Pam Muñoz Ryan is the recipient of the NEA's Human and Civil Rights Award, the PEN Center USA Award, and the 2024 Children's Literature Legacy Award for her body of work. She was the 2018 US nominee for the international Hans Christian Andersen Award. She received a Newbery Honor Medal and the Kirkus Prize for her New York Times bestselling novel, Echo. Her other celebrated novels, Esperanza Rising, The Dreamer, Riding Freedom, Becoming Naomi León, Paint the Wind, and Mañanaland, have received countless accolades, among them the Pura Belpré Award, the Jane Addams Children's Book Award, and the Américas Award. Her acclaimed picture books include Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride and the Sibert Honor book When Marian Sang , both illustrated by Brian Selznick, Mice and Beans illustrated by Joe Cepeda, and Tony Baloney illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham, as well as a beginning reader series featuring Tony Baloney. Ryan lives near San Diego, California, with her family. Joe Cepeda is the Pura Belpré Honor-winning illustrator of more than thirty books for children, some of which he has written. He also created the iconic cover art for Pam Muñoz Ryan's bestselling novel, Esperanza Rising. Cepeda received the Recognition of Merit Award from the George G. Stone Center for Children's Books and is a former president of the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles. He lives in Southern California with his family. Learn more at joecepeda.com.
