Ryan, Pam Muñoz (1951-…), is an American author of children’s books known for stories inspired by her Mexican-American heritage. Ryan has won the Pura Belpré Award twice, in 2002 for Esperanza Rising (2000) and in 2011 for The Dreamer (2010). Ryan based Esperanza Rising on the life of her grandmother, an immigrant from Mexico to the United States. The Dreamer is based on the childhood of the famous Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. 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.” The award is co-sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), and by REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking. In 2024, Ryan received the Children’s Literature Legacy Award (formerly called the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award), which honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made a significant and lasting contribution to literature for children. The award is given by the ALSC.
Ryan has written several books about strong women in history. Riding Freedom (1998) is the story of Charlotte Parkhurst, who lived as a man in California during the mid-1800’s, working as a stage coach driver. Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride (1999) describes an actual airplane flight taken by the pioneer woman aviator Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Becoming Naomi León (2004) tells about an 11-year-old half-Mexican girl’s search for her father. Paint the Wind (2007) describes the relationship between an 11-year-old orphan girl and a mysterious mustang horse in Wyoming.
Ryan’s other books include The Flag We Love (1996); Hello, Ocean! and Mice and Beans (both 2001); the picture books Tony Baloney (2011) and Tony Baloney: School Rules (2013); Echo (2015); and Solimar: The Sword of Monarchs (2022).
Pamela Muñoz was born on Dec. 25, 1951, in Bakersfield, California. She married Jim Ryan in 1975. She received a bachelor’s degree in child development and a master’s degree in post-secondary education from San Diego State University. After teaching for several years, Ryan became a full-time children’s writer in 1994.
