HerStory: Pura Belpré
Pura Belpré was the New York Public Library's first Puerto Rican librarian. She spent her career ensuring Spanish-speaking communities across New York had access to the library system and connections to cultural stories. She traveled to the different libraries in the New York Public Library system from the Bronx to the Lower East Side, telling stories with puppets in Spanish and English, which nobody was doing back then. Dozens of kids — mostly children of immigrants from Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico — have settled down to hear "Perez y Martina," a story based on a Puerto Rican folktale. In 1932, she published her first book, "Perez y Martina," because she could not find any Spanish books for children. Her book was the first Spanish language picture book published by a mainstream U.S press. Today, the American Library Association recognizes books for children and young adults by Latino writers and illustrators by awarding them the Pura Belpré award.
