Biography

Juana Martinez-Neal is the recipient of the 2020 Sibert Medal for Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story written by Kevin Noble Maillard, the 2019 Caldecott Honor for Alma and How She Got Her Name, and the 2018 Pura Belpré Medal for Illustration for La Princesa and the Pea written by Susan Middleton Elya. She is the New York Times-bestselling illustrator of Tomatoes for Neela written by Padma Lakshmi.

Juana is also the illustrator of I Don’t Care (written by Julie Fogliano and co-illustrated with Molly Idle, Neal Porter Books), A Perfect Fit: How Lena “Lane” Bryant Changed the Shape of Fashion, Babymoon, Swashby and the Sea, among other titles. Her second picture book as author and illustrator — Zonia’s Rain Forest — is also available in Spanish as La Selva de Zonia (Candlewick Press). Alma at Home/Alma en casa and Alma, Where is Pajarito?/Alma, ¿Dónde esta Pajarito? are forthcoming and part of her Alma’s Words Bilingual Board Books series which also include Alma, From Head to Toe/Alma, de pies a cabeza and Alma and Her Family/Alma y su familia.

Juana was born and raised in Lima, Peru. She is a daughter and granddaughter of artists now living in the woods in Connecticut.