Zeke Peña

Zeke Peña is a Xicano storyteller and professional doodler from El Paso, TX, the Sun City. His author-illustrator debut, "Sundust" is a love poem to desert culture and won a Caldecott Honor Award. Zeke received the Ezra Jack Keats and the Pura Belpré Illustration Honors for "My Papi Has a Motorcycle;" and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for "Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide." He illustrated the NY Times Best-Selling "Miles Morales Suspended: A Spider-Man Novel." Zeke is currently drawing more books in his tiny studio in NW Arkansas.

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Awards: Caldecott Honor Book, Pura Belpré Award, Ezra Jack Keats Illustrator Honor Award, Horn Book Award

Communities: Hispanic or Latinx

Illustrator Studio: Exploring Shape & Color

In this illustrator studio, Zeke Peña demonstrates his use of shape in color in creating the vibrant illustrations in his Caldecott Honor book, "Sundust," a love poem to desert culture. Zeke is also the illustrator of "My Papi Has a Motorcycle" and "Miles Morales Suspended: A Spider-Man Novel."

Education Room 437 (Seats 65, Wheelchair accessible)  
Sun, Mar 15, 1:00 pm - 1:55 pm
Children
Signing area: Signing Area - Children (following presentation)  

Panelist: Zeke Peña
Moderator: Ray Martens

Flights of Imagination and Discovery

Immerse yourself in flights of imagination and discovery in three visually stunning and creative picturebooks. In one, a playful cat journeys through multiple pieces of art, while in another a boy finds companionship as he searches for a lost orange balloon. The third is a love poem to the desert as two children follow the blazing trail of sundust.

Education Room 353 (Seats 92, Wheelchair accessible)  
Sun, Mar 15, 2:30 pm - 3:25 pm
Children
Signing area: Signing Area - Children (following presentation)  

Panelists: Bruce Handy, Brian Lies, Zeke Peña
Moderator: Heather Carlson

Book:

Sundust

Children
Penguin Group
August 2025
ISBN 9780593700112
48 pages
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