The Day You Begin

Jacqueline Woodson is one of the US's most acclaimed contemporary authors for young people. She first came to attention with her multi-award-winning book Brown Girl Dreaming, a memoir in blank verse of her childhood and family life moving between the American South and New York. She was the Young People's Poet Laureate from 2015 to 2017 and the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature for 2018-19.
She was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 2020. Artist Rafael Lopez was born on August 8, 1961 in Mexico City, Mexico. Influenced by the opulent environment and cultural traditions of Mexico City, Lopez has matured as an artist gaining respect amongst a wide spectrum of age groups. Along with two other American Awards for illustrations in children's books, the American Library Association awarded Lopez the 2010 Pura Belpré Illustrator Award, an honor presented to those who have demonstrated excellence in the depiction and commemoration of Latino culture and experience through children's books.