Donna Barba Higuera

Donna Barba Higuera is an American children's book author. Her debut novel, Lupe Wong Won't Dance, was a Pura Belpré Award honor book[1] and PNBA winner in 2021.[2] Her middle grade dystopian novel, The Last Cuentista, won the 2022 Newbery Medal and the Pura Belpré Medal.[3][4][5]

Donna Barba Higuera
NationalityAmerican
Notable works
Notable awards
Website
dbhiguera.com

Biography

Donna grew up in Central California, surrounded by agricultural and oil fields. As a child, she could be found reading a good book. Her favorite hobbies were calling dial-a-story over and sneaking into cemeteries to inspire her spooky tales using the headstones. ​

Donna's Middle Grade and Picture Books are about kids who find themselves in odd or scary situations.​ She explores themes such as: language and cultural differences and living a biracial life. Donna likes to write about all things funny, but also sad, and creepy, and magical.

Donna lives in Washington State with her family, three dogs and two frogs. [6][7][8] Outside of writing, Higuera works in healthcare.[6]

Selected works

Lupe Wong Won't Dance (2020)
Main article: Lupe Wong Won't Dance

Lupe Wong Won't Dance is a middle-grade sports novel published September 8, 2020 by Levine Querido. Mason London illustrated the cover, and Libia Brenda translated the Spanish-language edition.

Summary of the book: Lupe Wong is determined to be the first female pitcher in the Major Leagues. She’s also championed causes her whole young life. Some worthy…like expanding the options for race on school tests beyond just a few bubbles. And some not so much…like complaining to the BBC about the length between Doctor Who seasons. Lupe needs an A in all her classes in order to meet her favorite pitcher, Fu Li Hernandez, who’s Chinacan / Mexinese just like her. So, when the horror that is square dancing rears its head in gym? Obviously, she’s not gonna let that slide.

The Last Cuentista (2021)
Main article: The Last Cuentista

The Last Cuentista was published by Levine Querido and edited by Nick Thomas.[9] In Higuera's novel, 12-year-old Petra Peña and her family are among those chosen to escape Earth before Halley's comet collides with the planet;she will have to leave many things behind like her home, her friends, and of course her Abuelita or Grandmother. However, after waking up from a 357-year sleep, everyone's memories had been erased except Petra's. Previous Newbery winner Tae Keller said The Last Cuentista

“certainly veers into the dark end of middle-grade fiction, with brainwashing, ‘purging’, and, yes, the destruction of our entire planet ... but it doesn’t dwell in the darkness, preferring to give its readers healthy doses of hope, wonder and page-turning action.”[5]

The inspiration for The Last Cuentista came from a writing exercise involving the fairy tale The Princess and the Pea.[7]

Awards and honors

The Spanish-language translation of Lupe Wong Won't Dance (Lupe Wong No Baila) and The Last Cuentista are Junior Library Guild books.[10][11]

Booklist included Lupe Wong Won't Dance on their 2021 lists of the top ten "Best Middle-Grade Debuts"[12] and "Best Sports Books for Youth."[13]

The Last Cuentista was named one of the best children's books of the year by BookPage,[14] The Boston Globe,[15] the Chicago Public Library,[16] Kirkus Reviews,[17] the New York Public Library,[18] Publishers Weekly,[19] School Library Journal,[20] TIME,[21] and The Wall Street Journal.[22]

Awards for Higuera's writing
Year Title Award Result Ref.
2020 Lupe Wong Won't Dance ALSC Notable Children's Books Selection [23][24]
Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth Selection [25]
2021 PNBA Book Award Winner [2]
Pura Belpre Award for Children's Author Honor [26][1]
Sid Fleischman Humor Award Winner [27]
The Last Cuentista Cybils Award for Elementary and Middle Grade Speculative Fiction Finalist [28]
2022 Newbery Medal Winner [29][30][31][32]
Pura Belpré Award for Author Winner [31][32]

