Juliet Menéndez

Juliet Menéndez is a Guatemalan American author and illustrator. While working as a bilingual teacher in New York City’s public schools, Juliet noted the need for more books that depicted children like the ones in her classrooms. She imagined it was only a matter of time before the publishing world would notice this need too, and decided to go off to Paris to study design and illustration. Juliet’s students inspired her exciting author-illustrator debut, LATINITAS: Celebrating 40 Big Dreamers, from Holt/Macmillan which was named a NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book.

As she worked to develop her distinctive illustration style, Juliet wrote and designed the curriculum for integrated language programs, created English adaptations of French children’s television shows, and collaborated on bilingual language learning songs. Her illustration clients include publishers Santillana and Lee & Low, and the magazine Había Una Vez.

Juliet creates every illustration by hand using watercolor on thick Aquarelle Arches paper. Since she’s always loved the flat graphic quality of print (she previously created lithography prints and sanded those giant stones herself!), her technique in watercolor reflects this interest. While print has its own beautiful texture, Juliet has a special love for the texture of watercolor on paper.

Juliet’s artistic style greatly reflects how she spent her childhood. She grew up between Guatemala and the United States, with an artsy mother who spent her youth hitchhiking around the world, and a bohemian architect father. Since money was always a bit tight, most of what Juliet had as a child, from her toys and books to her clothes, was “vintage.” While she used to covet anything that was new, the retro aesthetic of her childhood has stuck with Juliet and greatly influenced her palette and sources of inspiration. She loves Art Deco, old soviet children’s books, Indian Miniature paintings, Islamic patterns, the precision of architectural drawings, and Latin American folk art.

Download Juliet Menéndez’s Illustrator Showcase

Currently, Juliet is spending her days with her watercolors and notebook, writing and illustrating her first children’s book. To see more of Juliet’s work, visit her on the web www.julietmenendez.com, or follow her on Twitter at @jmenendezillu and on Instagram at jalessandraillustration

Visit Juliet in the studio with Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.

Praise for LATINITAS Celebrating 40 Big Dreamers:

“This book belongs in every child’s hands.” —Kirkus Reviews STARRED REVIEW

“This is an engaging and important book that should stimulate young Latinas to become the best they can be —and I am delighted to be in such good company! –Susana Torre, acclaimed architect featured in LATINITAS