HCAA 2024 Shortlist Profiles

Marina Colasanti has written poetry, short stories and prose for children, but she is best known for her unique fairy tales accompanied by her own illustrations. She was born in 1937 in Asmara (then Abyssinia, now Eritrea) and moved to Brazil at the age of eleven, after having lived in Libya and Italy. She studied painting and etching at the National School of Arts and began working as a writer and journalist for a major Brazilian newspaper. She had already published two books of fiction and was editor of the children’s section of the newspaper when she published her first book for children and young people, Uma idea toda azul (A true blue idea, 1979), which isa series of innovative illustrated fairy tales. The book received many awards and was published in several Latin American countries as well as in Spain and France. Depth in content and rich poetic language are the trademarks of her literary works for children and young people. Her most important titles for children include Ana Z. aonde vai você? (Ana Z. Where are you going? 1993) and Longe como o meu querer (Far like my dear one, 1997), both of which she illustrated, as well as A moça tecelã (The girl weaver, 2004) and Breve história de um pequeno amor (Brief story about a little love, 2013). Several of her books have won major literary awards in Brazil including the Origenes Lessa Award – Best Fiction for Young People and the Jabuti Award. She has also received recognition as a translator from Spanish and Italian: her Portuguese translation of María Theresa Andruetto’s Stefano (2014) was included in the 2016 IBBY Honour List. Marina Colasanti was nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2016, 2018 and 2020.

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A moça tecelã (The Weaver Girl)
Sao Paulo, Brazil: Global Editora, 2016, ISBN 978-85-260-0891-5

Breve história de um pequeno amor (Short Story of a Tiny Love), ill. by Rebeca Luciani, 
Sao Paulo, Brazil: FTD, 2013, ISBN 978-85-322-8429-7

Ana Z., aonde vai você? (Ana Z., Where Are You Going?)
Sao Paulo, Brazil : Ática, 2016, 978 85 08 10529 8

Uma ideia toda azul (The Bluest Idea) 
Sao Paulo, Brazil: Global Editora, 2014, ISBN 978-85-260-1109-0

Longe como o meu querer (As Far as My Love Goes)
Sao Paulo, Brazil : Ática, 2013, ISBN 978-85-08-10662-2
 

Radio journalist and writer, Heinz Janisch is one of Austria’s most well-known authors of children’s books. Born 1960 in Güssing, Burgenland, he studied German philology and publishing at the University of Vienna. He has worked for Austrian broadcasting (radio) and has been editor-in-charge of the series Menschenbilder (Pictures of people) since 1984. He also writes plays and dance pieces for modern theatre, including adapting classic works for a children’s audience. Since 1989, he has written numerous picture books, poetry books and tales for children and adults as well as film scripts. He has said, “nothing is too small for literature” and this is reflected in his work that illuminates the special in seemingly trivial objects and features of daily life, and in his preference for poems, miniatures and aphorisms. He has won the the Kinderbuchpreis der Stadt Wien twelve times between 1995 and 2011. His works have been included in the IBBY Honour List: in 2000 for Der Sonntagsriese (The Sunday giant, 1998) and in 2004 for Es gibt so Tage (Some days are like this one, 2001). He won the Bologna Ragazzi Award in 2006 for Rote Wangen (Red cheeks, 2005). Several of his works have won the Österreichischer Staatspreis für Kinder- und Jugendliteratur, including Die Wolke in meinem Bett (The cloud in my bed, 2007), Der König und das Meer (The king and the sea, 2008), Finns Land (Finn’s country, 2008), Jumbojet (Jumbo jet, 2009) and Rita. Das Mädchen mit der roten Badekappe (Rita. The girl with the red swimming cap, 2012). Heinz Janisch also conducts readings and workshops on literary and creative writing at schools and libraries, as well as creative workshops for handicapped young artists. In 2020, he was awarded a lifetime achievement award – the Grosser Preis der Deutschen Akadamie für Kinder- und Jugendliteratur.  

Heinz Janisch was nominee in the 2022 Hans Christian Andersen Award. 

