Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré by Anika Aldamuy Denise, illustrated by Paola Escobar

After hearing Anika Aldamuy Denise speak about one of her heroes, Pura Belpré, at the Bank Street Latinx Mini-Conference last week, I knew I had to read her book. And what better place to do that than the place where Pura Belpré had such an immense impact - the NYPL.

Pura Belpré first arrived in New York in 1921, leaving her native Puerto Rico for what she thought would be a to visit to celebrate her sister's wedding, but she decided to stay. Her first job was in the garment factory, but she left that to work in the library.

When Pura came to NY, she brought all the stories her abuela taught her, stories that she loved so much from her homeland. At the library, she discovered there were no stories from Puerto Rico, and decided it was time to change that. 

Pretty soon, Pura was telling her stories to the kids visiting the library, stories about Martina, the beautiful cockroach and Pérez, a gallant mouse.

Later, she made puppets for help bring her stories to life, and soon, more and more people came to hear the wonderful tales Pura had brought with her from Puerto Rico. She began writing down her stories and Pérez y Martina became a book.

This is a beautifully written book about a woman who made such a difference to the children of New York as she told her stories, visiting not only different library branches, but also churches, classrooms, and community centers "planting her story seed in the hearts and minds of children new to this island who wish to remember la lengua y los colores of home."

The idea of planting stories is consistently carried throughout Anika Aldamuy Denise's lyrical text and Paola Escobar's brightly colored folk art style illustrations, with flowers floating over the each of the pages. Scattered throughout the book are Spanish words and phrases, all of which are easy to understand even if you don't speak Spanish. And although this is a biography of Pura Belpré, there is an important subtext at work at well. That subtext reminds us that we don't have to leave our culture behind when we settle in another country, but that we can plant what we bring with us and it will once again thrive.

Back matter consists of an Author's Note (be sure to read that), a Selected Bibliography, the location of the Archival Collections for both Pura and her husband, musician Clarence Cameron White, Articles and Films, suggestions for Further Reading, and the Stories by Pura Belpré Mentioned in This Book.

This book is recommended for readers age 4+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL

There is a Discussion Guide for this book, which I can't find online, but have scanned it for your use: