Born in Mexico and raised among giant grandmothers, mossy house walls, and rampaging feral gardens, Yuyi Morales fostered a strong bond with the magical stories that ran in her family. After migrating to the US in 1994, she struggled with English and loneliness in a culture foreign to her but found solace in public libraries, where she read children’s books with her infant son and discovered a renewed interest in stories and art.

Asked about her work, Yuyi says, “I strive to capture the incredible beauty of the everyday forms using textures and colors as another way to reveal the heart of the story. I also pursue glow and luminosity with resolve. If I could ask for a talent, it would be to become a color genius.”

Yuyi Morales is now the author and illustrator of many books for children, including the New York Times bestseller Dreamers, and she is a seven-time winner of the Pura Belpre Medal for an outstanding work of literature for children that best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience. Other honors include the Americas Award, the Golden Kite Medal, the Christopher Award, the Jane Adams Award, and the Tomas Rivera Award. In 2015, she received the Caldecott Honor for her book Viva Frida.

Learn more about Yuyi on her website.