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Hans Christian Andersen. Die Reise seines Lebens. (Hans Christian Andersen: The Journey of His Life), ill. by Maja Kaastelic
Zurich, Switzerland: NordSüd, 2020, ISBN 978-3-314-10422-0

Die Schlacht von Karlawatsch (The Battle of Karlawatsch), ill. by Aljoscha Blau,
Zurich, Switzerland: Atlantis, 2018, ISBN 978-3-7152-0735-3

Die Brücke (The Bridge), ill. by Helga Bansch,
Vienna, Austria: Jungbrunnen, 2019, ISBN 978-3-7026-5929-5

Der König und das Meer (The King and the Sea), ill. by Wolf Erlbruch,
Munich, Germany: Hanser Verlag, 2015, ISBN 978-3-446-23945-6

Zack bumm! (Ker-boom!), ill. by Helga Bansch
Vienna, Austria: Jungbrunnen, 2000, ISBN 978-3-7026-5722-2

Born in 1962 in the quaint town of Cheongwon, Korea, Lee Geum-yi has developed her fascination with storytelling since her childhood. As a child, she was captivated by her grandmother’s tales and the collection of international children’s literature that her father had purchased for her.

This led Lee into believing that being a writer was her destiny. pressing social issues, from fractured families to neglected children, and the effects of rapid industrialization on farming communities.

Upon relocating to Seoul, her focus shifted to the lives of urban children and young adults. Her 2004 novel, Yujin and Yujin, played a crucial role in elevating young adult literature to a prominent position in mainstream Korean literary circles. In 2016, she further solidified her position as a leading voice in the genre with the publication of two historical novels for young adult readers, The Picture Bride and Can’t I Go Instead?

These novels not only earned a place on the 2018 IBBY Honour List, but also reshaped perceptions towards young adult literature in Korean society. The novels have inspired musical adaptations and webtoons, all while finding a global audience through translation into multiple languages.

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유진과 유진  Yujin'gwa yujin (Yujin and Yujin)
Seoul, South Korea: Bamtee, 2004/2020, ISBN 979-11-971205-4-1

망나니 공주처럼 Mangnani gongjucheoreom (Like a Roughneck Princess)
Paju, South Korea: Sakyejul, 2019, ISBN 979-11-6094-457-0

거기 내가 가면 안돼요 Geogi naega gamyeon andwaeyo (Can't I Go Instead?)
Paju, South Korea: Sakyejul, 2016, ISBN 979-11-6094-060-2

알로하 나의 엄마들 Alloha naui eommadeul    (The Picture Bride)
Paju, South Korea: Changbi Publishers, 2020, ISBN 979-11-6094-060-2

허구의 삶 Heoguui salm (Life Traveler)
Paju, South Korea: Munhakdongne, 2019, ISBN 978-89-546-5826-3

Bart Moeyaert began writing at ten years old. He attended the Arts Academy in Ghent and then studied Dutch, German, and History in Brussels. By the age of 19 he had published his first book Duet met valse noten (Duet out of tune, 1983), which is now a Belgian classic and has been adapted into a play and a musical. He has written in almost every literary genre: novels, short stories, picture books, books for early readers, poetry, theatre, audio books, song texts, essays and articles. In all of them he evokes an atmosphere in a subtle and poetic way: communication is rarely straightforward in his works and characters open up only gradually. His stories combine humour and seriousness.

His best known works include Blote handen (Bare hands), which won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis, Broere (Brothers, 2000), De schepping (The Creation), De melkweg (The milky way) and Jij en ik en alle andere kinderen (You and me and all the other children), which is a festive illustrated collection of stories and poems for children. Bart Moeyaert’s works have been widely translated and he has translated works from well-known authors in German, French and English into Dutch. In 2007, he was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Antwerp and won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2019. He has been nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award six times and was a Finalist in 2002 and 2012.

