The storyteller's candle = la velita de los cuentos

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Title:

The storyteller's candle = la velita de los cuentos

Alternate title:

Velita de los cuentos

Author:

Gonzalez, Lucia M, author.

Delacre, Lulu, illustrator.

Summary:

During the early days of the Great Depression, New York City's first Puerto Rican librarian, Pura Belpré, introduces the public library to immigrants living in El Barrio and hosts the neighborhood's first Three Kings' Day fiesta. Presented in English and Spanish.

Audience:

2.6 Follett Library Resources

K-3 Follett Library Resources

Physical Description:

30 p. : col. ill. ; 29 cm.

Genre:

Historical fiction.

Picture books.

Program Information:

Accelerated Reader AR. LG 3.9 0.5 119484

Personal Subject:

Belpré, Pura-Juvenile fiction.

Subject Term:

Spanish language materials -- Bilingual.

Librarians -- Juvenile fiction.

Libraries -- Juvenile fiction.

Puerto Ricans -- New York (State) -- New York -- Juvenile fiction.

Epiphany -- Juvenile fiction.

Geographic Term:

New York (N.Y.) -- History -- 1898-1951 -- Juvenile fiction.

Author(s):

Delacre, Lulu,

Publisher:

Children's Book Press,

Publication Date:

2008

ISBN:

9780892392223

Publication Information:

San Francisco : Children's Book Press, c2008.

Call Number:

P GONZALE

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607002175639	Picture Books	GONZALE	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

It is the winter of 1929, and cousins Hildamar and Santiago have just moved to enormous, chilly New York from their native Puerto Rico. As Three Kings' Day approaches, Hildamar and Santiago mourn the loss of their sunny home and wonder about their future in their adopted city. But when a storyteller and librarian named Pura Belpre arrives in their classroom, the children begin to understand just what a library can mean to a community. In this fitting tribute to a remarkable woman, Lucia Gonzalez and Lulu Delacre have captured the truly astounding effect that Belpre had on the city of New York."

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 1-4-Two Pura Belpre Honor Award winners have created a moving portrait of New York City's first Puerto Rican librarian, a woman whose work has inspired generations of young people in the communities she served. It's 1929, and Hildamar, who arrived in northern Manhattan only a few months before, misses the warmth and holiday celebrations of Puerto Rico. At school, she meets Pura Belpre, who tells her class stories in Spanish and English, explains that the library belongs to everyone, and invites them to visit during winter vacation. Hildamar comes to hear Ms. Belpre's tales, see her puppets, and make wishes as she blows out the storyteller's candle. When she announces plans for a Three Kings' Day fiesta, the members of northern Manhattan's El Barrio help prepare for the event and discover at the library the comfort of their own language and memories of Puerto Rico. On January 6, 1930, the holiday is observed with sweets, music, and a play about a Spanish cockroach named Martina. The well-written text is presented in both Spanish and English. The illustrations were created with layers of oil washes and collage. Tantalizing bits of the New York Times from that date are embedded in the artwork, giving hints of the larger world-steamship arrivals, theater reviews, and even an account of Three Kings' Day in San Juan. Sepia tones evoke the time period and the setting. A lovely offering about the role of librarians in the lives of children.-Mary Jean Smith, Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publisher's Weekly Review

Introducing Pura Belpre, the first Puerto Rican librarian hired by the New York Public Library system, this warmhearted Spanish/English bilingual story adopts the perspectives of two children who are inspired by Belpre to enter a library for the very first time. During a cold, Depression-era winter, Belpre organizes the community to hold a Three Kings' Day festival at the library. In telling the story, Gonzalez livens the English text with a sprinkling of Spanish words, and chooses facts of interest to children, but streamlines biographical details so that she can focus on the characters. Delacre's inviting oil and collage illustrations cleverly incorporate sepia-toned clippings from a January 6, 1930, New York Times, turning them into architectural elements, books, furniture, etc. With this simple and affectionate story, Gonzalez and Delacre (both winners of the ALA's Pura Belpre Honor Medal) broadcast Belpre's welcome message to new generations of immigrants--"Remember, the library belongs to you all," Belpre says. "We'll blow out the storyteller's candle, and your wish will come true." Ages 4-8. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved