Lulu Delacre

Lulu Delacre (born December 20, 1957 Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico) (current home: Silver Spring, Maryland) is the author/illustrator of many award winning children's books. Some of her most famous works include Arroz con leche: Popular Songs and Rhymes from Latin America, Vejigante Masquerader, and The Bossy Gallito. Delacre's writes books that celebrate her Latino heritage and promote cultural diversity.

Delacre was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. Her parents are from Argentina and were both teachers at the University of Puerto Rico. As a child she spent many days at her grandmother's house, drawing and coloring on large sheets of white paper. At age ten, a family friend (who was an artist and a teacher) encouraged Lulu to enroll in one of her painting classes. Here she received formal art training and discovered her passion. In high school, Delacre decided she wanted to become an artist. After graduating she moved to Paris where she studied photography, typography, design and illustration at the Ecole Supérieure d'Arts Graphiques. In 2004, her younger daughter, Alicia, was killed in a car accident. Thereafter, Delacre wrote Alicia Afterimage, a nonfiction novel based on conversations Delacre had with Alicia's friends following the accident. In addition to being a full-time author and illustrator, she visits many schools across the country as well as overseas, reading and sharing her literature with children. Delacre currently resides in Silver Spring, Maryland with her husband and her daughter.