Our Authors
Dr. María Alma González Pérez
Dr. María (Ma.) Alma González Pérez has devoted her life to education and biliteracy. She has advocated for bilingual and dual language education and the use of culturally relevant literature in the classroom throughout her academic career.
Dr. Pérez's children's and juvenile books of poetry, narrative, and non-fiction have been well-received and her writing has been recognized by the Texas Institute of Letters, the International Latino Book Awards, the Skipping Stones Honor Awards for Multicultural Books, the North American Academy of the Spanish Language (ANLE) Campoy-Ada Award, and the Pablita Velarde Award among others.
Dr. Pérez has over 40 years of experience in the field of education and is a former director for the University of Texas-Pan American - Starr County Campus. Her doctorate is in bilingual education from Texas A&M University-Kingsville. Her ongoing research is on the academic achievement of Hispanic students, and on the Spanish influence in the United States. She has presented at numerous education conferences throughout the US.
Born and raised in Ramireño, Texas, a small rural community along the Texas-Mexico border, Dr. Pérez has lived in a truly bilingual, bicultural world. She firmly believes that it is very important for Hispanic children to read more about their culture. She dedicates her books to them with the great desire that they continue to embrace and cherish their culture. Preview her books here.
Gerónima Garza
Garza attended a segregated campus where she experienced racial and language discrimination. Her family worked as migrant farm workers traveling to many parts of the country to pick seasonal crops.
Later in life, she embarked on becoming a Bilingual/Bicultural Teacher. A pioneer in Bilingual Education, Gerónima Garza taught bilingual/bicultural education until her retirement. She is a three-time Bilingual Teacher of the Year. During her lifelong education career, she found herself writing stories that reflected the culture of her students to increase comprehension, and love of learning and celebrate the beauty of their unique culture.
Keenly aware of the lack of books reflecting the beauty of Mexican American culture and history, she wrote her first picture book, GLOVE FOR A LADY, based on President Lyndon B. Johnson’s visit to her school in the 1960s. She is the recipient of both the Moody Research Grant and The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Smithsonian Institution Workshop Nonfiction Grant. She was also selected for the prestigious Macondo Writer’s Workshop.
She learned imaginative storytelling from her Tío Leon Reyes who entertained the children with stories by the lumbrita (campfire) during visits from Wisconsin. Gerónima used this skill with her students. Now she hopes to share the laughs, cucuys (monsters), and heroes with bilingual readers everywhere.
Elsa Martínez Hinojosa
Elsa Martínez is originally from Chicago, Illinois. At the age of 13, she moved to Monterrey, Mexico. This bilingual, bicultural experience broadened her cultural diversity and worldview.
Reading was a strong influence instilled in her by her parents and teachers. The local South Chicago Public Library was a place of inspiration and magic for her brother and her. They would walk to the library frequently seeking new adventures through their selection of books. Their imagination traveled and soared while the weather gave them plenty of cold and cloudy days to read.
Elsa spent 34 years as a public school teacher cultivating an appreciation of reading and literature in the many students that she taught. Being first-generation Mexican Americans, she and her husband have created a life in Texas for their three wonderful children: Joshua, Diego, and Genesis. Each one is now a gifted and amazing adult.
As a writer and artist, Elsa enjoys sharing her love for writing and the arts through her work enriching the viewpoint of the immigrant experience in the United States.
Gabriela Tijerina
Gabriela Tijerina was born and raised in Laredo, Texas, to a third-generation Mexican American family. Throughout her childhood, Gabriela had a love for drawing and reading, and she would often draw pictures and write stories to entertain herself and her family.
After graduating from Laredo College, Gabriela studied illustration at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, California where she obtained a degree in illustration and animation. Being so far away from home was hard for Gabriela, and she would often crave her grandmother’s fideo soup for comfort. It was during this time that Gabriela was inspired to create Abuela’s Fideo - A Story of a Grandma’s Love.
Gabriela encourages young readers to express themselves through art and
writing to embrace their culture through their comfort foods.