Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré
Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré
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Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré

Written by Anika Denise & illustrated by Paola Escobar
Hardcover
$17.99
$16.73
4 - 8
Reading age
40
Page count
14
Words per page
860L
Lexile measure
Jan 15, 2019
Publication date

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What Does Bookroo Think of This Book

A phenomenal job of mixing an inspiring, important history lesson with an engaging story.

When a trip to attend her sister’s wedding takes Pura Belpré from Puerto Rico to New York, a temporary visit becomes a permanent stay as Pura becomes enchanted with the opportunity to start a new life in New York. After finding work as a librarian, she begins to share treasured stories learned from her grandma about her Puerto Rican heritage. Pura’s formal storytelling as a librarian changes to informal storytelling as she travels the country with her husband, musician Clarence White, but when she visits the library again decades later, she finds her stories have contributed to and inspired a blossoming literary culture. Aldamuy Denise achieves the difficult and uncommon feat of sharing a fact-filled, historical biography as an interesting yet substantive story for kids. The book communicates a positive lesson about how one librarian starts sharing her stories when she doesn’t find books reflecting her own heritage on the shelf. These stories are presented refreshingly real. For example, the tale of a beautiful princess cockroach is not altered into a character more appealing to a mainstream audience. Aldamuy Denise’s story is at times almost poetic, as Pura’s first job in a garment factory “is cold floors and hard edges” instead of “soft, fertile ground where seeds take root.” Escobar’s colorful illustrations help keep the story playful and engaging with bright buildings, idealized libraries, and stylized characters, though the significance of the flowers scattered all throughout is not immediately clear, and the flowers become distracting.

What Kind of Book is Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré

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Book Details

ISBN
9780062748683
Publication Date
January 15, 2019
Publisher
HarperCollins
Page Count
40
Words Per Page
14
Audience
Picture
Reading Age
4 - 8 years
Lib. of Congress (LCCN)
2017057329
WorldCat Number (OCLC)
1157209995
Lexile® Level
860L
Est. Fountas & Pinnell Level
~T
ATOS® Book Level
4
Accelerated Reader® Points
0.5
Accelerated Reader Quiz
198342
Accelerated Reader Interest Level
LG

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