Author record · 2006 to 2025
Margarita Engle: Awards and Best-of Lists
Margarita Engle has won 6 awards, including the Pura Belpré Award (2008) for The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano, with 6 shortlist or finalist places, 1 longlist or nominee place, and 30 year-end list picks in our archive.
Also credited with Rafael López
Every recognition
| Year | Book | Source | Result | Translator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Wild Dreamers | Pura Belpré Award source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Honor · Young Adult Author | |
| 2025 | Hopeful Heroes | School Library Journal Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Poetry | |
| 2024 | Wild Dreamers | National Book Awards source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Longlist · Young People's Literature | |
| 2023 | El día del agua | Chicago Public Library Best of the Best source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Best Board & Picture Books | |
| 2023 | El día del agua | Chicago Public Library Best of the Best source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Los mejores libros en español | |
| 2023 | The Sculptors of Light: Poems About Cuban Women Artists | School Library Journal Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Poetry | |
| 2023 | Wings in the Wild | Kirkus Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Teen | |
| 2022 | Singing With Elephants | Kirkus Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Middle Grade | |
| 2021 | Your Heart, My Sky | Kirkus Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Teen | |
| 2020 | Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln | Pura Belpré Award source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Winner · Illustrator | |
| 2019 | Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreno Played the Piano for President Lincoln | New York Public Library Best Books source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Best Books for Kids | |
| 2019 | Soaring Earth: A Companion Memoir to Enchanted Air | New York Public Library Best Books source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Best Books for Teens | |
| 2019 | Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln | Chicago Public Library Best of the Best source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Best Informational Books for Younger Readers | |
| 2019 | Soaring Earth: A Companion Memoir to Enchanted Air | School Library Journal Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Nonfiction | |
| 2019 | Dancing Hands | Kirkus Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Picture Books | |
| 2017 | Bravo! Poems About Amazing Hispanics | New York Public Library Best Books source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Best Books for Kids | |
| 2017 | Bravo!: Poems About Amazing Hispanics | Chicago Public Library Best of the Best source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Best Informational Books for Younger Readers | |
| 2017 | Bravo!: Poems About Amazing Hispanics | School Library Journal Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Nonfiction | |
| 2017 | All the Way to Havana | Kirkus Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Picture Books | |
| 2016 | Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir | Pura Belpré Award source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Winner · Author | |
| 2016 | Drum Dream Girl | Pura Belpré Award source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Winner · Illustrator | |
| 2016 | Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir | YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Finalist · Nonfiction | |
| 2015 | Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl's Courage Changed Music | New York Public Library Best Books source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Best Books for Kids | |
| 2015 | Orangutanka: A Story in Poems | New York Public Library Best Books source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Best Books for Kids | |
| 2015 | Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings : A Memoir | Chicago Public Library Best of the Best source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Best Informational Books for Older Readers | |
| 2015 | Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl's Courage Changed Music | Chicago Public Library Best of the Best source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Best Informational Books for Younger Readers | |
| 2015 | Enchanted Air | Kirkus Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Middle Grade | |
| 2015 | Drum Dream Girl | Kirkus Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Picture Books | |
| 2015 | Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl's Courage Changed Music | School Library Journal Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Picture Books | |
| 2015 | Enchanted Air | BookPage Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Young Adult | |
| 2014 | The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba's Greatest Abolitionist | Pura Belpré Award source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Honor · Author | |
| 2014 | Silver People | New York Public Library Best Books source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Best Books for Teens | |
| 2013 | Mountain Dog | Kirkus Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Middle Grade | |
| 2012 | Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck | Pura Belpré Award source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Honor · Author | |
| 2012 | The Wild Book | Kirkus Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Children's | |
| 2011 | The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette's Journey to Cuba | Pura Belpré Award source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Honor · Author | |
| 2010 | Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba | Sydney Taylor Book Award source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Winner · Young Adult | |
| 2010 | Summer Birds | Kirkus Best Books of the Year source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Children's | |
| 2009 | The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom | Pura Belpré Award source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Winner · Author | |
| 2009 | The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom | John Newbery Medal source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Honor · Children's Literature | |
| 2008 | The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano | Pura Belpré Award source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Winner · Author | |
| 2008 | The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom | Booklist Editors' Choice source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Books for Youth: Older Readers | |
| 2006 | The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano | Booklist Editors' Choice source ↗ (opens in a new tab) | Selection · Books for Youth: Older Readers |
Books
- Drum Dream Girl5 sources · 2015 to 2016
- Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir5 sources · 2015 to 2016
- Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln4 sources · 2019 to 2020
- The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom3 sources · 2008 to 2009
- Bravo!: Poems About Amazing Hispanics2 sources · 2017
- Soaring Earth: A Companion Memoir to Enchanted Air2 sources · 2019
- The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano2 sources · 2006 to 2008
- Wild Dreamers2 sources · 2024 to 2025
- All the Way to Havana1 source · 2017
- Bravo! Poems About Amazing Hispanics1 source · 2017
- El día del agua1 source · 2023
- Hopeful Heroes1 source · 2025
- Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck1 source · 2012
- Mountain Dog1 source · 2013
- Orangutanka: A Story in Poems1 source · 2015
- Silver People1 source · 2014
- Singing With Elephants1 source · 2022
- Summer Birds1 source · 2010
- The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette's Journey to Cuba1 source · 2011
- The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba's Greatest Abolitionist1 source · 2014
- The Sculptors of Light: Poems About Cuban Women Artists1 source · 2023
- The Wild Book1 source · 2012
- Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba1 source · 2010
- Wings in the Wild1 source · 2023
- Your Heart, My Sky1 source · 2021