The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented to a
Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and
celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature
for children and youth.
I Lived on Butterfly Hill,
written by Marjorie Agosín is the winner of the Pura Belpré Author Award. The book was illustrated by Lee White and published by Atheneum
Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's
Publishing Division
The Pura Belpré Committee said:
When warships appear, in “I Lived on Butterfly Hill,” Celeste’s
idyllic life is shattered. As people disappear, Celeste’s parents go into
hiding, and she is sent into exile. When she returns home, she works to reunite
people she loves and to move her country forward. Lyrically written by
acclaimed poet, Marjorie Agosín, this Chilean story offers a refreshing
perspective on resiliency.
Book Description
“With her poet’s eye, Marjorie Agosín gives this tale of exile
and return an epic feel,” said Wadham. “Though she is a refugee, Celeste learns
she belongs anywhere there are things she loves.”
An eleven-year-old’s world is upended by political turmoil in
this searing novel from an award-winning poet, based on true events in Chile.
Celeste Marconi is a dreamer. She lives peacefully among friends
and neighbors and family in the idyllic town of Valparaiso, Chile—until the
time comes when even Celeste, with her head in the clouds, can’t deny the
political unrest that is sweeping through the country. Warships are spotted in
the harbor and schoolmates disappear from class without a word. Celeste doesn’t
quite know what is happening, but one thing is clear: no one is safe, not
anymore.
The country has been taken over by a government that declares
artists, protestors, and anyone who helps the needy to be considered
“subversive” and dangerous to Chile’s future. So Celeste’s parents—her
educated, generous, kind parents—must go into hiding before they, too,
“disappear.” To protect their daughter, they send her to America.
As Celeste adapts to her new life in Maine, she never stops
dreaming of Chile. But even after democracy is restored to her home country,
questions remain: Will her parents reemerge from hiding? Will she ever be truly
safe again?
Accented with interior artwork, steeped in the history of
Pinochet’s catastrophic takeover of Chile, and based on many true events, this
multicultural ode to the power of revolution, words, and love is both indelibly
brave and heartwrenchingly graceful.
Book Trailer
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