Angela Dominguez

Angela Dominguez (born 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 2022.

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. Angela's American English teachers discouraged her from speaking Spanish, rather than learn two languages at the same time. Speaking only English, Dominguez struggled to communicate with her only Spanish-speaking family. She early on learned to utilize writing and drawing as an effective form of communication. She then gained an MFA in illustration at the Academy of Art University. She began teaching children’s book illustration there two years later.

Career After graduating with her MFA, 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. Dominguez aims to represent under-represented Latinx cultures in American children’s books through her fictional novels and illustrations.

Dominguez is currently a professor at the Academy of Art University.'

Awards and honours Maria had a Little Llama won the 2014 Pura Belpré Illustration Honor Mango, Abuela and Me won the 2016 Pura Belpré Author Honor Book, the 2016 Pura Belpré Illustration Honor Book, and a Notable Children's Book in 2016. Stella Díaz Has Something To Say was a New York Public Library pick for Best Books for Kids 2018, a Chicago Public Library Best Fiction for Younger Readers of 2018, a Sid Fleischman Award winner and an American Library Association Notable book for 2019.