Soñadora: Yuyi Morales

Morales was born in Xalapa, Mexico in 1968. The influence of her Mexican birthright and culture is evident in all of her titles and helps to identify the power of heritage in the work of children’s picture books. Her family was made of avid storytellers, which laid a foundation of creative communication from the beginning of Yuyi’s life.

Yuyi’s stories are heavily influenced by her upbringing in Mexico and give poignant insight from an immigrant’s perspective. “Dreamers,” the recipient of a 2019 Caldecott Honor, speaks to this experience and topic especially. However, pieces of her vibrant past make their way into her other titles as well. “As anyone who comes to a new country carries with her, with him, all those stories, I brought them with me, too, and I put them in my books all the time,” Morales has said.