Yuyi Morales is a renowned author and illustrator, best known for her contributions to children's literature. She was born on November 7, 1968, in Xalapa, Veracruz, and is the oldest of four children. From a young age, Morales had a love for drawing and would often pair her pictures with stories.
Morales has received numerous accolades for her work, including the Pura Belpré Award and the Christopher Medal. She is the illustrator of Kathleen Krull’s Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez, as well as the Pura Belpré Award-winning Los Gatos Black on Halloween by Marisa Montes. Morales has also won the Pura Belpré Medal for Illustration twice, for her books "Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book" and "Los Gatos Black on Halloween."
Born and raised in Mexico, Morales now resides in northern California. She has drawn from her family's legacy and her heritage to create some of the most celebrated Latino works for children's books. Her book "Harvesting Hope; The story of Cesar Chavez" received the Christopher Award and the Jane Adams Award, and was deemed one of the best books of 2003 by Child Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, and School Library Journal. Morales is also the creator of the ALA notable book "Little Night," co-released in Spanish as "Nochecita," and winner of the 2008 SCBWI Golden Kite Medal. Her work has also received the Americas Award, the California book Award, and the Tomas Rivera Award in 2004 and 2008.
In describing her work, Morales states that she strives to capture the incredible beauty of everyday forms using textures and colors to reveal the heart of the story. She also pursues glow and luminosity with resolve, and if she could ask for a talent, it would be to become a color genius. Morales's work affirms, celebrates, and portrays the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.