Rafael López is a New York Times bestselling, award winning illustrator and artist who was born and raised in Mexico City to architect parents. His illustrations bring diverse characters to children’s books and he is driven to produce and promote books that reflect and honor the lives of all young people. He is the recipient of 3 Pura Belpré medals, the Schneider Family Book Award, Jane Addams Book Award, Tomas Rivera Book Award and is the illustrator of 3 New York Times bestsellers. He was the first guest artist of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in 2022. López is a founder of the Urban Art Trail movement in San Diego’s East Village creating a series of large-scale murals that brought the community together. Rafael lives and works in an industrial loft in downtown San Diego and at his home/studio in the colonial town of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.