The Last Cuentista

Winner of the John Newbery Medal
Winner of the Pura Belpré Award

TIME's Best Books of the Year
Wall Street Journal's Best of the Year
Minneapolis Star Tribune's Best of the Year
Boston Globe's Best of the Year
BookPage's Best of the Year
Publishers Weekly's Best of the Year
School Library Journal's Best of the Year
Kirkus Reviews' Best of the Year
Bank Street's Best of the Year
Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best
New York Public Library Best of the Year
A Junior Library Guild Selection
Cybils Award Finalist

From Pura Belpré Award winner and Newbery Medalist, Donna Barba Higuera--a brilliant journey through the stars, to the very heart of what makes us human.

"Gripping in its twists and turns, and moving in its themes - truly a beautiful cuento."--New York Times

"Clever and compelling ... wonderfully subversive."--The Wall Street Journal

? "This tale packs a wallop. Exquisite."--Kirkus Reviews (starred)

? "Gripping, euphonious, and full of storytelling magic."--Publishers Weekly (starred)

? "A strong, heroic character, fighting incredible odds to survive and protect others."--School Library Journal (starred)

Había una vez . . .

There lived a girl named Petra Peña, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita.

But Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children - among them Petra and her family - have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race.

Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet - and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard - or purged them altogether.

Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?

Author: Donna Barba Higuera
Publisher: Levine Querido
Published: 10/12/2021
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.22lbs
Size: 8.65h x 6.00w x 1.15d
ISBN: 9781646140893
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5
Point Value: 11
Interest Level: Middle Grade Plus
Quiz #/Name: 515177 / Last Storyteller


Award: Newbery Medal - Winner
Award: Pura Belpre Award - Winner


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 06/14/2021
Kirkus Reviews 07/01/2021
Horn Book Magazine 09/01/2021 pg. 95
School Library Journal 09/01/2021 pg. 86
Shelf Awareness 10/29/2021
Booklist 03/15/2022

About the Author
Donna Barba Higuera grew up in Central California and now lives in the Pacific Northwest. She has spent her entire life blending folklore with her experiences into stories that fill her imagination. Now she weaves them to write picture books and novels. Donna's first book, Lupe Wong Won't Dance, won a Sid Fleischman Award for Humor and a Pura Belpré Honor.

Her second novel, The Last Cuentista, received the John Newbery Medal and the Pura Belpré Award. It was named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Boston Globe, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Wall Street Journal, and TIME.