Publications
  • Lupe Wong Won't Dance (Levine Querido, 2020)
  • El Cucuy Is Scared, Too!, illustrated by Juliana Perdomo (Abrams, 2021)
    • ¡El Cucuy también tiene miedo! (expected 2023)
  • The Last Cuentista (Levine Querido, 2021)
    • La última cuentista, translated by Aurora Humarán (Levine Querido, 2022)
  • The Yellow Handkerchief, illustrated by Cynthia Alonso (Abrams, 2023)
  • Alebrijes (Levine Querido)
  • It's Navidad, El Cucuy!, illustrated by Juliana Perdomo (2023)

References
  1. Morales, Macey (2022-01-24). "Raúl Gonzalez, Donna Barba Higuera and Raquel Vasquez Gilliland win Pura Belpré Awards". American Library Association. Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  2. "2021 Book Awards". Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association. Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  3. Collins Sullivan, Meghan (2022-01-24). "'The Last Cuentista' and 'Watercress' win top children's book awards". NPR. Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  4. Italie, Hillel (24 January 2022). "'Last Cuentista,' 'Unspeakable' win children's book awards". The Washington Post. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  5. Harris, Elizabeth A. (24 January 2022). "Donna Barba Higuera Wins Newbery Medal for 'The Last Cuentista'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  6. Grilo, Ana (19 October 2021). "An Author Imagines the Future of Storytelling". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  7. Dumpleton, Elise (7 October 2021). "Q&A: Donna Barba Higuera, Author of 'The Last Cuentista'". The Nerd Daily. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  8. "About". Donna Barba Higuera. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  9. Kantor, Emma; Roback, Diane (January 24, 2022). "Barba Higuera, Chin, Boulley, win Newbery, Caldecott, Printz awards". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  10. "Lupe Wong no baila (Lupe Wong Won't Dance) by Donna Barba Higuera". Junior Library Guild. Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  11. "The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  12. Khuri, Ronny (2021-04-15). "Top 10 Middle-Grade Debuts: 2021". Booklist. Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  13. Khuri, Ronny (2021-09-01). "Top 10 Sports Books for Youth: 2021". Booklist. Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  14. "Best Middle Grade & Chapter Books of 2021". BookPage. 2021-11-16. Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  15. Sancken, Renata. "The Best Books of 2021". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  16. "Best Fiction for Older Readers of 2021". Chicago Public Library. Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  17. "The Last Cuentista". Kirkus Reviews. 2021-06-21. Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  18. "Best Books for Kids 2021". The New York Public Library. Archived from the original on 2023-03-08. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  19. "Best Books 2021: Publishers Weekly Publishers Weekly". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  20. Blair, Monisha; Speight, Myiesha; Williams, Ashleigh; Worley, Taylor (2021-11-22). "Best Middle Grade Books 2021 | SLJ Best Books". School Library Journal. Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  21. "The 10 Best YA and Children's Books of 2021". Time. Archived from the original on 2022-01-28. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  22. Gurdon, Meghan Cox (2021-12-10). "The Best Books of 2021: Children's Books". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  23. "Notable Children's Books: 2021". Booklist. 2021-03-15. Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  24. Schulte-Cooper, Laura (2021-03-30). "ALSC names 2021 Notable Children's Books". American Library Association. Archived from the original on 2022-02-01. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  25. "Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 2020". Booklist. 2021-01-01. Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  26. Morales, Macey (2021-01-25). "ALA announces 2021 Youth Media Awards". American Library Association. Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  27. "2021 Golden Kite Award Winners and Honor Recipients Announced". Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Archived from the original on 2021-04-19. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  28. "2021 Finalists: Elementary and Middle Grade Speculative Fiction". Children's and Young Adult Book Lovers' Literary Awards. Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  29. Schaub, Michael (2022-01-24). "ALA Announces Youth Media Award Winners for 2022". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  30. Sullivan, Meghan Collins (2022-01-24). "'The Last Cuentista' and 'Watercress' win top children's book awards". NPR. Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  31. Morales, Macey (2022-01-24). "American Library Association announces 2022 Youth Media Award winners". American Library Association. Archived from the original on 2022-01-28. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  32. "The Last Cuentista". Kirkus Reviews. 2021-06-21. Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
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