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
Is There Someone You Need to Thank? – Appearance on the Science of Happiness podcast
In anticipation of the 2018 release of her book, Dreamers, Yuyi appeared on The Science of Happiness podcast to read aloud a gratitude letter she wrote to the librarian who changed her life and discuss her upcoming book.
“Estas Triste” video in collaboration with Child Aid
In the spring of 2020, as Guatemalan communities were being impacted by covid-19, Yuyi was asked by Child Aid to make a video that they could share with Guatemalan children participating in their school programs who were having a hard time coping with social...
Puerta Abierta Atitlan
In 2019, Yuyi was asked by La Puerta Atitlan, a school in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala, to visit and meet with students. La Puerta Atitlan offers a non-conventional curriculum that emphasizes art and creativity and they also run a traveling library that brings books...
Collaboration with Child Aid in Guatemala
In the summer of 2019, the non-profit, Child Aid, invited Yuyi to participate in their literacy program in Guatemala and dedicate a library in her name. During her visit, Yuyi read aloud to school children at Caserio La Fe Elementary School, participated and led an...
Illustration for the book “What’s Your Favorite Color?”
Yuyi contributed this illustration for the book, What's Your Favorite Color? Other contributors include Eric Carle, Etienne Delessert and Bryan Collier.
Virtual Essay for May/June 2021 Horn Book magazine issue
Horn Book magazine focused its May/June 2021 issue on Latinx literature in honor of the 25th anniversary of the creation of the Pura Belpre award. As a six-time Pura Belpre Medal winner, Yuyi was asked to contribute a short essay about her childhood relationship to...
For inquiries, contact:
info@yuyimorales.com