In this post: Learn about the famous Latina librarian Pura Belpré and her incredible contributions in literature and society. Post contains affiliate links.
Not all heroes wear capes. Some heroes do wonderful work on behalf of their communities by working in different capacities, such as teachers, nurses, doctors, and firefighters.
But there are many other community heroes that are also heroes, and Pura Belpré was one of them. For children who love to read, Pura was a true hero.
If you’re raising a bilingual family, or teaching your child Spanish at home, be sure to visit our shop and check out our Llamitas Spanish Curriculum (available in three levels, according to your child’s age and development).
Our materials teach children not only great language skills, but also help them learn about important members of the Hispanic/Latino community and their contributions to society, such as heroes like Pura Belpré.
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Who was Pura Belpré?
Pura Belpré was a renowned children’s author, translator, storyteller, and a very amazing librarian, as well as a skilled puppeteer!
Pura devoted her life to celebrating and recreating the stories that she had heard throughout her childhood, stories which had been handed down through generations in her Afro-Puerto Rican family.
Pura was also the first Puerto Rican librarian to work for the New York Public Library system, and she made history by transforming it, making significant outreach to the Spanish-speaking community in New York City, and making available scores of Spanish-language books for Hispanic/Latino children for the first time.
This focus on bilingual literacy in New York City was extremely significant at the time, as it paved the way for similar progress across the United States.
Pura was committed to making the public library a welcoming place for everyone, from all backgrounds, ethnicities, and walks of life.
She created several programs that served the Hispanic/Latino community and began stocking the public library system with Spanish titles to provide quality literature for her Spanish-speaking community at a time when this type of “community outreach” was unthinkable.
Pura’s work in helping to increase the level of literacy for her community, developing a love of literature and reading among young children, and celebrating her own Hispanic/Latino heritage while uplifting the entire Hispanic/Latino community was so widely appreciated that there is even a Book Award named in her honor!
The Pura Belpré Book Award
Pura’s work with improving literacy among underserved communities was so important that there is even a very prestigious book award named after her.
The Pura Belpré Award is presented annually in several different categories to recognize outstanding literary works written specifically for children and youth that represent, uplift, and celebrate the cultural experiences of the Hispanic/Latino community.
This prestigious award was established in 1996 and is co-presented every year by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA) and REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking, an affiliate of the ALA.
Children’s Books about Pura Belpré
You can learn more about Pura Belpré in our Level 2 Curriculum. We also highly recommend pairing our thematic Spanish lessons with the following picture books (available in Spanish and English):
Sale
Sembrando historias: Pura Belpré: bibliotecaria y narradora de cuentos:…
- Hardcover Book
- Denise, Anika Aldamuy (Author)
- Spanish (Publication Language)
- 40 Pages – 01/15/2019 (Publication Date) – HarperCollins Espanol (Publisher)
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Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré
- Hardcover Book
- Denise, Anika Aldamuy (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 40 Pages – 01/15/2019 (Publication Date) – HarperCollins (Publisher)
Sale
Pura’s Cuentos: How Pura Belpré Reshaped Libraries with Her Stories
- Hardcover Book
- Pimentel, Annette Bay (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 40 Pages – 09/07/2021 (Publication Date) – Harry N. Abrams (Publisher)
Sale
Los cuentos de Pura Belpré / Pura’s Cuentos: How Pura Belpré Reshaped…
- Hardcover Book
- Pimentel, Annette Bay (Author)
- Spanish (Publication Language)
- 40 Pages – 02/20/2024 (Publication Date) – Vintage Español (Publisher)
Pura Belprés Life Story
Pura Teresa Belpré y Nogueras was born on February 2, 1899 in Cidra, Puerto Rico. She graduated from Central High School in Santurce, Puerto Rico in 1919 and upon graduation enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras.
Although Pura’s original goal was to become a teacher, she interrupted her studies in 1920 to visit New York City and attend the wedding of her sister Elisa.
There, Pura responded to a recruitment effort on the part of the New York Public Library System. Their goal was to hire young women from ethnically diverse backgrounds to work as librarians in the public library system, with hopes of encouraging library attendance and improve literacy in underserved minority neighborhoods.
