Eric Velasquez is an illustrator who lives and works in New York. He was born in Spanish Harlem, the son of Afro-Puerto Rican parents, and attended the High School of Art and Design. He earned his BFA from the School of Visual Arts and studied with Harvey Dinnerstein at the Art Students’ League. He has illustrated over 30 children’s books and teaches book illustration at FIT in NYC.

Velasquez began his career as a freelance illustrator in 1984, and in the first 12 years, completed over 300 book jackets and interior illustrations. These included the complete series of Encyclopedia Brown and The Ghost Writers, among others. In 1997, he illustrated his first picture book, The Piano Man, by Debbie Chocolate, for which he won the Coretta-Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent. Many books and awards have followed. He received the NAACP Image Award in 2010 for Our Children Can Soar, on which he collaborated with 12 notable illustrators of children’s literature. He also wrote and illustrated Grandma’s Records and Grandma’s Gift, which won the 2011 Pura Belpre Award for Illustration. His book Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library, by Carole Boston Weatherford, won the 2018 Walter Award, as well as the Golden Kite Award.

Eric’s recent books include Ruth Objects: The Life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, by Doreen Rappaport, and She Was The First! The Trailblazing Life of Shirley Chisholm, by Katheryn Russell Brown, which won the 2021 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literature for Children. His newest book is ¡Mambo Mucho Mambo! The Dance that Crossed Color Lines, by Dean Robbins.