News

May 2025

New Book - Coming Soon!

Cover sneak peek of Margarita's upcoming collection of poetry for young readers Hopeful Heroes, More poems about amazing Latinos. A companion to Bravo!, this books introduces lesser-known Latinos from varied backgrounds who have all shown tremendous resilience.

April 2025

New Cover Reveal

Beautiful new Spanish cover of Margarita's upcoming new book Criaturas isleñas.

Featured Article

Margarita was included on the list of 8 Latina Authors Who are Writing, Uplifting and Paving the Way, on Fierce by Mitu.

January 2025

Pura Belpré Honor

Wild Dreamers was selected as 2025 Pura Belpré Honor at the American Library Association's youth media award.

New Picture Book - Coming Soon!

Cover sneak peek of Margarita's upcoming picture book Christiana Figueres, Friends of the Rainforest, illustrated by Nazareth Hidalgo Lobo.

December 2024

Best Books Recognition

Eloísa’s Musical Window and Wild Dreamer were selected as part of the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature's Best Books of 2024. Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature is among the leading educational research centers in the field of multicultural literature that preserve the richness of the many cultures in the field of children’s and young adult literature.

October 2024

Special Award News

Margarita will receive The Horizon Awards from the Fresno Arts Council, as an honoree in the Artist Award category, in an award ceremony on October 24. This award honors those that have made significant contributions toward the enrichment of life in Fresno County through excellence in the Arts.

New Book Cover Reveal

New upcoming novel in verse cover reveal for Island Creatures, scheduled for Summer 2025 release. This book tells an inspiring and luminous love story about childhood friends, once lost and now reconnected, and their fight to protect endangered animals.

August 2024

Picture Book Launch

Margarita's newest picture book, Eloísa's Musical Window, is released this month in both English and Spanish. This vibrant picture book about a young girl and her family who find joy in the music flowing from outside their window, was inspired by stories from Margarita's mother's childhood.

April 2024

New Book Launch

Wild Dreamers, the latest YA novel in verse is now available. Love and conservation intertwines in this in this stirring novel.

October 2023

Non-Fiction Book Launch

This collection of poems highlights the lives and legacies of eight Cuban women who have redefined art in their communities. The Sculptors of Light is now available in English and Spanish.

June 2023

New Book Cover Reveal

Book cover reveal for upcoming YA romance book,Wild Dreamers. This book, that intertwines love and wildlife conservation, is scheduled to be released in Spring 2024.

Singing with Elephants paperback gets a New York Times Best Chidren's Book sticker, and listed as Bank Street's 2023 Best Children's Books.

May 2023

Book Release

Margarita's upcoming book,The Sculptors of Light and its Spanish edition, La Escultoras de La Luz, is a collection of poetry that highlights the lives and legacies of eight Cuban women who have redefined art in their communities.

This book is scheduled for publication in October 2023 by Reycraft Books and both editions are Junior Library Guild's selection.

April 2023

Book Release

Wings in the Wild and its Spanish edition, Alas Salvaje, is now available at local bookstores and online retailers.

The book recently received starred review on the Publishers Weekly and, both translations are Junior Library Guild's selection.

January 2023

New Book Announcement

Water Day is a story about a young girl and her community celebrating the arrival of the water man who visits weekly to distribute water to the village.This joyful picture book will be released in May 2023.

December 2022

New Book Announcement

Destiny Finds Her Way, a heartwarming rescued baby sloth story will be published in February 7, 2023. It tells the true story of Destiny, a rescued orphaned baby sloth who must learn to return to the wild of Costa Rican rainforest.

November 2022

New Edition and Translation Announcement

Drum Dream Girl will soon be available in German translation, Brailled edition, and First Book edition

June 2022

New Book Announcement

Wings in the Wild, a new romantic contemporary novel-in-verse from award-winning author Margarita Engle that tells the inspiring love story of two teens fighting for climate action and human rights. This book will be published in April 2023.

Singing with Elephants featured interviews on NPR's Morning Edition and We Need Diverse Book.

This book also received starred review from Publishers Weekly and a feature review on New York Times.

January 2022

NEW! See the animated cover image for Rima's Rebellion, a new book that will be published on February 15.

Your Heart, My Sky was selected as 2021 Nerdies for Best Poetry and Novels in Verse

A Song of Frutas/Un pregón de frutas was reviewed in New York Times Book Review and included in Junior Library Guild Selection.

With a Star in My Hands is a finalist for SCBWI's Golden Kite Young Adult Fiction Award.

Los Angeles Public Library selected Manos que bailan: Co´mo Teresa Carren~o toco´ el piano para el Presidente Lincoln for their Lo mejor del 2021 list.

October 2021

A Song of Frutas and Your Heart, My Sky have received starred reviews from School Library Journal.

A Song of Frutas is also listed on SLJ's 29 Picture Books to Celebrate the Latinx Experience and Publishers Weekly's List of Kids in the Kitchen Books.

Dancing Hands was Target Stores' Hispanic Heritage Month Featured Books

With a Star in My Hands has been selected as young adult book of the month for Read Across America's March 2022 list.

August 2021

Margarita's newest book,A Song of Frutas, received a starred review from Booklist.

Your Heart, My Sky has been nominated for YALSA's Best Fiction for Young Adults #BFYA2022.

July 2021

New Book Announcement

Rima's Rebellion is an inspiring coming-of-age story about a girl falling in love for the first time while finding the courage to protest for women’s right to vote in 1920s Cuba. This novel will be published in February 2022

June 2021

New Book Announcement

Margarita's upcoming picture book A Song of Frutas is called 'A joyful celebration of Cuban tradition and family ties' in a starred review from Kirkus.

March 2021

Margarita's new YA verse novel Your Heart, My Sky is now available through online retailer or your local bookstores.

This book has been recently featured on Kirkus Most Anticipated Books of 2021 and YA Buzz Most Anticipated Historical Fiction Books of 2021.

February 2021

Margarita has been invited to participate in creating IBBY International Children's Day Poster 2021. She wrote the text and translation of the inspirational message on the poster, which is available on the USBBY newsletter.

Margarita co-curated the first-ever young readers issue of Poetry Magazine from the Poetry Foundation, along with Jacqueline Woodson and Naomi Shihab Nye.

November 2020

New book cover reveal on SLJ's Fuse 8 for Margarita's new picture book A Song of Frutas, and its Spanish language edition Un pregón de frutas , to be published August 3, 2021.

Spanish language edition for The Flying Girl (La joven aviadora) will be published on May 4, 2021.

October 2020

Spanish language version for Soaring Earth (La Tierra al Vuelo) is now available at your local bookstore or online.

Spanish language version of Dancing Hands (Manos que bailan) will be released on May 21, 2021.

Award News: Margarita is honored to be nominated for 2021 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

Margarita was included in League of Women Voters of Fresno County's exhibit titled 100 Notable Women Who Made a Difference in Fresno County.

August 2020

Spanish language version of Soaring Earth (La Tierra al Vuelo) will be published on October 6, 2020. Find it at your local bookstores or online.

New book cover reveal for Margarita's new YA verse novel Your Heart, My Sky, to be published March 23, 2021.