Guevara, Susan (1956-…), is an American illustrator of children’s books. Guevara has become especially known for her illustrations that reflect her Mexican-American heritage.
In 1996, Guevara received the first Pura Belpré Award for her illustrations in Chato’s Kitchen (1995). The book recounts the adventures of a sly cat named Chato who lives in the barrio (Hispanic neighborhood) of Los Angeles , California. Guevara received a second Pura Belpré Award in 2002 for her illustrations in Chato and the Party Animals (2000). Both works were written by Mexican-American poet Gary Soto. Guevara and Soto collaborated on a third “Chato” book, Chato Goes Cruisin’ (2005). The Pura Belpré Award is given annually to a Latino or Latina author and to a Latino or Latina illustrator “whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.”
Guevara also illustrated a number of other children’s books. They include The Boardwalk Princess (1993); The King’s Commissioners (1994); My Daughter, My Son, the Eagle, the Dove (2000); Tiger, Tiger (2002); The Lady in the Blue Cloak (2006); Numero Uno and Tales Our Abuelitas Told (both 2007); and Little Roja Riding Hood (2014).
Guevara was born in Walnut Creek, California, on Jan. 27, 1956. She studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Art in Mechelen, Belgium, in 1985 and 1986 and received a B.F.A. degree from the Academy of Art College (now University) in San Francisco in 1988. Guevara began her career as an illustrator with the picture book Emmett’s Snowball (1990).
