Rafael López (illustrator and artist) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rafael López
Born	(1961-08-08) August 8, 1961 (age 63) Mexico City
Nationality	Mexico/United States
Alma mater	ArtCenter College of Design
Spouse(s)	Candice López
Awards	American Library Association Belpré Medals American Library Association Schneider Family Book Award Society of Illustrators New York Original Art Silver Medal Tomás Rivera Award International Latino Book Awards Jane Addams Children's Book Award Américas Book Awards National Cartoonist Society Book Illustration Award

Rafael López (born August 8, 1961, in Mexico City, Mexico) is a world-famous artist and illustrator. He creates amazing pictures for children's books that show many different kinds of people. This helps all young readers see themselves in stories. He has won several important awards for his book illustrations. These include three Pura Belpré Award medals from the American Library Association (ALA). He won for Dancing Hands in 2020, Drum Dream Girl in 2016, and Book Fiesta! in 2010.

Rafael López also designed the poster for the National Book Festival for the Library of Congress. He was even a special speaker at this big event. His book pictures have won many other awards too, like the Schneider Family Book Award and the Jane Addams Children's Book Award. He has also designed thirteen stamps for the United States Postal Service. In 2023, he created a Google Doodle to celebrate Raoul A. Cortez, a Mexican American who helped give a voice to Latinos through radio and TV.

Rafael López's Early Life and School

Rafael López started drawing and painting when he was very young in Mexico City. He went to an experimental school called Manuel Bartolome Cossio. There, he took many workshops like photography, painting, and puppet making. He also learned to play different musical instruments, including the guitar and drums. Music is a big part of his art, books, and even his postal stamps.

Both of his parents were architects and professors. As a child, Rafael loved visiting flea markets with his dad to find old books. Their home was filled with books from floor to ceiling! He often traveled to the library to read, especially art books. He grew up loving images from many cultures. Mexico, where he grew up, has hundreds of myths and legends and many native languages. This early exposure to different stories and cultures really shaped his artistic ideas.

When he was 10, he lived in England with artist Felipe Ehrenberg. There, he learned to draw and make books. His first book was a journal where he drew about his experiences. In 1982, he moved to Los Angeles to study illustration at the ArtCenter College of Design. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Illustration.

Rafael López's Art Career

After college, Rafael López worked as an illustrator in Los Angeles. Later, he turned an old car garage in San Diego into his home and art studio. He started working on projects that helped his community. He founded the Urban Art Trail, painting large murals to make neighborhoods look better. His love for books eventually led him to illustrate children's books. He especially focuses on showing many different people and cultures in his art. He has also taught illustration at ArtCenter College of Design and San Diego City College.

Rafael López's Art Style

Rafael López grew up surrounded by the rich culture and vibrant street life of Mexico City. His art style is influenced by Mexican surrealism and myths. He uses bold colors and textures in his work, blending graphic design with magical symbols. He likes to use objects and symbols to share ideas. He gets inspiration from images from different cultures to create his unique visual language.

He paints with acrylic paints, often using large recycled salsa jars from Mexico. He uses various objects to scratch textures onto wooden boards that he cuts and sands himself. Color and texture are very important in his paintings. He even takes photos of old walls and peeling paint to get ideas for textures. Rafael believes color shows his identity and heritage. It also helps him connect with people's feelings. His illustrations for children's books are known for their folk art style.

Rafael López's Books

Book Fiesta! illustrated by Rafael López, which won the 2010 Pura Belpré illustration medal.

Rafael López has illustrated many wonderful books for children.

• In 2022, he illustrated The Little Book of Joy. This book was written by the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. It shows how these two global peace leaders found joy even after facing challenges.
• He worked with Jacqueline Woodson on The Day You Begin. This book became a #1 New York Times Children's Picture Book bestseller. It also won the Jane Addams Children's Book Award, which honors books that teach about peace and fairness. In 2020, Netflix featured this book in their series Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices.
• In 2022, he worked with Jacqueline Woodson again on The Year We Learned to Fly. This story about a brother and sister facing challenges became another New York Times Bestseller.
• Rafael López illustrated Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You. This book was written by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. It shows kids with different abilities working together in a garden. This book also became a #1 New York Times Bestselling Children's Picture Book. It won the American Library Association 2020 Schneider Family Book Award. Justice Sotomayor had diabetes as a child. Rafael López shared that his own son has autism, which inspired him for this book.

