Pura Belpré began her long, luminous career as a librarian, storyteller, author, activist, and puppeteer when she moved to New York in 1921. Not only was Belpré NYC’s first Puerto Rican librarian, Neda Ulaby reports for NPR, she was the first to perform story times in English and Spanish (with puppets), opening up a world of reading for her community’s Spanish-speaking youth, and also the first to have a Spanish-language children’s book published by a major US press.
Pura Belpré: New York’s First Puerto Rican Librarian
Amanda Hildebrand
Amanda Hildebrand is a painter and writer based in Los Angeles. She Instagrams: @amandahilly.