Amada Irma Perez

Amada Irma Pérez is a Mexican American children’s book author and longtime bilingual educator whose work centers on immigration, family, and multicultural understanding. Born in Mexicali, Mexico, in 1951, she immigrated to the United States as a child and later earned a B.A. in English from California Polytechnic State University and a master’s degree in education administration from California Lutheran University. Over a teaching career spanning more than 25 years, she taught from kindergarten through university and became a strong advocate for literacy and programs that promote multicultural awareness.

Pérez is the author of several bilingual picture books, including My Diary from Here to There / Mi diario de aquí hasta allá, based on her own family’s journey from Mexico to the United States. Her other titles include My Very Own Room / Mi propio cuartito, Nana’s Big Surprise / ¡Nana, qué sorpresa!, A Life of Firsts: The Story of Gloria Molina, and Arty’s Amazing Accordion / El acordeón asombroso de Arty. Her books have received multiple honors, among them a Pura Belpré Honor Book Award and the Tomás Rivera Children’s Book Award.