"Pura Belpré grew up in Puerto Rico surrounded by stories. When she moved to New York and was offered the chance to work at the New York Public Library, she was thrilled to be able to help share her stories with children—especially multicultural and multilingual children like her. She persisted in bringing Spanish and bilingual storytelling and books to libraries across the city and across the country, and she wrote books and stories of her own...

"Jodi M. Savage was raised in Brooklyn, New York, by her maternal grandmother. Her whip-smart, charismatic mother struggled with addiction and was unable to care for her. Granny—a fiery Pentecostal preacher who had a way with words—was Jodi’s rock, until Alzheimer’s disease turned the tables, and a 28-year-old Jodi stepped into the role of caretaker. It was up to Jodi to get them both through the devastations of a deteriorating mind. After...