Juan Palomino author page

Juan Palomino biography

Juan Palomino is a Mexican illustrator of children’s books. Active since 2008, he studied philosophy at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and later helped establish an illustration teaching programme there, developing a distinctive visual style for picture books and educational projects.

His recent work includes Irene Vasco’s Letters in Charcoal (Lantana, 2023), a picture book set in Palenque that celebrates literacy and community. The title was selected as a USBBY Outstanding International Book for 2024 and reached the Carnegie Medal for Illustration shortlist in 2025.

Palomino also illustrated Vasco’s The Young Teacher and the Great Serpent (Eerdmans, 2023), a rainforest fable published in the Stories from Latin America series. The book was named a New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Book in 2023 and recognised by USBBY in 2024.

His accolades include the International Award for Illustration at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in 2016 and a Golden Apple at the Biennial of Illustration Bratislava in 2021.