Gary Anthony Soto is an American poet, novelist, and memoirist.
The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is a division of the American Library Association.
Pam Muñoz Ryan is an American writer for children and young adults, particularly in the multicultural genre.
David Díaz is an American illustrator of children's books. He won the 1995 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration recognizing Smoky Night by Eve Bunting. He currently lives in Carlsbad, California.
Pura Teresa Belpré y Nogueras was an Afro-Puerto Rican educator who served as the first Puerto Rican librarian in New York City. She was also a writer, collector of folktales, and puppeteer.
The Pura Belpré Award is a recognition presented to a Latino or Latina author and illustrator whose work best portrays the Latino cultural experience in a work of literature for children or youth. It was established in 1996. It was given every other year since 1996 until 2009 when it was changed to be given annually.
Lulu Delacre is the author/illustrator of many award winning children's books. Some of her most famous works include Arroz con leche: Popular Songs and Rhymes from Latin America, Vejigante Masquerader, and The Bossy Gallito. Delacre's writes books that celebrate her Latino heritage and promote cultural diversity.
Becoming Naomi León is a 2005 fiction, adventure, and young author's 246 page coming of age novel by Pam Muñoz Ryan about a quiet Latina girl, whose life with her great-grandmother and younger brother is peaceful, until her mother reappears after abandoning her and her brother years earlier.
Margarita Engle is a Cuban American poet and author of many award-winning books for children, young adults and adults. Most of Engle's stories are written in verse and are a reflection of her Cuban heritage and her deep appreciation and knowledge of nature. She became the first Latino awarded a Newbery Honor in 2009 for The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom. She was selected by the Poetry Foundation to serve from 2017 to 2019 as the sixth Young People's Poet Laureate. On October 9, 2018, Margarita Engle was announced the winner of the 2019 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature. She was nominated by 2019 NSK Prize jury member Lilliam Rivera. Her 2024 book, Wild Dreamers, was longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature.
Rafael López is an internationally recognized illustrator and artist. To reflect the lives of all young people, his illustrations bring diverse characters to children's books. As a children's book illustrator, he has received three Pura Belpré Award medals from the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), and REFORMA in 2020 for Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln,Drum Dream Girl in 2016 and Book Fiesta! in 2010. He created the National Book Festival Poster for the Library of Congress and was a featured book festival speaker at this event.
Meg Medina is an American children’s book author of Cuban descent whose books celebrate Latino culture and the lives of young people. She is the 2023 – 2024 National Ambassador of Young People’s Literature. Medina is the recipient of the 2019 John Newbery Medal for her middle grade novel, Merci Suárez Changes Gears and the Pura Belpré Award for Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass (2014) and the Pura Belpré Award Honor Book in 2016 for Mango, Abuela and Me).
Yuyi Morales is a Mexican-American children's book author and illustrator. She is known for her books Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book, Little Night, and Viva Frida, which received the 2015 Pura Belpre Medal for illustration as well as a 2015 Caldecott Honor. Morales is the first Latina to be a Caldecott recipient.
Mango, Abuela, and Me is a 2015 children's book written by Meg Medina and illustrated by Angela Dominguez. It was first published on August 25, 2015 through Candlewick Press and was a 2016 Belpré Honor Book. While writing the book Medina drew upon her experiences growing up with her grandmother Abuela Bena.
Guadalupe Garcia McCall is an author, poet, and educator. She was born in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico. She is the recipient of the 2012 Pura Belpré Medal for narrative.
Gloria Amescua is a Latina and Tejana writer from Austin, Texas. Amescua is most known for her poetry chapbooks, "Windchimes" and "What Remains." She won Lee and Low's Award Honor (2016) for her picture book manuscript in verse originally titled: Luz Jiménez, No Ordinary Girl. Her most recent book is Child of the Flower-Song People: Luz Jiménez, Daughter of the Nahua, a picture book illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh and published by Abrams Books for Young Readers in 2021.
Latino children's literature encompasses works such as stories, books, and poems about Latinos in the United States, often touching on the Latino cultural experience in the U.S. This includes people of Latin American heritage born in the United States, including Puerto Rico, or those who have immigrated from Latin America, with the term encompassing their contributions to the field of writing for children in the United States. These works are oftentimes written in English but can include works written in Spanish or a mix of both languages.
John Parra is an American illustrator. Parra's books have received awards including the Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor Book Award, Golden Kite Award, Christopher Award, and an International Latino Book Award. He has additionally worked as an illustrator for corporate marketing campaigns and as an art instructor.
Zeke Peña is an American cartoonist, illustrator, and writer. He has won multiple awards for illustration, including for his work in two books by Isabel Quintero; My Papi Has a Motorcycle and Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide. His work deals with themes of American history, the culture of the border region, folklore, and social justice.
Susan Marie Guevara is an American sculptor and illustrator, who is best known for her illustrations in picture books. She was born in Walnut Creek, California and now lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Susan received a BFA in illustration from Academy of Art College in San Francisco. She took time off between her first and second years and moved to Belgium where she was able to study with Remy Van Sluys and take painting and drawing classes at Royal Academy of Fine Art. She was the first recipient of the Pura Belpré Medal Award in 1996 for Gary Soto's Chat's Kitchen. She won again in 2002 for Gary Soto's Chato and the Party Animals, and was a recipient of a Pura Belpré Honor Award for Susan Elya Middleton's Little Roja Riding Hood.
Angela Dominguez is an American children’s book author and illustrator. Her books use a diverse mix of Hispanic and Latino characters. She is author of the Stella Díaz series and worked with Sonia Sotomayor on the book Just Help! How to Build a Better World in 2016.
