Angela Dominguez

American children's book author and illustrator From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Angela Dominguez

Angela Dominguez (b. 1982) is an American children’s book author and illustrator. Her books use a diverse mix of Hispanic and Latino characters. She is author of the Stella Díaz series and worked with Sonia Sotomayor on the book Just Help! How to Build a Better World in 2016.[1]

Quick Facts Born, Occupation ...
Angela Dominguez
Angela Dominguez at a book reading in 2022
Angela Dominguez at a book reading in 2022
Born1982
Mexico City, Mexico
OccupationArtist, illustrator
LanguageEnglish, Spanish
NationalityAmerican
Website
www.angeladominguezbooks.com
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Early life and education

Angela Dominguez was born in Mexico City in 1982. She moved to North Texas in 1984, and was raised there during her childhood.[2] Angela's American English teachers Discouraged her from speaking Spanish, rather than learn two languages at the same time.[3] Speaking only English, Dominguez struggled to communicate with her only Spanish-speaking family.[4] She early on learned to utilize writing and drawing as an effective form of communication.[4] This inspired her passion to draw as a child. She later took Spanish classes as an adult and is now Bilingual.[4]

Dominguez attended Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) on a scholarship and graduated with a BFA in illustration.[5] She then gained an MFA in illustration at the Academy of Art University. She began teaching children’s book illustration there two years later.[6]

Career

In her time at SCAD, she wrote Maria Had a Little Llama, her own cultural take on the folk story Mary Had a Little Lamb which received the Pura Belpré Award in 2014.[7] Dominguez aims to represent under-represented Latinx cultures in American children’s books through her fictional novels and illustrations.[8] Writing Mary Had a Little Llama sparked Dominguez’s career in writing and illustrating children’s books.[5] She has continued to illustrate and write children’s books, such as the Stella Diaz Series.[5]

She has worked with authors such as Marsha Diane Arnold and Sonia Sotomayor to represent Latino/Hispanic characters and their overall culture with the intent of diversity and inclusivity in American children's books.[5] Their book titled Just Help! How to build a Better World is a New York Times Bestseller.[9]

Dominguez is currently a professor at the Academy of Art University.[10] She is a member of Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and PEN America.[11]

Awards and honours

  • Marta Big and Small was a 2016 School Library Journal Top Latinx Book, a 2017 CCBC Choices and a 2017-2018 Read on, Wisconsin! selection[12]
  • Stella Díaz Has Something To Say was a New York Public Library pick for Best Books for Kids 2018,[14] a Chicago Public Library Best Fiction for Younger Readers of 2018,[15] a Sid Fleischman Award winner[16] and an American Library Association Notable book for 2019.[17][18]
  • Sing, Don't Cry was Virginia Reader’s Choice 2019-2020[19]

References

Further reading

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