Maya Christina Gonzalez - Artist. Author. Educator. Activist

I was a Librarian on a Quest to find captivating and authentic bilingual picture books to share in storytime when I first came across Maya Christina Gonzalez’s new book (at the time) My Colors, My World / Mis colores, mi mundo. On reading the story's last sentence, I knew that in my hands I was holding what had just become one of my favorite storytime picture books.

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In this visual and verbal work of art, Maya conveys the quiet and beautiful story of an active little girl’s world. She has distilled to an essence the little girl’s playful strength and her joy in the colors and the beauty surrounding her in just a few pages. 

Another beautiful work of art written and illustrated by Maya is
Call Me Tree /  Llamame arbol, published in 2014.

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For this reader and fan, as soon as I opened the book it was love at first sight. Through her pictures and her words, Maya does something wonderful and almost like magic. She guides her audience through the experience of connecting with and being empowered by the beauty and the resilience of one of nature’s BEST things – trees.

She shows that we can find the essence of tree strength and tree beauty within our own selves. Think about it. Picture it. Tree-ness - at once grounding AND uplifting, with the smooth flow of the sap and the light-filled vibrance of the chlorophyll coursing through our spirits.

If that sentence makes any sense to you, you’ll probably like Call Me Tree / Llamame arbol too.

As an artist and author, Maya Gonzalez believes deeply in and works tirelessly towards teaching "the importance of creativity as a tool for personal empowerment”.

Maya Gonzalez's devotion to creatively leading, guiding, and supporting people towards freeing their minds and opening their hearts is evident through her years of work as an artist, author, educator, and activist.

Through her art, her books, her curriculums, her independent press - Reflections Press, and her School of the Free Mind an online learning environment, Maya Gonzalez is a beacon and guide for mind-freeing empowerment through the healing, the transformative, and the empowering – the creative act. 

Browse the list below for a look at some of the books Maya has collaborated on as an illustrator and books that she has authored and illustrated...

Intrigued and wanting to know more? Have a look at Maya Christina Gonzalez's 100 word bio, and explore the links she supplies...

Maya Gonzalez is an award-winning children’s book artist, author, activist and progressive educator. Her work addresses systemic inequity in relation to race/ethnicity, sexism and cissexism using children’s books as radical agents of change and healing, both personally and culturally. She co-founded Reflection Press, a POC, queer and trans owned independent publishing house that uses holistic, nature-based, and anti-oppression frameworks in their books and materials for kids and grown-ups. She is also the creator of the Gender Wheel, a tool to express the dynamic, infinite and inclusive reality of gender, and provides lectures and workshops to educators, parents and caregivers. www.mayagonzalez.com | www.genderwheel.com | www.reflectionpress.com