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Blote handen (Bare Hands)
Amsterdam, Netherlands: Querido NL, 1995, ISBN 978-90-451-2540-4

Broere (Brother)
Amsterdam, Netherlands: Querido NL, 2000, ISBN 978-90-214-0752-4

De Schepping (The Creation), ill. by Wolf Erlbruch
Querido NL, 2003, ISBN 978-90-451-0045-2

Tegenwoording heet iedereen Sorry (Everyone's Sorry Nowadays)
Amsterdam, Netherlands: Querido NL, 2018, ISBN 978-90-214-1515-4

Morris
Amsterdam, Netherlands: Querido NL, 2022, ISBN 978-90-451-2817-7

Ella ja kaverit 1 (Ella and Friends I)
Helsinki, Finland: Tammi, 1995, ISBN 978-95-131-7156-8

Maukka ja Väykkä (Bicycling to the Moon), ill. by Virpi Talvitie,
Helsinki, Finland: Tammi, 2009,  ISBN 978-95-131-4788-4

Keinulauta (The Seesaw), ill. by Virpi Talvitie
Helsinki, Finland: Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö, 2006, ISBN 978-95-103-1901-5

Kepler62 : Kirja yksi – Kutsu (Kepler 62: Book 1—Invitation), ill. by Pasi Pitkänen
Helsinki, Finland: Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö, 2015, ISBN 978-95-104-3617-2

Varjot 1. Helähdys (Shadows 1), ill. by Pasi Pitkänen,
Helsinki, Finland: Tammi, 2021, ISBN 978-95-204-3041-2

Edward van de Vendel was born in Leerdam in 1964. He started writing songs and cabaret acts in secondary school and later went to the pedagogical academy. Since 2001 he has been a fulltime writer and has written picture books, poetry for children and young adults, as well as songs, novels and non-fiction books about various topics. He is also the initiator of numerous literary projects for young adults and translates children’s books from a wide range of languages (English, Swedish, Norwegian, Italian, German and Danish) into Dutch. 

Edward van de Vendel’s work is characterized by its capability to discuss serious topics in an appealing way Edward van de Vendel is an acclaimed writer of picture books, poetry, children’s and YA novels and non-fiction, covering topics from animals to gay love, from sports to cancer and from refugees to ‘instruction poetry about what to do if you stumble on a hippopotamus’. He masters a large variety of genres and is the initiator of numerous literary projects that promote reading and writing among children and young adults. 

He was nominated to the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2016. 

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De dagen van de bluegrassliefde (The Days of Bluegrass Love)
Amsterdam, Netherlands: Singel 2022, ISBN 978-90-451-2741-5

Toen kwam Sam (A Dog like Sam), ill. by Philip Hofman
Amsterdam, Netherlands: Querido, 2019, ISBN 978-90-451-1241-1

Vosje (Little Fox), ill. by Marije Tolman
Amsterdam, Netherlands: Querido, 2018, ISBN 978-90-214-1434-8

Wat je moet doen als je over een nijlpaard struikelt (What to Do If You Stumble on a Hippopotamus), ill. by Martijn van der Linden,
Amsterdam, Netherlands: Querido, 2019, ISBN 978-90-451-2226-7

Misjka (Mishka), ill. by Annet Schaap
Amsterdam, Netherlands: Querido, 2022, ISBN 978-90-451-2790-3

Cai Gao was born in 1946 in the city of Changsha. During her time as a student she often drew illustrations for the school magazine. Having no chance to enter university and continue her studies, she found work instead as a poster painter. She was later assigned to teach primary school in a most remote mountainous area, where she started to draw covers and illustrations for children’s magazines. Her debut book, The Beautiful Garden, won an award in 1980. Her second book, The Understudy, commissioned by Hunan Fine Arts Publishing House, was published in 1982 and quickly gained popularity.

Many of her works are adapted from ancient Chinese classics that have spanned thousands of years of Chinese history. Her adaptations of Hua Mulan and Jiang Mengnu, for example, are not simple retellings in modern language: she has developed her own interpretation of these texts and an approach that enables her to bring the essence of Chinese classics to modern children in a simple and vivid form.

