Annal:1998 Pura Belpré Award for Narrative
From AwardAnnals
Results of the Pura Belpré Award for Narrative in the year 1998. For a ranked list of books, try an honor roll:
Parrot in the Oven: Mi vida
- 1998 Belpré–narrative winner
- 1996 NBA–Youth winner
- Score: 20.48
Perico, or parrot, was what Dad called me sometimes. It was from a Mexican saying about a parrot that complains how hot it is in the shade, while all along he’s sitting inside an oven and doesn’t know it….
For Manuel Hernandez, the year leading up to his test of courage, his initiation into a gang, is a time filled with the pain and tension, awkwardness and excitement of growing up in a crazy world. His dad spends most of his time and money at the local pool hall; his brother flips through jobs like a thumb through a deck of cards; and his mom never stops cleaning the house, as though one day the rooms will be so spotless they’ll disappear into a sparkle, and she’ll be free.
Manny’s dad is always saying that people are like money—there are million- and thousand- and hundred-dollar people out there, and to him, Manny is just a penny. But Manny wants to be more than a penny, smarter than the parrot in the oven. He wants to find out what it means to be a , a guy to respect.
In this beautifully written novel, Victor Martinez gives readers a vivid portrait of one Mexican-American…
Laughing Tomatoes: And Other Spring Poems
Francisco X. Alarcón, Maya Christina Gonzalez
- 1998 Belpré–narrative honor
- Score: 6.48
Tomatoes laugh, chiles explode, and tortillas applaud the sun. With joy and tenderness, delight and sadness, Frances X. Alarcón's poems honor life and nature: welcoming the morning sun, remembering his grandmother's songs, paying tribute to children working in the fields, and dreaming of a world filled with gardens.
Artist Maya Christina Gonzalez invites readers to experience the poems with her lively cast of characters - including a spirited grandma, four vivacious children, and playful pets who tease and delight. Follow them from page to page as they bring each poem to colorful life. Laughing Tomatoes is a verbal and visual treat, giving readers eighteen opportunities to see everything for the first time.
- 1998 Belpré–narrative honor
- Score: 6.48
In this moving coming-of-age novel set in rural New Mexico, the young protagonist, Flavio, is torn between the seductiveness of progress and new technology and his loyalty to village traditions so steadfastly preserved by his grandfather, El Grande.
