Elisa Chavarri is an award-winning and New York Times bestselling illustrator originally from Lima, Peru. She did much of her growing up in Northern Michigan, where her family kept their Peruvian culture and Latin roots alive. After studying Classical Animation and Comics at the Savannah College of Art and Design, Elisa made her way back to Alpena, Michigan, where she now resides with her husband and two kids. Living in rural northern Michigan offers plenty of inspiration for this nature/animal lover, even when the front door is covered in an inch of fish flies. With her work she hopes to inspire a sense of magic, happiness, & wonder in children, while helping more kids feel represented as the protagonists of these stories. She is the illustrator of the New York Times bestseller, Taylor Swift, A Little Golden Book, and the Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor Book, Sharuko.
Awards / Honors
- 2024 Bank Street Best of the Year- Abuela’s Super Capa
- Taylor Swift, A Little Golden Book Biography – A million copies sold!
- 2024 Bank Street College of Education Best Spanish Picture Book List- Abuela’s Super Capa
- 2023 Amazon Best of 2023 – I’ll Hold Your Hand
- 2023 School Library Journal Starred Review – A Crown for Corina
- 2023 School Library Journal Starred Review – Abuela’s Super Capa
- 2021 Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor Book, Sharuko
- 2022 Star of the North Award MYRA Nominee, Federico and the Wolf
- 2021 Bank Street College Silver Medal, Best Children’s Picture Books of the Year in Spanish, Sharuko
- 2021 Tejas Star Reading List Selection, Sharuko
- 2021 CCBC Choice, Sharuko
- 2021 ILA’s Notable Books for a Global Society – Sharuko
- 2020 Chicago Public Library Best Informational Books for Younger Readers – Sharuko
- Three Starred Reviews – Sharuko
- 2021 School Library Journal’s Latinx Luminaries – Sharuko
- 2021 Sunshine State Young Readers Award List – Federico and the Wolf
- 2021 Pennsylvania Young Readers’ Choice Award List – Federico and the Wolf
- 2021 Kansas National Education Association Reading Circle Recommended Title – Federico and the Wolf
- 2021 Horn Book Magazine’s Summer Reading List – Sharuko
- 2021 Bank Street College Best Children’s Books – Federico and the Wolf
- 2020 School Library Journal’s list of Best Non Fiction books – Sharuko
- Junior Library Guild Selection, Rainbow Weaver
- CCBC Choice, Rainbow Weaver
- Commended Title, Américas Book Award, Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs, Rainbow Weaver