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晒龙袍的六月六  Sha longpao de liuyueliu (The Dragon Robe Festival), adapt. by Wu Chaozhou
Changsha, China: Hunan Juvenile and Children's Publishing House, 2016, ISBN 978-7-5562-2441-8

桃花源的故事 Taohuayuan de gushi (The Land of the Peach Blossom), apdapt. by Matsui Tadashi
Changsha, China: Hunan Juvenile and Children's Publishing House, 2021, ISBN 978-7-5562-5638-9

宝儿 Bao'er
Changsha, China: Hunan Juvenile and Children's Publishing House, 2021, ISBN 978-7-5562-5640-2

花木兰 Hua Mulan
Changsha, China: Hunan Juvenile and Children's Publishing House, 2021, 978-7-5562-5639-6

 孟姜女哭长城, Meng Jiangnu ku changcheng (Meng Jiangnü)
Nanchang, China: 21st Century Publishing , 2015, 978-7-5568-0369-9

Iwona Chmielewska’s illustrations are made in a distinctively subtle and melancholic style, which first received recognition in Korea and are now widely acclaimed. Born 1960 in Pabianice, she studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, graduating from the Printmaking Department in 1984. At the beginning of her career, she illustrated children’s classics such as The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett and Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, as well as Polish poetry. The turning point in her career came in 2003, when her books were published in Korea. In 2011, Blumka’s Tagebuch (Blumka’s diary), originally published in Germany, was published in Poland as Pamiętnik Blumki and she began to enjoy wide recognition in her own country. The book was nominated for the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis and included in the 2012 White Ravens selection. She won the BIB Golden Apple in 2007 for the book Thinking ABC (2006) a book for Korean children learning the English alphabet. She won the Bologna Ragazzi Award twice, in 2011 for A House of the Mind: Maum by Kim Hee-Kyunge, and in 2013 for Oczy (Eyes). Her book, abc.de was nominated for the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in 2016. To date, she has published over 40 books, cooperating with authors and publishing houses in Poland and abroad. Her subtle style invites us to find sense in simple objects, as in Cztery zwykłe miski (Four ordinary bowls). She often uses pencils and crayons, cutting out pieces from old notebooks and journals and embroidering with one colour. Her drawings are clear, sometimes slightly naïve, realistic but poetic, always neat and studious. She leaves a lot of empty space in her illustrations and often uses blue to invoke melancholy in her stories. Iwona Chmielewska was a Finalist for the 2018, 2020 and 2022 Hans Christian Andersen Awards. 

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Pamiętnik Blumki (Blumka's Diary)
Poznan, Poland: Media Rodzina, 2011, ISBN 978-83-7278-572-5

Oczy (Eyes)
Wroclaw, Poland: Wydawnictwo Warstwy, 2016, ISBN 978-83-64841-88-0

Cztery zwykłe miski (Four Ordinary Bowls)
Wroclaw, Poland: Format, 2016, ISBN 978-83-61488-89-7

Kłopot (Trouble)
Wroclaw, Poland: Wydawnictwo Wytwórnia, 2016, ISBN 978-83-64011-21-4

할머니를 위한 자장가 Halmeonireul wihan jajangga (Lullaby for Grandma)
Seoul, South Korea: BIR, 2019, ISBN 978-89-491-1387-6

Whether reimagining classical tales or using them to create relevant modern stories, Nelson Cruz brings a unique and powerful perspective to his illustrations. Born in 1957 in Belo Horizonte in Minas Gerais, he studied painting for two years at the gallery-studio of the painter Esthergilda Menicucci and in 1977 gave his first exhibition. He discovered a second passion drawing humour and caricature and eventually moved to São Paulo where he worked with art galleries, newspapers and publishers. He returned to Belo Horizonte and worked as an illustrator for the Diário da Tardenewspaper for five years, then in 1994, he became a fulltime independent illustrator.

