloricos of her Puerto Rican homeland. Finding a new home at the New York Public Library as a bilingual assistant, she turned her popular retellings into libros and spread story seeds across the land. Today, these seeds have grown into a lush landscape a generations of children and storytellers continue to share her tales and celebrate Pura's legacy.
     This portrait of  the  influential librarian, author, and puppeteer reminds us of the power of storytelling and the extraordinary woman who opened doors and championed bilingual literature."

T antalizing taste: 
     "In the children's room, she lights the story hour candle ... and begins:
     Her eyes dance! Her voice sings!
     Pura's words paint a picture of a little house with a round balcony, where Martina, a beautiful Spanish cockroach, meets Perez, a handsome and gallant mouse. El ratoncito Perez y la cucarachita Martina, a tale from the tamarind tree.
     When Pura's story is done, each child makes a wish on the candle, and, with a wisp of air ... whoosh! La vela is blown out.
     Now Pura has a wish, too: to plant her story seeds throughout the land."

And something more: I always like learning what inspired the creation of a book. In the Author's Note, Anika Aldamuy Denise writes: "The seeds of the idea for this book first took root as I stood in the New York Public Library's central branch, gazing up at a large black-and-white photo of Pura Belpre: author, storyteller, and the first Puerto Rican librarian in New York City.  Seeing the larger-than-life image of this remarkable boricua woman I'd long admired, I felt a swell of pride and, along with it, the warmth of recognition. For Pura's photo brought to mind my titis (aunts): first-generation mainland Americans whose parents migrated to New York from Puerto Rico...  Now each year the American Library Association recognizes outstanding works of literature by Latinx authors and illustrators with the Pura Belpre Award."