La Princesa and the Pea

Summary of Book

A Peruvian reimagining of The Princess and the Pea, this one is sure to become a read-aloud favorite. La Princesa must prove that she's of royal makings if she wants to impress her potential mother-in-law, a stern-looking queen who walks around the palace with a mean cat in her hat. The mixed-media artwork and vibrant backdrop combine with rhyming text in Spanish and English to give the classic fairy tale a Latinx twist.

Author Biography

Susan Middleton Elya grew up near Des Moines, Iowa, went to college 35 miles away, and then left her state to teach in the middle-of-nowhere Nebraska. But before that, she traveled to Mexico City with her high school Spanish teacher, to Venezuela to student-teach, and to Burgos, Spain, to finish up her dual degree. She wanted to teach 3rd grade but ended up teaching high school Spanish instead (due to her double degree from Iowa State University). After 8.5 years of teaching in the Midwest, she moved to San Diego to get married and ended up teaching Spanish to native speakers in Ramona, California. Then a move with her husband to the Bay Area left her jobless, with a new baby, and with plenty of time to write. She started submitting stories for publication in 1988 and finally struck gold with Say Hola to Spanish, a nonfiction picture book from Lee & Low, in 1994. Now, 29 titles later, Elya is working on novels, as well. She has three grown children and still loves to make up stories, do school visits, and remember what it was like to be a kid. She also has an online costume store in California, where she sells children's pioneer clothing and her books. Check it out at www.thepolkadotattic.com. Visit her author website at www.susanelya.com.

Illustrator Biography

Juana Martinez-Neal is the Peruvian-born daughter and granddaughter of painters. Her debut as an author-illustrator, Alma and How She Got Her Name, was awarded a Caldecott Honor and was published in Spanish as Alma y cómo obtuvo su nombre. She also illustrated La Princesa and the Pea by Susan Middleton Elya, for which she won a Pura Belpré Illustrator Award, and Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard, which won a Robert F. Sibert Medal. Juana Martinez-Neal lives in Connecticut with her family. Visit her online at www.juanamartinezneal.com.