Juana Medina

            Juana Medina is the author and illustrator of  Juana & Lucas; 1 Big Salad, A Delicious Counting Book and ABC Pasta, An Entertaining Alphabet, as well as the illustrator of Doreen Cronin’s Smick.  Juana and Lucas is about a girl’s experience learning English.  A sequel to Juana and Lucas and a new concept book called Sweet Shapes are in the works. 
 
            Ms. Medina grew up in Bogota, Columbia, in the Andes Mountains. As a child, she got in trouble for drawing cartoons of her teachers. She went to the Corcoran School of Art and Design and the Rhode Island School of Design.  Currently, she teaches animation at George Washington University. She resides in Van Ness.
 
            Her favorite children’s books are Nicholas by Goschinny & Sempé and Me and My Sister Clara, by Dimiter Inkiow. She also likes the picture books of Dick Bruna, best known for Miffy the bunny.
 
Ms. Medina believes that the Noyes Library for Children is so important because " Early literacy plays an essential role not only encouraging children to read, but offering an invaluable chance to discover other worlds and find themselves. Through stories, children develop curiousity and empathy. Places as unique as the Noyes Library also offer an important space, where young readers and their families can feel very much at home while reading. Developing strong bonds, as they get together to participate in activities, surrounded by a fabulous collection of books housed in this beloved one-room library.
 
Read more about Ms. Medina at http://www.juanamedina.com/.  Check out her books at the Noyes Library for Young Children and other Montgomery County Public Libraries.

​By Beth Meyer