Amada Irma Pérez is a third-grade teacher in Oxnard, California, and a leading advocate of programs encouraging multicultural understanding. Like many of her students, Amada Irma was born in Mexico and came to the United States as a young child. My Very Own Room is based on her own family story. She lives with her family in Ventura, California.

Maya Gonzalez is an award-winning children's book artist, author, activist and progressive educator. Their work addresses systemic inequity in relation to race/ethnicity, sexism, and cissexism using children's books as radical agents of change and healing, both personally and culturally. Gonzalez co-founded Reflection Press, a POC, queer and trans owned independent publishing house that uses holistic, nature-based, and anti-oppression frameworks in their books and materials for kids and grown-ups. They are also the creator of the Gender Wheel, a tool to express the dynamic, infinite and inclusive reality of gender, and provides lectures and workshops to educators, parents and caregivers. Visit them online at mayagonzalez.com.

"A deserving purchase for bilingual and larger picture book collections." -- School Library Journal

"The bilingual first-person narrative realistically portrays a child who can take charge and make changes. . . Gonzalez's use of curved lines and warm colors adds to the overall sense of family unity and security." -- The Horn Book

Américas Award - Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs
Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award - Texas State University College of Education