Velásquez studied at Texas State University until late 2012, majoring in communication studies. She was born four weeks prematurely and weighed less than 2 pounds 11 ounces (1,219 grams). Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. The eldest of three children born to Rita and Guadalupe Velásquez, Lizzie was born on March 13, 1989, in Austin, Texas. He is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts and lives in New York. Join Facebook to connect with Erick Velásquez and others you may know.

He collaborated with Carole Boston Weatherford on I, Matthew Henson, which received four starred reviews, and Jesse Owens: Fastest Man Alive, which received two starred reviews. Grandma witnesses his fascination, and presents Eric with the perfect Christmas gift-a set of paints-to use in his first steps toward becoming an artist. A heart-warming story of self-discovery, Grandma's Gift is a celebration of the special bond between a grandparent and grandchild.ĮRIC VELASQUEZ is the author and illustrator of Grandma's Records and the illustrator of The Piano Man, for which he won the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award, and The Price of Freedom. Grandma witnesses his fascination, and presents Eric with the perfect Christmas gift-a set of paints-to use in his first steps toward becoming an artist. After they prepare their traditional Puerto Rican Christmas celebration, Eric and Grandma visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a school project, where he sees a painting by Diego Velasquez and realizes for the first time that he could be an artist when he grows up.

The Pura Belpre Illustrator Award winner, now in paperback.īook Synopsis This prequel to Eric Velasquez's biographical picture book Grandma's Records is the story of a Christmas holiday that young Eric spends with his grandmother.

Grandma's Gift by Eric Velásquez