If your kids have read some of the Pura Belpré Award winners, they may be wondering, "Who was Pura Belpré and why is there an award named after her?" Thanks to a new bilingual picture book The Storyteller's Candle / La velita de los cuentos, your kids can learn all about Pura Belpre, a Puerto Rican who was the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. The book is set in the early part of the Depression (1929-1935) when large numbers of Puerto Ricans immigrated to New York City. The Storyteller's Candle / La velita de los cuentos focuses on how Pura Belpré impacted one Puerto Rican immigrant family, and their community of friends and neighbors, by welcoming them to the library and providing them with experiences that both helped them adjust to their new country and kept their Puerto Rican cultural traditions alive. Pura Belpré was also well-known for her work in preserving and sharing Puerto Rican folklore. To learn more about the award named after her, see What is the Pura Belpre Award?

(Cover art courtesy of Children's Book Press)

Middle school students (and a lot of fourth and fifth graders) love the very funny Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. They'll be delighted to know the third book in the series is now available. Like the other books, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw, is written is the form of the diary of middle schooler Greg Haffley and illustrated with Greg's cartoons. In this book, the emphasis is on Greg's crush on a classmate and his skirmishes with his father. Once again, author Jeff Kinney has done a great job, in words and pictures, of illustrating both the general goofiness that comes with being a self-centered adolescent and the funny things that happen as a result.

(Cover art courtesy of Amulet Books, An Imprint of Harry N. Abrams, Inc.)

One of the requests I often receive is for a list of African American authors and illustrators of children's books. When I finally found one, it quickly disappeared from the Web. I have now located a new one and have added it to my Africa/African American directory. The directory contains my book reviews of related children's books, including John Henry, followed by links to other sites, including the African-American Authors and Illustrators of Children's Books list from the Harford County (MD) Public Library. There, you will find several recommended reading lists, followed by a list of African American children's book authors and illustrators.

(Cover art courtesy of Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers)

After I finished deciding what to include in my Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2008 article, I began to read a lot of other "best books" lists from a variety of publications. I've selected some of the best ones for my Best 2008 Books for Babies to Tweens and Teens. Are there any books on the lists that your kids particularly loved or hated? Are there other books for babies, younger children, tweens and teens published in 2008 that you think should have been included? If so, please click on "Comments" below and share your opinions.

(Cover art courtesy of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)