A Library of Her Own—How Yuyi Morales Found Her Way

By Ximena Diego -- Críticas, 2/15/2008

Many find libraries inspiring—quiet oases that foster creativity, placid escapes from today's hectic life. This is true for Mexican author and illustrator Yuyi Morales. Fourteen years ago, when she had just moved from Mexico as a new mother and did not know enough English to freely move around, Morales found refuge at her local public library in Walnut Creek, a neighborhood in the San Francisco Bay Area. She was so mesmerized by the children’s collection that she decided to start making her own stories, writing, illustrating, and binding her own picture books for her young son, Kelly. That pastime became professional and, this past January, her luminous, whimsically spooky illustrations on Los Gatos Black on Halloween won her second Pura Belpré Award. 

Born in Veracruz, Mexico, Morales moved to the United States at 25 with her American husband, Tim, and their baby boy. She had left friends and family (and a job as a swimming coach) behind and had trouble adapting to the new language. “I knew a little bit of English,” she recalls, “enough to be really, really confused.” She was living with her mother-in-law, who spoke no Spanish, in a mostly white suburban neighborhood in the Bay Area. So when her mother-in-law introduced her to the public library, Morales felt that she had found her place in the world. “It was a life saver,” she recalls. “I was in awe. We do have libraries in Mexico, but you can’t compare the quality and the richness that particularly the children’s books have here. When I saw all that, I felt in love. And I wanted to do that.”

And she did.

In the past five years, Morales has published a solid body of work, both in English and Spanish, that stands out for its rich, detailed, and deeply Mexican illustrations. She has won a number of recognitions, including the prestigious Pura Belpré Award in 2004 for Harvesting Hope (Harcourt, 2003).

How does it feel to win the Pura Belpré for your illustrations in Los Gatos Black on Halloween?

It feels really, really good. When you win a Pura Belpré your books really get championed. This award does a really good job at letting people know that your work exists, so it’s actually more than an award. You are winning a lot of people who will come and read your book. It’s like the Caldecott for the Latino community.

Tell us about the process of creating these illustrations.

What I really liked about the text was that it was very playful but very open. This could have been illustrated in many, many different ways. What I wanted to do from the beginning was to play with my childhood fears. I was a very scared child. While growing up, I was always thinking about these stories and legends, things that children and adults talked about. And I was left home alone often enough for me to fantasize about all the things that I was going to see outside my window: espantos (spirits) and ghosts, La Llorona.... When I was illustrating this book, I was able to bring all these characters into the story. So, even though this is a Halloween book, all these ghosts, vampires, werewolves, and dead people are images I brought in from own childhood.

Was this work therapeutic for you?

Yes, it was. It was very relieving to play with all these things. But as scared as I used to be of all these creatures, I was also fascinated by them, so it was really fun to play with all that. What I enjoyed the most was to give each character a back story. For instance, the story of La Llorona (the Weeping Woman) is not a happy one in Mexico; but I was able to bring her some happiness in this book. I have a scene where she is floating in the sky, but in another scene towards the end of the book, she finds an admirer, somebody who wants to dance with her. I always thought it would be nice for her not to be so lonely…. I did something like that for almost every character. For example, my mummy is not Egyptian but Peruvian. This mummy has come from Peru and is in the warehouse of a museum waiting to be placed in an exhibit. My werewolf is not strong and powerful but actually a little bit nerdy and rat-looking. [The characters] reminded me of some of my classmates when I was in school: those kids that look nerdy or quiet from outside but you can’t really tell what is happening with their lives. It’s the same thing that happens with the werewolf at night.

What books made you want to write and illustrate for children?

[There were many...] Ed Young’s work… especially Lon Po Po. That story had many similarities to [folktales] I’ve heard in Mexico, and the illustrations were amazing. I also loved the books by Carmen Lomas Garza and I awed by the work of Susan Guevara. I started reading picture books because they were easy to read and understand, and my English at that point was not that great. Just like children, I learned to read with picture books.

What was your first work as an illustrator?

Todas las buenas manos [All The Good Hands], by Isabel Campoy. It was a book for the school market.

How did that come about?

