Child, you are awake!
You are alive!
You are a bright star,
Inside our hearts.
Told with a combination of powerful, spare language and sumptuous and complex imagery that is typical of Yuyi Morales’s work, this is the story of a fawn making her way through a border landscape teaming with flora and fauna native to the region. A gentle but empowering voice encourages her to face her fears when she comes across an obstacle in the form of an insurmountable barrier.
Yuyi Morales’ first book since her New York Times bestseller Dreamers is a book for very young children looking for their place in a world full of uncertainty. It is a book with resonance for all children, especially those whose safety is threatened due to the immigration crisis in the US.
Bright Star is also available in a Spanish language edition, Lucero.
¿Who is?
Yuyi Morales
Yuyi Morales was born in Xalapa, Mexico on November 7, 1968. The first years of Yuyi’s life were marked by both scarcity and creativity. Yuyi and her two sisters did not have the same clothes or receive the same presents as their schoolmates. Instead, their mother sewed Yuyi and her sisters’ clothes, bedsheets, curtains, and lampshades. When the family couldn’t afford the gifts the girls wanted for their birthdays, Yuyi’s mother would make everything from the cakes to the invitations to their dresses to their shoes. In a sense, her mother’s resourcefulness was Yuyi’s first introduction to art.
Other Books
Dreamers
We are resilience. We are hope. We are dreamers.
Viva Frida
A 2015 Caldecott Honor Book
A 2015 Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award
Niño Wrestles the World
Señoras y señores, put your hands together for the fantastic, spectacular, one of a kind . . .Niño!
My Blog
Projects
Nashville Reads
Yuyi's book, Dreamers, was selected to be the 2020 Nashville Reads selection. The Nashville Reads program "was founded in 2012 as a collaboration between the Mayor’s Office, Nashville Public Library, Nashville Public Library Foundation, Parnassus Books, Humanities...
“The Path to Picture Books” – Appearance on “The Yarn” podcast
Yuyi appeared on the the podcast, "The Yarn," to discuss her introduction to children's books as an adult and the bizarre and magical career path that led her to illustrate children's books for a...
Videos for Scholastic’s Art of Read Every Day Campaign
As part of Scholastic's The Art of Read Every Day Campaign, Yuyi filmed two videos. In the first video, Yuyi takes questions about her creative process and inspirations. In the second video, she reads aloud her book, Niño Wrestles the World, which had recently been...
Dreamers video
In anticipation of the release of Yuyi's book, Dreamers, she filmed a video in collaboration with her publishing house to tell readers what inspired her book and to explain symbols and imagery within the book.
Original artwork for “America the Beautiful: United We Stand”
Yuyi was one of several artists, including Bryan Collier, Sonia Lynn Sadler, and LeUyen Pham, who contributed original artwork to America the Beautiful: United We Stand. Yuyi and the other artists' illustrations were presented with the lyrics from Katharine Lee...
Work with Las Patronas and Fandango Fronterizo
In 2019, Yuyi donated jaranas, a Mexican folk instrument, and copies of her books to a community library run by Las Patronas, a volunteer group that provides food, resources, and assistance to immigrants traveling to the U.S. through the state of Veracruz .
For inquiries, contact:
info@yuyimorales.com