ERIC VELASQUEZ Eric Velasquez was born in New York and earned his BFA from the School of Visual Arts and has illustrated over 35 children’s books. His first picture book  The Piano Man by Debbie Chocolate, published by Bloomsbury won the Coretta-Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent. Eric also wrote and illustrated Grandma’s Records and its follow-up Grandma’s Gift which won the Pura Belpre’ Award for illustration.  Later Eric illustrated  Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library by Carole Boston Weatherford which earned five starred reviews and won a Walter Award from the WNDB (WE NEEED DEVERSE BOOKS) organization as well as the SCBWI’s The Golden Kite Award.

Recently Eric wrote and illustrated  Octopus Stew which gathered rave reviews and is sure to make you laugh and the Spanish version Pulpo Quisado won the silver medal for Best Spanish language book from Bank Street College. Eric illustrated  She Was the First! The Trailblazing Life of Shirley Chisholm  by Katheryn Russell-Brown published by Lee and Low Books and it was awarded the NAACP Image Award for outstanding literature for children. Eric’s book Going Places: Victor Hugo Green and his Glorious Book  by Tonya Bolden has earned five starred reviews and his newest and most ambitious book The Polar Bear and the Ballerina has already earned four starred reviews.

Eric teaches book illustration at FIT (The Fashion Institute of Technology) in NYC. For more information, please visit his web site ericvelasquez.com

THE POLAR BEAR AND THE BALLERINA

 How does a bear go to the ballet? A polar bear escapes into New York City in this heartfelt picture book from award-winning Afro-Latino artist Eric Velasquez. A wordless story of unlikely friendship that celebrates art and its ability to connect us. However, this picture book also opens a conversation about alienation and empathy. Who is kept out of the theater? How can we welcome them in? A deeply personal story, author Eric Valqueuez sees himself in this tale.



When dancers have a photoshoot at the Central Park Zoo, a young, African American ballerina and a polar bear form a special friendship. When his new friend leaves her scarf behind, the polar bear must venture through Central Park and out into Manhattan to return it before her performance at the Lincoln Center. However, the theater goers eye the strange bear with suspicion. When the ushers won’t let him inside, the ballerina comes to his rescue and welcomes him in. The polar bear has dreamed of seeing the ballet, and now he gets to be a part of it in the most surprising way.  The wordless narrative is told through expressive and detailed oil paintings. On the endpapers, readers learn more about these loveable characters with illustrations of zoo signage about polar bears and a magazine article about the young ballerina.
Eric Velasquez, author-illustrator of Bank Street Best Book of the Year Octopus Stew, brings a dream-like magic to this tale of empathy and kindred spirits.