Donna Barba Higuera grew up in central California and now lives in the Pacific Northwest. She has spent her entire life blending folklore with her experiences into stories that fill her imagination. Now she weaves them to write picture books and novels. Barba Higuera’s first book, “Lupe Wong Won’t Dance," won a Sid Fleischman Humor Award and a Pura Belpré Honor. Featured at the 2022 National Book Festival, her latest novel, “The Last Cuentista,” is a Newbery Medal-winning science fiction tale about Petra Peña’s mission to preserve the memory of Earth after its destruction.