Francisco Jiménez, Author
- Bio: Born in 1943 in Tlaquepaque, Mexico; second oldest of eight children; family immigrated to California when he was four to work as undocumented migrant farm workers; his family moved with the seasons of crops, so he missed months of school every year; his family was deported when he was in eighth grade, but they returned with documents a few months later; settled in a migrant labor camp in Santa Maria, California; attended Santa Clara University and received a degree in Spanish; became a US Citizen during his junior year; received a Master’s degree and PhD in Latin American Literature from Columbia University; co-founder of scholarly journal The Bilingual Review; had an elementary school named after him in 2015; received commendations from Congress, the Department of Education, the California State Senate, and the governor of the State of Jalisco, Mexico
- Other Works: The Circuit (1997); La Mariposa (1998); The Christmas Gift (2000); Reaching Out (2008); Taking Hold (2015)
- Awards: The Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature (2001); Pura Belpré Honor Book Award (2002); ALA Notable Children’s Book (2002)