I’m the interim faculty advisor for REFORMA until Dr. Villagran returns from sabbatical next semester. I wanted to take a moment and share how I got involved with REFORMA. I had the opportunity to serve on the 2024 Pura Belpre Award committee which hands out awards for the best picture book, middle grade, and young adult books of the year. It was definitely a highlight of my career and it made me want to continue to be involved.
So allow me to slip into my happy place to discuss books. Let’s take a moment to speculate what might win this year’s Pura Belpre. Mexikid won in two Pura Belpre categories (picture book, middle grade) not to mention a Newbery Honor, too!). Now Pedro Martin returns with a sequel, Mexikid Dreams. Will this book continue that streak of dominance? I think so. On the other hand, I like Estela, Undrowning in the YA category, a debut novel in prose and poems about a young Latina in San Francisco. Will either of these books win? What other books would you consider?
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