He has a powerful style and his themes are diverse, including both classics of children’s literature and modern works. He uses surprising angles, various vanishing points in vast scenes and extreme contrasts: light and shadow, or, large full and empty spaces. In 2001, his story, Bárbara e Alvarenga (Barbara and Alvarenga, 2001) was selected for BIB’01 and Chica e João (2000) was included in the White Ravens selection. His books have been included in the Fundação Nacional do Livro Infantil e Juvenil(FNLIJ) selection of Highly Recommended Books and for the IBBY Honour List in 2004, for Conto de escola (School tale) and in 2012 for As margens da alegria (The margins of joy). His most recent book, Sagatrissuinorana (2020), is a tribute to the Three Little Pigs fable but set in the context of one of Brazil’s greatest social environmental tragedies, the rupture of the Mariana and Brumadinho dams. Nelson Cruz was nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2002 and 2022.

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Um escritor na capela (A Writer in the Chapel),
Sao Paolo, Brazil: Edições SM, 2015, ISBN 978-85-418-1074-6

O edifício (The Building), text by Murilo Rubião,
Curitiba, Brazil: Editora Positivo, 2016, ISBN 978-85-467-0865-9

Se os tubarões fossem homens (If Sharks Were Men), text by Bertolt Brecht,
Olho de Vidro, 2018, ISBN 978-85-932 3402-6

Benjamina
Belo Horizonte, Brazil: Miguilim, 2017, ISBN 978-85-744-2200-8

Sagatrissuinorana, text by João Luiz Guimarães
Sao Paulo, Brazil: Ôzé Editora, 2020, ISBN 978-65-990-1074-3

Elena Odriozola is a delicate and intimate illustrator, creating complex fictional universes for her stories often with new narrative forms and personal interpretation of the texts. Born in San Sebastián in 1967, she studied art and decoration. After working in an advertising agency for eight years, in 1997 she began working as a full-time illustrator. Since then, she has illustrated over 100 books as well as posters and book covers. She designed the printed material for the Basque campaign for reading promotion Bularretik Mintzora in 2007, which later became the Mintzoan kux-kux project in 2017. Her books have been published in several Spanish and foreign languages and her work has been recognised with numerous awards. Her illustrations were selected for the Bologna Book Fair in 2010 and the BIB in 2003, 2013, 2015 and 2021. She has won the Basque Award for Illustration twice: once in 2009 for her illustrations for Aplastamiento de las gotas (The smashing of the raindrops, 2008) by Julio Cortázar and again in 2013 for Tropecista (Tumbler, 2012) by Jorge Gonzalvo. Her work has been selected for the IBBY Honour List twice: in 2006 for Atxiki sekretua (Keep the secret, 2004) by Patxi Zubizarreta and in 2014 for Eguberria (Christmas, 2012) by Juan Kruz Igerabide. She won the Junceda International Award 2014 for her original work for Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which also earned her a BIB Golden Apple in 2015. In the same year, she won the National Award for Illustration. Her drawing is subtle and efficient, both technically and conceptually, and she successfully uses many narrative forms: in Frankenstein she created a paper puppet theatre; in En el Bosque (In the forest, 2018) she created a collection of nine finely detailed illustrated cards that can be combined in many ways to tell infinite stories; and in Sentimento Encontrados (Discovered feelings, 2019), she uses a house cut longitudinally to follow the stories of its inhabitants. Her illustrations for Sentimento Encontrados won the BIB Grand Prix in 2021. Elena Odriozola was nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2018 and was a Finalist in 2020 and 2022.  

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Sentimientos encontrados (Mixed Feelings), text by Gustavo Puerta Leisse,
San Sebastian, Spain: Editorial Modernas El Embudo, 2019, ISBN 978-84-120-4180-4

En el bosque (In the Woods), text by Ana María Matute
Barcelona, Spain: Libros del Zorro Rojo, 2017, ISBN 978-84-947-7343-3

Tropecista (The Trapeze Artist), text by Jorge Gonzalvo
Granada, Spain: Barbara Fiore Editora, 2012, ISBN 978-84-152-0830-3

Yo tengo un moco (I Have a Bogey)
San Sebastian, Spain: Editorial Modernas El Embudo, 2020, 978-84-120-4182-8

Así me lo contaron, así te lo cuento (So I Have Been Told, So I Will Tell You)
San Sebastian, Spain: Editorial Modernas El Embudo, 2023, ISBN 978-84-126-2061-0