Rafael López talking with a fan at BookExpo America in 2018.

• He won the 2020 Pura Belpré Medal for Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln. This book tells the story of a young Venezuelan pianist during the American Civil War.
• His illustrations for Drum Dream Girl won the 2016 Pura Belpré medal. This award celebrates books that show and honor the Latino culture in children's stories. The book is about Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, a Cuban girl in the 1930s who played drums even though it was unusual for girls. Rafael López's art for this book encourages readers to see the story from different angles by changing how they hold the book.
• Bravo! Poems about Amazing Hispanics won a Silver Medal in 2017. His bright portraits in this book were praised for their strong, poster-like style.
• In 2019, he helped create a book celebrating 50 years of Sesame Street called "Sunny Day." He also worked with Eric Carle, the famous author of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," on the 2017 book "What's your Favorite Color?".
• His illustrations for Book Fiesta! by Pat Mora won the 2010 Pura Belpré Illustration Award. This book celebrates El Día de los niños/ El Día de los libros (Day of the Child/Day of the Book).
• The book "Maybe Something Beautiful, How Art Transformed a Neighborhood" is based on Rafael López's work as a community muralist. It won the 2017 Tomás Rivera Book Award.
• Other books like Tito Puente, Mambo King, The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred, My Name is Celia, Me Llamo Celia, and Yum! Mmm! Que Rico! have also won awards.

Rafael López does a lot of research for his books. He believes that words and pictures can make a real difference. When children see themselves in books, it helps them believe in their own potential. He feels it's important to go beyond stereotypes and show the real, complex world we live in.

In 2012, the Library of Congress chose him to create the National Book Festival poster. This event celebrates reading and literacy. He also promotes reading and literacy by speaking at schools and libraries. His illustrated children's books have been printed in many languages, including Arabic, Chinese, English, and Spanish.

Rafael López's Posters

Nuestra Voz poster, 2008.

Rafael López created a poster called Nuestra Voz (Our Voice) to encourage people to vote for Barack Obama. This poster was so popular that his 2008 poster Voz Unida (United Voice) was chosen as an official poster for the Obama/Biden campaign. These posters were sold to help raise money for the campaign. In 2012, he was the only original artist chosen to create a new poster, "Estamos Unidos" (We Are United), for Obama's re-election campaign.

He also created the National Book Festival poster for the Library of Congress in 2012. Birds are often in his art. In 2012, he worked with Environment for the Americas to create a poster for International Migratory Bird Day. This poster encouraged children to watch and appreciate birds. He also made a series of four posters in 2014 for the Americas Latino Eco Festival. To encourage summer reading, he designed a poster for the Collaborative Summer Library Program called "One World, Many Stories."

In 2013, he taught a poster design workshop in the United Arab Emirates. He also taught an art workshop to children there in 2011.

Rafael López's Postal Stamps

Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino, Rafael López chandelier.

In 2022, Rafael López became the first Guest Artist of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. He taught workshops about how he designs stamps. He also shared why it's important for art to show many different people and cultures.

He has created thirteen stamps for the United States Postal Service. In 2022, he designed a series of 5 stamps about Mariachi music. These colorful stamps show mariachi musicians playing different instruments. He explained that mariachi music can bring people together all over the world. Also in 2022, he illustrated a fun stamp with a mother elephant and her baby.

In 2010, he designed a series of 5 stamps called Latin Music Legends. These stamps featured famous musicians like Celia Cruz and Tito Puente. His 2007 U.S.P.S. stamp celebrated an important legal case about equal education called Mendez vs. Westminster. His Let's Dance Merengue postal stamp was even on the cover of a special stamp yearbook in 2006.

Rafael López's Murals

Rafael López speaks at the Mingei Museum.

In 1997, Rafael López started the Urban Art Trail Project in San Diego. This project changed the East Village area with colorful murals and art. It became a model for other cities to improve their neighborhoods with art. The children's book Maybe Something Beautiful is based on this project.