Pura became the first Puerto Rican ever hired by the New York Public Library system as the first Hispanic Assistant in a branch of the New York Public Library in Harlem. This decision transformed Pura’s life!
In 1925 Pura enrolled at the Library School of the New York Public Library, and very soon she started implementing programs at the New York Public Library that served the Hispanic/Latino community and encouraged them to come visit the library and enjoy reading.
She bought Spanish language books and developed programs that celebrated traditional Hispanic holidays such as the Three Kings Day, and scheduled bilingual story hours.
Pura also became an activist on behalf of the Hispanic/Latino community and began attending community meetings led by civic organizations such as the Puerto Rican Brotherhood of America and La Liga Puertorriqueña e Hispana.
There she came to know her neighbors and became even more aware of the social and educational needs that existed in her Hispanic/Latino community.
Thanks to Pura’s dedication, the 115th Street branch where she worked in New York City became an important cultural center for New York’s Hispanic/Latino community, hosting important community events that united the community and provided much-needed social and educational activities.
They even hosted famous Latin American figures such as the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. Pura later expanded these activities to other branches of the New York Public Library System.
Pura’s Literary Career
Pura’s career as a librarian eventually led her to a successful literary career as a children’s author, translator, storyteller, and puppeteer. In 1932 at the age of 33, she wrote and published her first story Pérez and Martina, a love story between a mouse and a cockroach, which was an adaptation of a traditional Puerto Rican folk tale. This story went on to become a classic of children’s literature.
Pura eventually collected many other Puerto Rican folktales, and retold them in English and published them, creating a new pool of children’s literature that spoke to children living in New York or other parts of the United States whose familias hailed originally from Puerto Rico or other parts of Latin America.
As a storyteller, Pura began travelling from the Bronx to the Lower East Side, eventually covering large areas of New York City, performing and retelling stories from her childhood in both English and Spanish.
This was a historical feat of paramount importance, because it had never happened before, and it successfully broke the barriers that had often kept the Hispanic/Latino community from visiting the library, thinking that the library was only for English speakers!
Children of all backgrounds began flocking to the library to see and hear Pura re-enact her colorful cuentos. Eventually, Pura began incorporating puppetry into her storytelling adventures, bringing characters to life and creating unforgettable literary experiences for children of all ages.
In 1943, Pura married her husband Clarence Cameron White, an African-American composer and violinist. She resigned from her job at the library to tour with her husband and to dedicate her time entirely to writing.
Over the course of her career as a writer, she published over a dozen children’s stories and books, including her first book, The Tiger and the Rabbit, and Other Tales, illustrated by Kay Peterson Parker, which was published originally in 1946, with a new edition illustrated by Tomie de Paola and published in 1965.
And, because she was perfectly bilingual, Pura also published many English and Spanish translations of stories and books that would otherwise have been available to children in only one language instead of two. So, she made more books and stories available to more children by using her excellent language skills!
Pura eventually returned to working at the library in 1960, after her husband passed away. She worked as the Spanish Children’s Specialist, travelling all over the city to areas with large Hispanic/Latino communities, bringing books, programs, and storytelling activities.
In 1962 Pura wrote and published her first major Juan Bobo story, titled Juan Bobo and the Queen’s Necklace: A Puerto Rican Folk Tale. This was the first time that a book was published in the United States featuring the character of Juan Bobo, a famous Puerto Rican “simpleton” character who was the beloved subject of many stories and jokes handed down from generation to generation in Puerto Rico.
Related post:Latin American and Spanish Folktales for Kids
Pura continued to work with the New York Public Library system until the 1970s, and received the New York Mayor’s Award for Arts and Culture in 1982. She died on July 1, of that same year.
Her work is preserved and maintained in the Pura Belpré Archives at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College in New York. The Center also houses a documentary film produced in 2011 about Pura’s life and work.
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Maya is an artist and freelance writer from Cuba who has worked in Art Education, Language Education, Simultaneous Interpretation, Subtitling, and Literary Translations. She is also a Mom and Abuela, committed to providing resources for homeschooling parents (such as her own daughter!) and to all who value the conservation of her beautiful, native Spanish language.