Susan Guevara

Susan Marie Guevara is an American sculptor and illustrator, who is best known for her illustrations in picture books. She was born in Walnut Creek, California and now lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Susan received a BFA in illustration from Academy of Art College in San Francisco. She took time off between her first and second years and moved to Belgium where she was able to study with Remy Van Sluys and take painting and drawing classes at Royal Academy of Fine Art. She was the first recipient of the Pura Belpré Medal Award in 1996 for Gary Soto's Chat's Kitchen. She won again in 2002 for Gary Soto's Chato and the Party Animals, and was a recipient of a Pura Belpré Honor Award for Susan Elya Middleton's Little Roja Riding Hood.

Career

Guevara has illustrated over 20 books since 1990. Of her illustrations, she has stated that she does not use a set style. She researches and immerses herself into the world of the characters and the story, and she adapts her work to the setting and the characters of the work that she is illustrating. Her first illustrated picture book was Emmett’s Snowball by Ned Miller, which was published in 1990. Her work in this book received mixed reviews. Later works have received more positive reviews that praise her depiction of Latin Culture as well as her use of color and style that fits a book's text.

Guevara's illustrations from The Chato Series have been adapted beyond the books. They were adapted into a video in 1999.

Awards

2014, New York Public Library acknowledgment for one of the 100 Best Books of the Last 100 Years for Chato's Kitchen 2006, June Franklin Naylor Award for the Best Book for Children on Texas History for The Lady in the Blue Cloak 2005, New York Times Ten Best Illustrated Books of the Year for Chato Goes Cruisin''' 2004, Sigurd Olson Children’s book award for Isabel’s House of Butterflies 2002, Pura BelPré Medal Award for Chato and the Party Animals 1995, Book Links “A Few Good Books of the Year” 1995, Child Study Children’s Book Committee Book of the Year 1997, California Young Reader Nominee for Chato's Kitchen 1996, American Library Association Notable Book for Chato's Kitchen 1996, Pura BelPré Medal Award for Chato's Kitchen 1995, Americas Award for Children’s & Young Adult Literature Honorable Mention for Chato's Kitchen 1995, Certificate of Excellence Parenting Magazine Award 1995, Parents’ Choice Honor Award for Chato's Kitchen

Publications Source: 2005, Chato Goes Cruisin’ by Gary Soto 2006, Tales Our Abuelitas Told by Alma Flor Ada and Isabel Campoy 2006, The Lady in the Blue Cloak by Eric Kimmel 2007, Numero Uno by Arthur and Alex Dorros 2008, Voice From Afar by Tony Johnston 2011, The Wild Women of the Wild West by Jonah Winter 2014, Little Roja Riding Hood by Susan Elya Middleton 2019, Journey Toward Hope'' by Coert Voorhees and Victor J. Hinojosa