Annal:2008 Pura Belpré Award for Narrative
From AwardAnnals
Results of the Pura Belpré Award for Narrative in the year 2008. For a ranked list of books, try an honor roll:
- <–2006
- Pura Belpré Award
- –end–
The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano
- 2008 Belpré–narrative winner
- Score: 10.58
Born into the household of a wealthy slave owner in Cuba in 1797, Juan Francisco Manzano spent his early years by the side of a woman who made him call her Mama, even though he had a mama of his own. Denied an education, young Juan still showed an exceptional talent for poetry. His verses reflect the beauty of his world, but they also expose its hideous cruelty.
Frida: Viva La Vida! Long Live Life!
- 2008 Belpré–narrative honor
- Score: 6.58
Frida Kahlo, a native of Mexico, is described here in biographical poems accompanied by her own artwork. Both text and images reveal the anguish and joy of her two marriages to muralist Diego Rivera, her life-long suffering from a crippling bus accident, and her thirst for life, even as she tasted death.
Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale:
- 2008 Belpré–narrative honor
- Score: 6.58
Martina the beautiful cockroach doesn't know coffee beans about love and marriage. That's where her Cuban family comes in. While some of the Cucarachas offer her gifts to make her more attractive, only Abuela, her grandmother, gives her something really useful: un consejo increible, some shocking advice.
- 2008 Belpré–illustration winner
- 2008 Belpré–narrative honor*
- Score: 10.58
This lively bilingual Halloween poem introduces young readers to a spooky array of Spanish words that will open their ojos to the chilling delights of the season.