Sydney Smith’s childhood “playing” with drawing became “serious” during his years studying for an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax. After several years of poster and album cover design, he apprenticed as an illustrator of Sheree Fitch’s republished books of children’s poetry (2010–2012) and Jill Barber’s Music is for Everyone (2014). He moved to Toronto and soon received national and international recognition for the urban energy of his books such as Sidewalk Flowers in 2015 and Small in the City in 2019; both were recipients of the Governor General’s Literary Award for Young People’s Literature — Illustrated Books. Small in the City  was also awarded the CILIP Greenaway Medal and the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis. Sidewalk Flowers, by JonArno Lawson, is a wordless book that follows the path of a little girl through the city and was selected by IBBY Canada as welcoming gift for Syrian refugees arriving in Canada. His illustrations for The White Cat and the Monk by Jo Ellen Bogart (2016), Town Is by the Sea by Joanne Schwartz (2017), and I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott (2020) have also earned accolades, including the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal in 2018 for Town Is by the Sea. He has received four New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books citations (2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019) and a New York Times Kids Notable (2018). In his illustrations, whether for a light-hearted story like Sidewalk Flowers or the more anguished story of a boy who stutters in I Talk Like a River, he is able to express complex and possibly unsettling emotions but also respect for the reader, whether child or adult, who feels those emotions. He uses a variety of techniques but most often ink and brush. Sydney Smith has since returned to Nova Scotia where he continues to seek and recapture “moments of the sublime found in unremarkable places”.

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Small in the City
Toronto, Canada: Groundwood Books, 2019, ISBN 978-1-7730-6198-6
New York, USA: Neal Porter Books, 2020, ISBN 978-0-8234-4261-4

Sidewalk Flowers, text by JonArno Lawson
Toronto, Canada: Groundwood Books, 2017, ISBN 978-1-5549-8431-2

The White Cat and the Monk, text by Jo Ellen Bogart
Toronto, Canada: Groundwood Books, 2016, 978-1-5549-8780-1

Town Is by the Sea, text by Joanne Schwartz
Toronto, Canada: Groundwood Books, 2017, 978-1-5549-8871-6

I Talk Like a River, text by Jordan Scott,
New York, USA: Neal Porter Books, 2020, ISBN 978-0-8234-4559-2

Paloma Valdivia was born in 1978, in Santiago de Chile. She studied design at the Pontificia Universidad Católica and completed her postgraduate studies in illustration at the Escuela de Arte y Diseño Eina in Barcelona, Spain.

Valdivia is known for her fearless approach to art, both in style and subject matter. Her unique strength lies in her ability to strike a harmonious balance between visual and textual storytelling.Some of her books, such as Nosotros (Nosotros Means Us), depict simple yet deeply profound themes with clean minimalistic illustrations. In contrast, some others, like Es así (And So It Goes), are full of textures and colourful images which, combined with a poetic narrative, develop and present a reflection on complex subjects in a visually stunning and thoughtful way. Her work as an author has been translated into more than 15 languages and has been awarded important prizes in the industry, both in Chile and abroad, including  the White Raven Award in 2013 and 2018, and the New York Times Best Children’s Books of 2022.

Paloma Valdivia’s passion for children’s literature has taken many forms over the years: as an illustrator, a writer, a teacher, and, most recently, as an editor for Ediciones Liebre, a publishing house Paloma founded in 2016, along with editor Mónica Bombal.

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The Book of Questions, text by Pablo Neruda
New York, USA: Enchanted Lion Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-59270-322-7 

Nosotros (Nosotros Means Us),
Santiago, Chile: Amanuta, 2017, ISBN 978-956-3640-42-7 

Caperucita Roja (Little Red Riding Hood), text by Gabriela Mistral,
Santiago, Chile: Amanuta, 2012, ISBN 978-956-8209-78-0 

Es así (And So It Goes),
Mexico City, Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2010, ISBN 978-607-160-256-5 

Los de arriba y los de abajo (Up Above and Down Below),
Pontevedra, Spain: Kalandraka, 2009, ISBN 978-84-96388-28-4