Rafael loves bringing art out of galleries and onto the streets so everyone can see it. He has found that community murals can bring many different people together. To help communities work together, he created a mural style that is like a giant paint-by-numbers. This helps neighbors work together to make their communities better. He works with public libraries to use art to connect communities. He believes that showing diversity can build trust and new ideas.

After a violent event at a playground in Chicago, he worked with the community to create a bright mural. This helped families feel stronger and take back their neighborhood through art. He has designed murals with the National Museum of Mexican Fine Art in Chicago and other groups. You can find Rafael López's murals in downtown San Diego, at children's hospitals, and at public schools. He has worked with hundreds of children and families to create murals in many cities across the United States.

Rafael López lives in San Diego, California, and in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. He lives with his wife, Candice, who is an Art and Design Professor, and their son, Santiago.

Illustrated books

• The Little Book of Joy (2022) written by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Crown Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, ISBN: 9780593484234
• The Year We Learned to Fly (2022) (New York Times #2 Children's Picture Books Bestseller written by Jacqueline Woodson, Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, ISBN: 9780399545535
• I'll Meet You in Your Dreams (2021) written by Jessica Young, Little, Brown books for Young Readers, ISBN: 9780316453288
• Just Ask!: Be Brave, Be Different, Be You (2019) (American Library Association-2020 Schneider Family Book Award, New York Times #1 Children's Picture Books Bestseller, written by Sonia Sotomayor), Philomel Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, ISBN: 978-0525514121
• Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln (2019), (American Library Association-2020 Pura Belpré Medal, written by Margarita Engle), Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Simon & Schuster ISBN: 978-1-4814-8740-5
• Sunny Day: A Celebration of the Sesame Street Theme Song (2019, Illustrator, Written by Joe Raposo), Penguin Random House, ISBN: 978-1-9848-5253-3
• We've Got the Whole World in our Hands (2018), Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic, ISBN: 978-1338177367
• The Day You Begin (2018), (Jane Addams Children's Book Award, National Cartoonist Society Best in Book Illustration, New York Times #1 Children's Picture Books Bestseller, Illustrator, Written by Jacqueline Woodson), Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, ISBN: 978-0399246531
• We Rise, We Resist, We Raise our Voices (2018, Illustrator, edited by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson), Penguin Random House, ISBN: 978-0525580423
• What's your Favorite Color (2017, Illustrator, Eric Carle and Friends), Henry Holt and Co., ISBN: 978-0805096149
• Bravo! Poems About Amazing Hispanics (2017 Society of Illustrators New York, Original Art Silver Medal, Illustrator, written by Margarita Engle), Henry Holt and Co., ISBN: 978-0-8050-98761
• Maybe Something Beautiful (2017 Tomás Rivera Children's Book Award, 2016 International Latino Book Award, written by F. Isabel Campoy & Theresa Howell), Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, ISBN: 978-054435769-3
• Drum Dream Girl (2016 American Library Association-Pura Belpré Medal, Illustrator, written by Margarita Engle), Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, ISBN: 978-0544102293
• Tito Puente Mambo King, Rey del Mambo (2014 Pura Belpré Honor, Illustrator, written by Monica Brown), HarperCollins, ISBN: 978-0-06-122783-7
• The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred (2012 Pura Belpré Honor, Illustrator, written by Samantha Vamos), Charlesbridge, ISBN: 978-1-58089-242-1
• Book Fiesta! (2010 American Library Association-Pura Belpré Medal, Illustrator, written by Pat Mora), Harper Collins, ISBN: 978-0-06-128877-7
• Our California (2008, Illustrator, written by Pam Muñoz Ryan), Charlesbridge, ISBN: 978-1-58089-116-5
• Yum! !MmMm! !Que rico! (2007 Americas Award, Illustrator, written by Pat Mora), Lee & Low Books, ISBN: 978-1-60060-267-2
• My Name is Celia, Me Llamo Celia (2004 Americas Award and Pura Belpré Honor, written by Monica Brown), Luna Rising, ISBN: 0-87358-872-X