Bilingual and Spanish-language storytelling can be a crucial tool for preserving culture and language in young readers.
The Campoy-Ada award recognizes works that do this especially well.
The award is named after Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy -- icons in the field of Spanish-language children’s literature.
Patricia Sánchez, chair of the Department of Bilingual-Bicultural Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio, said many Spanish-speaking communities strongly value oral storytelling.
“As a kid, I didn’t have these bilingual books,” she said. “If you can give a child a book that’s in their language, or the book can be in two languages, that’s a big thing.”
Author Carmen Tafolla, a former Texas and San Antonio Poet Laureate, recently won the Campoy-Ada award with the Spanish translation of her 2023 book, Warrior Girl, published as Guerrera.
The book is set in verse and centers on a 12-year-old immigrant girl in San Antonio whose father has just been deported.
Tafolla said she’s seen a shift in publishing Spanish-language books, especially with recognitions like the Campoy-Ada award.
“Children’s book awards themselves began to expand and say, ‘We need things that reflect a Latino experience,’ or ‘We need things that reflect a Mexican American experience,’” she said.
Watch the 2025 Campoy-Ada April 3 awards ceremony at UTSA below:
