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
The Making of Viva Frida: Yuyi Morales’ Photo essay for Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
In 2014, Yuyi contributed a visual essay on the creative process behind her book, Viva Frida to the children's book blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. Yuyi's creative process behind Viva Frida was a radical from her previous books, which were illustrated...
“Making Viva Frida” – Video
Yuyi made this video to give readers an inside look at the creative process behind Viva Frida! This book represented a dramatic stylistic departure from Yuyi's previous books as it made us of puppetry, studio photography, hand-made jewelry and clothes, and detailed...
“La venadita” – song for Viva Frida
Yuyi wrote and recorded a song, "Venadita", to accompany the release of her book, Viva Frida.
2014 Pura Belpré Award ceremony poster
Yuyi designed the poster for the 2014 Pura Belpré award ceremony using characters from Niño Wrestles the World and the books of the other Pura Belpré Medal and Honor winners.
Interview on NPR’s Latino USA to discuss “Niño Wrestles the World”
Yuyi appeared on NPR's Latino USA program to discuss her book, Niño Wrestles the World, and her introduction to children's books as an adult and recent immigrant to the United States. https://www.npr.org/2014/06/20/324005455/ni-o-wrestles-the-world
Contribution of art for We Need Diverse Book’s Indiegogo campaign
In 2015, Yuyi was asked to contribute a piece of original art that would be part of a poster design that would be sold as part of We Need Diverse Book's Indiegogo campaign. Yuyi's drawing was included on a poster whose proceeds contributed to funding initiatives to...
For inquiries, contact:
info@yuyimorales.com