Super super honored and thankful to have River of Mariposas be one of the 2025 Nominees for the Rhode Island Latino Book Award for the grades K-2 category!! 💕✨🫶
Congratulations to all the other nominees 🤩 I am thrilled to be amongst some of my favorite authors and illustrators. I LOVE so many of these books, and I’m excited to get the rest ✨🙌
River of Mariposas is a lovely story about the hard work we put into achieving our dreams, the unexpected setbacks, and the way those same setbacks sometimes lead to something even better than we could have ever imagined! 🦋 ~ it’s inspired by a real life event that lives in my memories, and set in my beloved home state of Veracruz (Mexico) in one of the most magical places ever: the Papaloapan River ✨
Thank you who all who have read and loved the story 💕💕💕 it’s available wherever books are sold (and hopefully in your local library 🥰), and it’s available in Spanish too!!!! 🫶
🦋written and illustrated by me
🦋edited by @ninagruener
🦋designed by @melissanelsongreenberg
🦋published by @cameron_kids@abramskids
Special thanks to @the_bright_agency@brightagencypublishing ✨
#kidlitart #kidlit #picturebook #latinxpicturebooks #hisanicpicturebooks #librosparaniños #latinxillustrators #rhodeislandlatinobookaward
Me emociona muchísimo contarles que MAGIA: EN UNA TIERRA MUY LEJANA estará disponible en español a partir de la próxima semana (25 de abril) 🫶
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Me da mucha emoción que el libro haya sido traducido y poder leerlo en mi lengua natal 🥹🥹🥹 es un libro súper especial para mi, porque celebra el lugar donde crecí en Veracruz y a toda la gente con la que crecí y que me ayudó a descubrir el verdadero significado de la magia ✨
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Gracias a todos por apoyar el libro, por leerlo y compartirlo 💛 La versión en español está disponible para pre ordenar en el link en mí bio ✨
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🌷 publicado por @penguinkids (vintage español) @penguinlibrosus
🌷traducido por mi
🌷editado por Ana Anton
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Gracias a la editorial en inglés y a el equipo de @cameron_kids 💛
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#librosparaniños #childrensbooks #kidlitart #purabelpreaward #kidlitinspanish #kidsbooksinspanish #mexicanbooks #mexicanillustrator #latinxartist #bilingualpicturebooks
Happy (early) Mother’s Day 🩷✨
Here are some sweet mom moments I’ve illustrated over the years:
1. I AM, YO SOY. Written by @thegreatgabsie
2. MAMIACHI & ME. Written by @writerjolene & Dakota Gutierrez
3. ALL OF APOLONIA. Written by @patty_cisneros_prevo_ply_
4. I AM, YO SOY. Written by @thegreatgabsie
5. MAMIACHI & ME. Written by @writerjolene & Dakota Gutierrez
6. RIVER OF MARIPOSAS. Written by me.
7. MAGIC. Written by me.
#kidlitart #childrensbookillustration
Happy Cinco de Mayo! Or, should I say “MerMayo”?
A not so little doodle to celebrate, painted with gouache on Bristol paper.
I very rarely paint this big (and, to be fair, it’s not <that> big!!) but I felt inspired. It’s a different experience from painting small, it’s definitely way more fun to paint faces in this size!
#MerMay2026 #kidlitart #kidlitartist #kidlitillustration #childrensbookillustration
Cinco and Mayo AND Mother’s Day are coming up, I can’t think of a better book for both than Mamiachi & Me 🩷✨ written by @writerjolene & Dakota Gutierrez, and illustrated by me 💕
Book events this April 🩷
Thank you @theclaremontforum for having me 🦋 it was so much fun to get to talk books and craft with you all!
Thank you @lalibreria for having me at your Los Angeles Times Festival of Books booth! I had a blast! ✨💛
Another neocolor II experiment, this time around with some gouache too. I think this might be my last experiment for a little bit, since I feel like now I’d like to take what I’ve learned so far and find ways to work it into my digital art. It’s always a push and pull!
#kidlitart #kidlitillustration #childrensbookart
The stunning pop-up book celebrating the Central Library’s centennial is available now at The Library Store!
Get your copy of “Los Angeles Central Library POPS: Celebrating a Century of the Light of Learning” right now, exclusively at The Library Store, weeks ahead of the official publication date!
This thrilling 3-D adventure through the Central Library’s 100-year history features incredible pop-ups of iconic features like the Rotunda chandelier, sphinx statues, and a grand finale “pop” opens to reveal the entire exterior of Central Library in all its Art Deco glory.
Authored by Christina Rice, Los Angeles Public Library’s Senior Photo Librarian, and featuring illustrations by Mirelle Ortega and paper engineering by Matthew Reinhart, this is a spectacular piece of pop-up collectable history!
Grab your special advance copy today at the link in our bio!
Book design by @becca._.l
Product photography by @elonschoenholz
#Central100 #LAPL #AngelCityPress #PopUpBook #LosAngelesHistory
Swing!
Little doodle from last night. I think next I want to experiment with painting a full scene with neocolors, I just haven’t had any good ideas for one yet.
#kidlitart #kidlitillustration #neocolorsII #childrensbookart
This Sunday, April 19 at 2 PM, we're welcoming children's book illustrator and author Mirelle Ortega to the Forum Bookshop for an afternoon of stories, art, and hands-on creativity for kids. Every ticket includes a copy of one of her books — perfect for a Sunday afternoon with the family.
Get your tickets at the link in bio or /mirelle-ortega-childrens-book-event-ojjbfb
