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. It is co-sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), and the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking (REFORMA), an ALA affiliate.

The award is named after Pura Belpré, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. As a children's librarian, storyteller and author, she enriched the lives of Puerto Rican children in the U.S.A. through her pioneering work of preserving and disseminating Puerto Rican folklore.

- The winner of the Pura Belpré Award (Illustrator) is VIVA FRIDA, illustrated by Yuyi Morales.

- Three Belpré Illustrator Honor Books were named: LITTLE ROJA RIDING HOOD illustrated by Susan Guevara, written by Susan Middleton Elya; GREEN IS A CHILE PEPPER, illustrated by John Parra, written by Roseanne Greenfield Thong; and SEPARATE IS NEVER EQUAL: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation, illustrated and written by Duncan Tonatiuh.