Juana Martinez-Neal (she/her/hers)

Jade Beall

Juana Martinez-Neal is an illustrator of books for children, including the Pura Belpré Award winner "La Princesa and the Pea." She made her authorial debut in 2018 with "Alma and How She Got Her Name," awarded the Caldecott Honor. "Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story" written by Kevin Noble Maillard was awarded a Sibert medal. Her most recent book is "Zonia's Rain Forest," set in her native Peru. Martinez-Neal was born in Lima, Peru, where she grew up surrounded by amazing meals prepared by her mom and amazing paintings made by her dad and granddad. She now lives, eats and paints in Scottsdale, surrounded by her amazing children.

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Awards: Caldecott Honor Book, Pura Belpré Award, Sibert Medal 2020, International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Illustration Honor 2014, SCBWI Grand Prize Winner 2012, Ezra Jack Keats Award Writer Honor 2019

Dreaming Big and Working Hard: Celebrations of Latin America

Celebrate the people of Latin America through three new books about an indigenous family in a Peruvian rainforest, the first indigenous archaeologist in Peru and a glimpse into lives of Latinitas throughout the Americás.

Helios Education Foundation Children/Teen Stage (Seats 1000)
Sun, Mar 7, 2021, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Children / Teens
Watch broadcast

Panelists: Monica Brown, Juana Martinez-Neal, Juliet Menéndez
Moderator: Maria Acevedo