BIO

COZBI A. CABRERA is the author/illustrator of Me & Mama (2021 Coretta Scott King Honor/Caldecott Honor) and My Hair is A Garden deemed by Kirkus as “how needed, how refreshing.”  She has illustrated several acclaimed titles including Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson, Chef Edna by Melvina Noel, Exquisite: The Poetry and Life of Gwendolyn Brooks by Suzanne Slade (2021 ALA Sibert Informational Award Honor/Coretta Scott King Honor), Most Loved In All The World by Tonya Cherie Hegamin, Stitchin’ and Pullin’ A Gees Bend Quilt by Patricia McKissack, and Thanks A Million by Nikki Grimes. Cozbi has been a contributing illustrator for various titles including Our Children Can Soar by Michelle Cook (NAACP Image Award). She has worked as an art director, clothing designer, quilter, and maker of muñecas –cloth dolls – that are collected all over the world. Cozbi was awarded a Beinecke Library Fellowship at Yale University (2022-2023) and lives with her family in Evanston, Illinois.

CHEF EDNA QUEEN OF SOUTHERN COOKING, EDNA LEWIS

Featuring gorgeous color illustrations by Coretta Scott King– and Caldecott-honor recipient Cozbi A. Cabrera and written by  Melvina Noel Chef Edna is a warm and inviting picture book portrait of African American culinary legend Edna Lewis, who brought Southern cooking to the masses.

Edna loved to cook. Growing up on a farm in Freetown, Virginia, she learned the value of fresh, local, seasonal food from her Mama Daisy; how to measure ingredients for biscuits using coins; and to listen closely to her cakes to know when they were done. Edna carried these traditions with her all the way to New York, where she became a celebrated chef, who could infuse traditional French food into her signature Southern style. The author of several cookbooks and the recipient of numerous awards, Chef Edna introduced the world to the flavors of her home.