Leonarda Carranza was born in San Salvador, El Salvador and currently resides in Brampton, Ontario, Treaty 19 part of the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, Haudenosaunee, and Wendat Nations. She holds a PhD in Social Justice Education from the University of Toronto. Her picture book Abuelita & Me/Abuelita y yo (illustrated by Rafael Mayani) is the winner of a 2022 International Latino Book Award and a Kirkus Best Book of the Year. Her most recent picture book, Fighting Words is illustrated by Erika Medina.
We caught up with Leonarda to ask her about what drives her to write for children and how reading can promote conversations about justice and inclusion.
You hold a PhD in Social Justice Education from the University of Toronto. How did your academic career lead you to writing for children?
I always wanted to write, but when I started university, I was more interested in understanding why there is so much injustice in the world. So, I ended up studying Social Justice Education and deep down I think I trusted that I would someday find my way back writing. During the time that I was working on my PhD I thought a lot about what would happen to my research and academic writing. Who would get access to it? Who would read it? Who would benefit from it?
Early on, it became important to me that my research didn’t just stay in academia. So, I started working on making my academic writing accessible to a wider audience. I started taking creative writing courses as a way of moving away from a strictly academic writing style and in the process found my writing voice and got to the heart of the stories that I wanted to tell. My debut picture book, Abuelita and Me is the culmination of years and years of research on race and racism, and I’m so proud of this story.
Abuelita & Me was published in both English and Spanish and won a gold medal at the 2022 International Latino Book Awards. How does it feel to know the book is finding an international audience of young readers?
It feels incredible. A part of me is just so thrilled that the story is out there and reaching people. Sometimes, I receive messages from people. They write to me to tell me how much the book means to them. I feel so honoured. It means the world to me that so many people feel the story authentically represents their experience.
When I was young, whenever we talked about racism in school it was brought up as something historical, something that was not taking place now. Racism was not something that we talked about in our everyday experiences. You couldn’t even say the word without making everyone uncomfortable. One of my hopes for the book was that it would create opportunities to have these conversations with young readers about race and racism early on in their schooling. And it feels like a gift that it’s happened, and that I’ve played a small role in making conversation about injustice and racism a little easier.
Your upcoming picture book, The Friendship Blanket, is loosely based on your own childhood experiences of moving to Canada and being teased at school. What do you hope young readers will take away from the story?
I recently shared an advanced reading copy of The Friendship Blanket with my sister, and she was in tears while reading it. “I’m so sorry this happened to you,” she said.
Migration is hard. Leaving family, friends, community and culture behind is hard. I hope young readers who have experienced that loss feel represented in the story. I hope they feel less alone. And I hope that people who haven’t had to experience that loss feel a lot of love and empathy for newcomers and immigrants. I hope that they reach out to them with a little more kindness and care and realize the power of friendship; because friendship can mean so much to someone who has recently lost so much.
You’ll be touring for the upcoming Canadian Children’s Book Week, reading from your books, and talking with young readers about anger, racism, and microaggressions. What are you looking forward to most about touring for Book Week?
I’m looking forward to the questions and discussions. Young readers always have the most interesting thoughts. I’m excited to find out what they take away from the stories. When I was little, books like this didn’t exist. So, most of all, I’m looking forward to the opportunity to share these stories with them.
Leonarda Carranza will be touring as part of Canadian Children's Book Week 2025. Keep up to date with her latest projects by following @carranzaleonarda on Instagram.
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Written by Spencer Miller