Anika’s Bio
Anika Aldamuy Denise is the Pura Belpré honor-winning author of Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré; Starring Carmen!; Lights, Camera, Carmen!; and many other celebrated books for young readers. Her stories are often about family and reflect her bicultural heritage and upbringing. In her nonfiction work, Anika strives to illuminate the important contributions of influential Latinas, so that readers of all backgrounds, but especially those in the Latinx community, are inspired to dare greatly and share their gifts with the world. Her forthcoming nonfiction project is A Girl Named Rosita, a picture book biography of legendary Puerto Rican actress and singer Rita Moreno, illustrated by Leo Espinosa. To learn more about Anika’s books, visit her website: www.anikadenise.com.
Awards & Honors
Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré/ Sembrando historias: Pura Belpré: bibliotecaria y narradora de cuentos: Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpre
*2020 ALA Pura Belpré Author Honor Book
*2020 Orbis Pictus Honor Book for Outstanding Nonfiction
*ALA Notable Books List 2020
*Smithsonian Ten Best Children’s Books of 2019
*Junior Library Guild Gold Award
*TODAY Best Children’s Books of 2019
*School Library Journal Best Books of 2019
*NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People
*NYPL, CPL & LAPL Best Books of 2019
*Center for the Study of Multicultural Literature Best Books of 2019
*Indie Next List Pick
*New England Book Award Finalist
*Rhode Island Latino Books Month Award Finalist
*Bank Street Best Spanish Language Picture Book Silver Award