Wednesday, March 09, 2022

2022 Newbery Medal and Pura Belpré Ganadora


 


The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.


The John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature is The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera.





The Pura Belpré Award was established to acknowledge Latino/Latina authors and illustrators whose works best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in outstanding work for children and youth. 

 

 

The Last Cuentista, written by Donna Barba Higuera, is the 2022 Pura Belpré Children’s Author Award winner. The book is published by Levine Querido. 




 



 

From Pura Belpré Award winner and Newbery Medalist, Donna Barba Higuera—a brilliant journey through the stars, to the very heart of what makes us human.

 

 

Había una vez . . . 

 

There lived a girl named Petra Peña, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita.

 

But Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children – among them Petra and her family – have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race.

 

Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet – and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard – or purged them altogether.

 

Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?

 

"Gripping in its twists and turns, and moving in its themes – truly a beautiful cuento."—New York Times

 

"Clever and compelling . wonderfully subversive."—The Wall Street Journal

 

"This tale packs a wallop. Exquisite."—Kirkus Reviews (starred)

 

"Gripping, euphonious, and full of storytelling magic."—Publishers Weekly (starred)

 

"A strong, heroic character, fighting incredible odds to survive and protect others."—School Library Journal (starred)


 

***

 

Donna Barba Higuera grew up in Central California and now lives in the Pacific Northwest. She has spent her entire life blending folklore with her experiences into stories that fill her imagination. Now she weaves them to write picture books and novels. Donna's first book, Lupe Wong Won't Dance, won a Sid Fleischman Award for Humor and a Pura Belpré Honor.

 

Her second novel, The Last Cuentista, received the John Newbery Medal and the Pura Belpré Award. It was named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Boston Globe, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Wall Street Journal, and TIME.








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