Juliet Menéndez

Juliet Menéndez is a Guatemalan American author and illustrator living between Guatemala City, Paris, and New York. While working as a bilingual teacher in New York City’s public schools, she noted the need for more books that depicted children like the ones in her classrooms. Her illustrated middle grade collection, Latinitas: Celebrating 40 Big Dreamers (Laura Godwin Books) was awarded an NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor, named a Best Book of the Year by Bank Street College and A Mighty Girl, and was on the recommended list Rise: A Feminist Book Project, among others. Latinitas is available in Spanish as Latinitas: Una celebración de 40 soñadoras audaces, and on a board book edition titled Dream with the/Sueña con las Latinitas. Most recently she illustrated Skyscraper Babies by April Sayre and Jeff Sayre (Laura Godwin Books).Forthcoming books include Hopeful Heroes, written by Newbery Honoree Margarita Engle and Juliet’s picture book debut as author and illustrator, both from Laura Godwin Books.

Juliet was a featured artist on the Society of Illustrators' Original Art show and is a guest contributor on Eric Carle and Friends' picture book volume What's Your Favorite Food? (Henry Holt BYR). She studied design and illustration in Paris and now spends her days with her watercolors and notebook.

‍