Review by Booklist Review
Enter the inspiring world of legendary children's librarian Pura Belpré and find out how vibrant stories in her childhood influenced libraries. Belpré grows up in Puerto Rico, nurturing her imagination as she "drinks up Abuela's cuentos" and explores the charm in each character described in Spanish. She internalizes the value in cultural representation, humor, performance, and the art of oral storytelling. When she later moves to New York and becomes a librarian, she is joyously now in charge of storytime. However, the rule is to only read books strictly in print to children. "Pura knows that not all stories worth telling are in books," Pimentel notes, especially when kings and queens aren't culturally relevant. She performs what she knows about storytelling for her bosses, and they are so enthralled that they make an exception for her: she is allowed to tell her own stories! With her dynamic talent and bilingual skills, Belpré draws in Spanish-speaking families, expanding the library's reach and shaping children's literature forever. Morales' vivid artwork in warm, saturated colors wittily captures the movement, rhythm, and energy of Belpré's legacy, which is echoed in the lyrical text. Emphasizing the importance of books as mirrors, as well as well as of inclusion, diversity, proactiveness, talent, and social impact, this is a treasure of a picture-book biography.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this moving profile of Pura Belpré (1899--1982), the first Puerto Rican librarian in New York City and the first New York librarian to offer bilingual story times, Pimentel offers a rhythmic, well-paced narrative drawing from Belpré's own writing. Spanish intertwines a narrative studded with parallelism and repetition, as Belpré arrives in New York City, inspired by her Abuela's cuentos and intent on making the library more accessible to Latinx children: "Oh, Pura can tell a story! She hisses... murmurs... roars./ Children lean forward. They giggle... shiver... sigh./ She is allowed to tell only stories that have been printed in a/ book. That's the rule.... But Pura knows that not all the stories worth telling are in/ books." Morales's digital art shifts in dynamic, near-kaleidoscopic formations, defying perspective in absorbing spreads throughout this glowing, elegantly constructed celebration of a literary luminary. Back matter includes an author's note, a selected bibliography, and other sources. Ages 4--8. (Sept.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1--Pura Belpré grew listening to stories in Puerto Rico, especially those told by her grandmother. Later, when she moved to Harlem in New York and started working at a branch library, she felt drawn to follow the path of the librarians, who were reading stories from books to the kids. Pura took charge of story times, but she realized something was missing: The stories that were not told by books, and thus, she broke the rules and began to tell her grandma's stories. This loosely biographical picture book depicts a brave and determined woman whose bilingual English and Spanish story times broke the status quo to spread the power of storytelling. Her advocacy brought many people of color to the library, people who felt newly welcome there. Pimentel offers a storyline for young audiences that radiates hope and accomplishment. The English language narrative, set to a medium size black-and-white font, is lyrical and whimsical, employing occasional Spanish language terms. Morales's illustrations, visualized with a touch of cubism and curb lines, express the plot through magnificent detail and layers of green, blue, brown, and purple. The full-spread and digitally made illustrations will connect with readers while expressing the written narrative and installing a sense of joy. The back matter, set in pink background and black font, contains a selected bibliography of books written by Belpré and those she translated into Spanish. The author's notes also offer some biographical information. VERDICT A brief book whose dreamlike illustrations will enhance young readers' imagination.--Kathia Ibacache, Univ. of Colorado Boulder
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
"Pura Belpre always knew that many stories worth telling aren't in books" is the lingering message of this picture-book biography. Growing up in Puerto Rico, Belpre listened as her abuela told vivid cuentos that elicited "giggles...shivers...sighs," reactions later mirrored by the enthralled library audiences with whom Pura shared those same folk stories. Belpre began library work in Harlem among a growing Spanish-speaking diaspora, at a time when the library lacked both staff to communicate in their patrons' language and books to reinforce a connection. Recognizing how the rigid traditions of storytime limited her ability to promote culturally relevant stories--stories shared had to be read from a book--Belpre proposed her own oral storytelling practice to the library "bosses" (all depicted as white). Eventually she published those stories and devoted herself to reaching the public beyond library walls, paving the way for practices of modern librarianship. Pimentel (Girl Running, rev. 3/18) captures Belpre's dazzling storytelling ("She hisses...murmurs...roars") through text that carries a soft rhythm apt for reading aloud. Morales's (A Pinata in a Pine Tree, rev. 11/09) digital images feature a bright and distinct color palette and illustrate Pura's liveliness through dynamic perspectives and expressive gestures. Deftly incorporated details throughout the art, including a coqui and characters such as Perez and Martina, evoke Belpre's childhood influences and culture. An author's note, a source list, and a selected bibliography are appended. Pair with Gonzalez and Delacre's The Storyteller's Candle and Denise and Escobar's Planting Stories (rev. 1/19). Jessica Agudelo November/December 2021 p.136(c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A biography of the first Puerto Rican to be hired by the New York Public Library and, possibly, the first Afro-Latinx librarian in the United States. Belpré grew up in Puerto Rico listening to stories, mainly from her abuela. She needed stories "like a mango tree needs sunshine." After moving to New York City, where she lived in Harlem, Belpré was hired to work at the 135th Street branch library (now the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture). There, she was put in charge of storytime, but she could tell only stories printed in books. "But Pura knows that not all the stories worth telling are in books." Abuela's stories, stories from Puerto Rico, were not in books, and those were the ones she wanted to tell. She soon convinced her bosses to allow her to tell those stories; eventually she went on to tell her stories--and plenty of others--in libraries and auditoriums, in English and in Spanish, always reaching out to as many children as possible. In due course, those stories did become books--"because Pura Belpré always knew that many stories worth telling aren't in books," and she could change that. The accompanying illustrations are vibrant, with rich, saturated colors. Dynamic double-page illustrations often consist of vignettes that blend into one another, adding depth to the narration. Belpré is depicted with brown skin and dark hair. The children, though mostly having similar faces, represent a range of skin tones. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A vibrant portrayal of an important figure. (author's note, source notes, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 5-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
