The Award

• The Pura Belpré Award (PBA) has been awarded on 20 occasions: every other year from 1996 to 2008, and annually since then.
• Each year, there is a Medal winner in the categories of Children’s Narrative, Youth Illustration, and (as of 2021) Young Adult Narrative. Honor Books may also be named.

Belpré on Belpré

• 2 PBA books are about Pura Belpré:
  • The Storyteller’s Candle / La velita de los cuentos by Lucía M. González, illus. by Lulu Delacre (Children’s Book Press) – 2009 honors for narrative and illustration
  • Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré by Anika Aldamuy Denise, illus. by Paola Escobar (Harper/HarperCollins) – 2020 narrative honor

The Most Balanced

• Margarita Engle and Rafael López both have 3 medals and 3 honors.

Lucky Names

• 3 Martínez: Floyd Martínez, Juana Martinez-Neal, Victor Martinez
• 3 González: Lucía M. González, Maya Christina Gonzalez, Raúl Gonzalez
• 3 Carmen: Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, Carmen Agra Deedy, Carmen Lomas Garza

“La Familia Belpré”

• The Belpré “family” currently has 77 members who have received any type of PBA recognition, for narrative or illustration, medal or honor.
• 134 awards (medal or honor) have been conferred on 125 titles.

En español

• 23 titles are bilingual. 1 title has received recognition (2010 narrative honor) for its Spanish text and it is the only one recognized that is completely in Spanish: Federico García Lorca by Georgina Lázaro, illus. by Enrique S. Moreiro (Lectorum/Scholastic).

Doubly Honored

• 3 individuals have been recognized as both author and illustrator:
  • Yuyi Morales: 1 honor for narrative; and 6 medals and 2 honors for illustration (tied for most recognized)
  • Duncan Tonatiuh: 2 honors for narrative; and 1 medal and 6 honors for illustration (tied for most recognized)
  • George Ancona: 1 honor for narrative and 2 honors for illustration
• 3 authors have received both medals and honors: Margarita Engle, Meg Medina, Pam Muñoz Ryan
• 8 illustrators have received both medals and honors: Raúl Colón, David Diaz, Carmen Lomas Garza, Raúl Gonzalez, Susan Guevara, Rafael López, Yuyi Morales, Duncan Tonatiuh
• 9 titles have received double distinction, for both the author and illustrator, beginning with The Bossy Gallito / El gallo de bodas: A Traditional Cuban Folktale, by Lucía M. González, illus. by Lulu Delacre (Scholastic, 1994) – 1996 narrative and illustration honors

Picture-Book Biographies

• 25 winners have been picture-book biographies, with the most popular subject being Frida Kahlo:
  • Frida: ¡Viva la vida! Long Live Life! by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand (Marshall Cavendish) – 2008 narrative honor
  • Me, Frida by Amy Novesky, illus. by David Diaz (Abrams) – 2011 illustration honor
  • Viva Frida by Yuyi Morales (Porter/Roaring Brook) – 2015 illustration medal
  • Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos by Monica Brown, illus. by John Parra (NorthSouth) – 2018 illustration honor
• In addition, there have been 2 each about Diego Rivera and César Chávez

“Heavy Medals”

• 41 books and 28 individuals (17 for author and 11 for illustrator) have received a PBA gold medal:
  • Yuyi Morales has received the most medals (6)
  • Margarita Engle and Rafael López follow with 3 medals each
  • Julia Alvarez, Raúl Gonzalez, Susan Guevara, and Pam Muñoz Ryan were awarded 2 medals each

Awards Overlap

• 4 PBA awardees have received Newbery recognition: Matt de la Peña, Margarita Engle, Meg Medina, Pam Muñoz Ryan
• 4 Caldecott: David Diaz, Rudy Gutierrez, Juana Martinez-Neal, Yuyi Morales
• 1 CSK (Steptoe): Eric Velasquez
• 6 Boston Globe–Horn Book: Elizabeth Acevedo, Francisco Jiménez, Yuyi Morales, Zeke Peña, Celia C. Pérez, Pam Muñoz Ryan

From the May/June 2021 special issue of The Horn Book Magazine: The Pura Belpré Award at 25.