Monica Brown (she/her/hers)

Monica Brown is the award-winning author of more than 30 children's books, including "Sharuko: Peruvian Archeologist/el arqueólogo Julio C. Tello," "Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match/no combina," "Waiting for the Biblioburro" and the Lola Levine series. Her books have received multiple awards and stared reviews, been translated into a dozen languages, and have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post and on NPR's All Things Considered. Her new book is "El Cuarto Turquesa/The Turquoise Room." When not writing for children, Brown serves as a professor of English at Northern Arizona University, where she teaches U.S. Latinx and African American literature. 

Visit website |

Awards: Américas Award (twice); Christopher Award; Orbus Pictus Honor; Frida Kahlo and her Animalitos is a NYTimes/NYPL Best Illustrated Book of 2017

Communities: Arizona Author, Hispanic or Latinx, Mixed Race, Person with a Disability

We Matter: Valuing the Lives of Diverse Children

Too often in our society, children with brown and black skin face discrimination and injustice. These books challenge societal norms by celebrating the value of the lives of biracial, Black and Indigenous children who stand up and assert their right to make their own way in the world.

Education Room 351 (Seats 46, Wheelchair accessible)  
Sat, Mar 4, 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Multigenre
Signing area: Signing Area - Children (following presentation)  

Panelists: Monica Brown, Tami Charles, Daniel Vandever
Moderator: Julia Lopez-Robertson

Something New: Diverse Voices in Early Chapter Books

For many years, early chapter books reflected an "all-white" world that has recently been disrupted by authors of color. The girls in their books live within communities rich in cultural traditions and family relationships. This session highlights books written out of Latinx, Pakistani and Indigenous cultural traditions.

Education Room 351 (Seats 46, Wheelchair accessible)  
Sat, Mar 4, 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Children / Teens
Signing area: Signing Area - Children (following presentation)  

Panelists: Monica Brown, Saadia Faruqi, Dawn Quigley
Moderator: Desirée Cueto

Stories within Stories: Mining Memory

Authors mine their memories to uncover stories within the stories of their lives. Memoir can take a range of forms from intergenerational connections to family memories to embedded folklore in the telling of their lives. These books creatively play with the memoir format.

Education Room 353 (Seats 92, Wheelchair accessible)  
Sat, Mar 4, 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Children / Teens
Signing area: Signing Area - Children (following presentation)  

Panelists: Monica Brown, Daniel Nayeri, Andrea Wang
Moderator: Jana Maiuri

Books:

Cuarto Turquesa

Children / Teens
Lee & Low Books, Incorporated
January 2022
ISBN 9780892394357
40 pages