Pam Muñoz Ryan (born December 25, 1951) is an American writer for children and young adults, particularly in the multicultural genre.

Biography

Muñoz Ryan was born in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of th ...

. She is half Mexican with

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, and Oklahoman cultural influences. Muñoz Ryan has written over forty books for young people, including picture books, early readers, middle grade, and young adult novels. She has been the author recipient of the NEA's Human and Civil Rights Award, the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award for multicultural literature, and the Ludington Award for her body of work. She is also the 2018 U.S. nominee for the International

Hans Christian Andersen Award The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

. Her novel '' Esperanza Rising'' was commissioned as a play by the Minneapolis Children's Theatre and has been performed in venues around the US, including the

Goodman Theatre Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of the Chicago theatre scene, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization. Part of its present theater complex occupies the ...

in Chicago, and the Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston. Born Pamela Jeanne Banducci in

, on December 25, 1951, her last name was changed before she attended school to match the name of her parents, Hope Bell, and the man she considered her real father, Donald Bell. As Pamela Bell, she attended McKinley Elementary and Longfellow Elementary. As a child, she did not fit in with the other children. Rather than being outside with friends, Muñoz Ryan was riding her bike to the library. She also briefly took music lessons in both piano and violin, but after her violin broke, she stopped taking lessons. Muñoz Ryan attended Washington Jr. High, Bakersfield High School, and Bakersfield Community College. She then attended

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

where she received a bachelor's degree. She married James Ryan in 1975. An early childhood teacher, she worked for the

Escondido, California Escondido (Spanish language, Spanish for "Hidden") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. Located in the North County (San Diego area), North County region, it was incorporated in 1888, and is one of the oldest cities in San ...

, school district for three years before they started their family. After her four children were born, she became the director of an early childhood program and went back to school to get her master's degree in Post-Secondary Education with the intention of teaching Children's Literature in college. When she finished her graduate program, she became interested in writing, and at the encouragement of her agent, Kendra Marcus, included her family name, Muñoz, to her signature, to reflect her Mexican heritage.

Selected bibliography

*''Riding Freedom'' (1998) *'' Esperanza Rising'' (2000) *''When Marian Sang'' (2002) *'' Becoming Naomi León'' (2004) *''Paint the Wind'' (2007) *''The Dreamer'', illustrated by Peter Sís (2010) *''Tony Baloney'' (2011) *''

Echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...

'' (2015) *'' Mañanaland'' (2020)

Awards

*2024 Children’s Literature Legacy Award, honors an author whose books have made a significant and lasting contribution to literature for children by the

Association for Library Service to Children The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is a division of the American Library Association. ALSC has over 4,000 members, including children, experts in children's literature, publishers, faculty members, and other adults. The Associa ...

*2023 Regina Medal, Catholic Library Association ''Echo'' *2016 Newbery Honor Books *2016 Américas Award *2016 Audie Award *2015 Kirkus Prize *2015 New York Historical Society Book Prize *2015 NAPPA Gold Award ''The Dreamer'', illustrated by

Peter Sís Peter Sís (born Petr Sís; May 11, 1949) is a Czechs, Czech-born American people, American illustrator and writer of children's books. As a cartoonist his editorial illustrations have appeared in ''Time (magazine), Time'', ''Newsweek'', ''Esquire ...

* 2011 Pen USA Award * 2011 Pura Belpré Medal * 2011 Américas Award * 2011 Nautilus Book Award * 2010 Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor * 2010 NAPPA Gold Award * Carla Cohen Free Speech Award * Deutscher Jugendliteraturapreis-Germany-''Der Traumer'' ''Becoming Naomi León'' * 2006 Pura Belpré Honor Medal * 2005 ALA Schneider Family Book Award * 2005 Tomás Rivera Mexican American Book Award * Américas Award Commended ''When Marian Sang,'' illustrated by Brian Selznick * 2004 Norman Sugarman Award for Distinguished Biography * 2003

Orbis Pictus Award The Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children recognizes books which demonstrate excellence in the "writing of nonfiction for children." It is awarded annually by the National Council of Teachers of English to one American book p ...

for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children * 2003 Flora Stieglitz Straus Award-Bank Street College ''Riding Freedom,'' illustrated by Brian Selznick * 2000 Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award * 2000 Arkansas Simon Young Reader Honor * 1998 Parenting Magazine’s Reading Magic Award ''Esperanza Rising'' * 2002 Pura Belpré Award * 2001 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist * 2001 Southern California Judy Lopez Award * 2001 Arizona Young Adult Book Award

References

External links

* * (Ryan, Pam Muñoz) {{DEFAULTSORT:Munoz Ryan, Pam 1951 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American women novelists American writers of Mexican descent Hispanic and Latino American novelists Kirkus Prize winners Newbery Honor winners Children's Literature Legacy Award winners San Diego State University alumni Writers from Bakersfield, California