I first met Alma Flor Ada at the University of San Francisco's Reading the World conference, (she was giving a workshop on children’s literature); and through her I later met Isabel Campoy. I took Alma Flor’s class and when it was over I sent her a thank you note. I created a postcard by printing one of my illustrations—which I was just learning to make. At that point, neither Alma Flor nor Isabel knew that I was also interested in illustrating, so when Isabel saw my card she contacted me immediately. She said she loved it and asked me if it was okay to forward the illustration to her editor. She did, and in a matter of a week I got a call from her editor saying that they wanted me to make the illustrations for Isabel’s new book. It had to be created in 28 days! I pretty much worked in my pajamas, because I didn’t have time for anything else. That was a big, big challenge…. I currently take seven to eight months to illustrate a book. Back then, I did the best I could with what I had. And it was a good experience because I felt that if I was able to create something in 28 days, I could do anything.

Who influenced your style?

I have taken from some illustrators. One is David Shannon. I admire the way he layers his paintings. I also admire the fluidity and movement of Marjorie Priceman, and the work of Jorge Camarena—a muralist in Mexico who is not as well known as Siqueiros. I’ve seen some of his paintings in my textbooks when I was in school, and his work influenced me greatly when I had to illustrate Harvesting Hope.

Does your art have a Latin American flavor?

Yes, definitely. I spent my first 25 years in Mexico. Everything I create has what I am: the colors I love, the feeling, the images I am familiar with.

Yet you seem to explore different techniques in the work you do. Some of your books have a Mexican feel; for example Just a Minute. But Nochecita (Little Night) doesn’t have quite that flavor. What is Mexican in this book?

Nochecita is a story that could have been created anywhere in the world. But it was my choice to make the mother wear this skirt and this blouse. She is not just the sky but an indigenous woman. Nochecita is not the typical indigenous girl but she has things that I associate with being Mexican: like wearing these white crochet dresses, having the hair combed at night, taking those baths in a tin tub in the [center] of the patio…. That’s how I grew up…

You had bath tubs outside?

Sometimes. I come from Veracruz, which is a very warm state, and my mom’s side of the family was very poor, so we had old appliances and very basic things. At home we had a shower, but at my aunt’s and my grandma’s house we had baths in the patio or in a garden, surrounded by plants and flowers. Now I think it was beautiful, but at the time I didn’t like it.

Do you miss Mexico?

Yes, I do, very, very much. It took me a while to adapt to this country and to find the reason for me to be here. When I finally found it, it really filled me up. When I [discovered] that I wanted to do children’s books, I felt that I had a mission. Not with anyone but with myself. Then Mexico became this thing that I missed. I don’t feel as heartbroken about not being there, but I still need to visit once a year. 

Do you write in English or Spanish?

I actually write in English. I’ve always wanted to learn English and I also wanted to share the stories. Back in Mexico, when I knew only Spanish, I didn’t write much, only letters to my boyfriends. So my creative writing really happened in English. Even Nochecita happened first in English.

What are you working on now?

I recently finished another book with Neal Porter that will be coming out this fall. It’s a sequel to my book Just a Minute and it’s called Just in Case. I am really happy with this book. I think it’s the best things I’ve done so far.

The Skeleton is back?

Yes. In Just a Minute, Señor Calavera left a note saying that he wouldn’t miss the next birthday party for nothing. So here comes back to grandma’s birthday party and realizes he doesn’t have a present. The story is his quest for the best present for grandma as he goes through the alphabet trying to find the perfect object. Just a Minute was a counting book; this is an alphabet book.

What comes next?

Now I have on my table everything I need to start a book with my husband. This time I am not painting. I will be creating objects from clay, metal, and other media, [and my husband] will later photograph [the scenes]. The book is [currently] called My Abuelita; it’s by Tony Jonston and will be published by Harcourt. 

Books by Yuyi Morales

Los Gatos Black on Halloween. 
Marisa Montes.
illus. by Yuyi Morales. U.S.: Henry Holt. 2006. ISBN 978-0805074291. $16.95.

Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez. 
Kathleen Krull. 
illus. by Yuyi Morales. U.S.: Harcourt. 2003. ISBN 0-15-201437-3. $17.

Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book. 
Written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales. 
U.S.: Chronicle Books. 2003. ISBN 0-8118-3758-0. $15.95.

Sand Sister. 
Amanda White.
illus. by Yuyi Morales. Barefoot Books. 2004. ISBN 1-84148-617-5. $16.99.

 


Nochecita. (Little Night).
Written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales.
U.S.: Roaring Brook: Holtzbrink. 2007. 32p. ISBN 978-1596432321. $16.95  

Cosechando esperanza. (Harvesting Hope) 
Kathleen Krull. 
tr. by F. Isabel Campoy & Alma Flor Ada. illus. by Yuyi Morales. U.S.: Libros Viajeros: Harcourt. 2004. unpaged. ISBN 0-15-205169-4. pap. $7.