Chicano Author’s First Picture Book Honored

A Lizard’s Tale Chicano Author’s First Picture Book Honored HOUSTON, TX—Chicano author Daniel Chacón’s first book for children, Gecko Girl / Lagartijita (ISBN 979-8-89375-014-0, hardcover, $18.95), is the winner of the 2025 Salinas de Alba Award for Latino Children’s Literature. Forthcoming May 31, 2025, this whimsical bilingual picture book for ages 4-8 contains Steven James Petruccio’s beautiful illustrations of the gecko girl and the creatures she meets on her journey of discovery.According to the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, just 379 of the 3,203 children’s books it received that were published in the United States in 2023 were written by Latinos; only 291 were about Latinos. Diversity statistics for 2024 are not yet available. The Salinas de Alba Award seeks to stimulate the work begun by Arte Público Press and its imprint, Piñata Books, which is dedicated to the publication of children’s and young adult literature that authentically and realistically portrays themes, …

Four Piñata Books Recognized with the Campoy-Ada Award

  HOUSTON, TX— The Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española (ANLE) and the University of Texas, San Antonio (UTSA) recognized four bilingual children’s picture books with honorable mentions in various categories for the 2024 Campoy-Ada Award. Established in 2017, the prize celebrates books in Spanish for children and young adults published in the US and Puerto Rico; there are 12 categories with Latino-centered and universal themes that promote multicultural understanding.   Grandma’s Hair Is Ankle Length / El cabello de Abuela le llega hasta los tobillos, written by Adriana Camacho-Church and illustrated by Carmen Lop, and Tierra, Tierrita / Earth, Little Earth by Jorge Argueta with illustrations by Felipe Ugalde Alcántara, were recognized for universal themes in the children’s narrative and children’s poetry categories, respectively. Xequina María Berbér’s Pedro and the Monster Eaters / Pedro y los devoradores de monstruos, illustrated by C. Rod. Unalt, and Mariano’s First Glove / El …