Robert Casilla was born in Jersey City, New Jersey to parents from Puerto Rico. Like many children, Robert always loved to draw. As the new kid in his second grade class, he recalls doing a drawing of two birds with colored chalk on construction paper. His teacher noticed the drawing and then told the class, "We have an artist in the class!" Robert is thankful to her and all the teachers that motivated and helped him realize he had talent as an artist. Although he grew up in New Jersey, he did get to attend school in Puerto Rico as a fourth grader.

His formal training in art took place at the School of Visual Arts in New York City where he earned a BFA degree.

Since 1984, Robert has worked as a freelance illustrator for magazines, book publishers, postage stamps, educational publishers and others.

He has illustrated over 25 children's books, many of which are picture book biographies of people such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks and John F. Kennedy. He has also illustrated many multicultural children's books such as Jalapeno Bagels, The Little Painter of Sabana Grande, The Legend of Mexicatl and First Day in Grapes which won the Pura Belpré Honor Award.

Robert visits many schools to talk about the visual journey a story takes him through to come up with the illustrations for his books. He also teaches art to young gifted artist one day a week.

Robert lives and works from his home in New Fairfield, Connecticut with his wife and two children, 3 cats and his feisty shih tzu dog.

Awards:

Highlights for Children, Illustration of the Year Award

Society of Illustrators Annual #28, #36

American Literacy Corporation Illustrator Choice Award 2006

Midnight Forest/A Story Of Gifford Pinchot
and Our National Forests
by Gary Hines
Boyds Mills Press, 2005
ages 9 to 12, ISBN 978-1-5639-7148-8

This picture-book biography introduces Gifford Pinchot, a wealthy young American who studied forestry in France and returned home to put his knowledge to good use in his own country. Appointed Secretary of Agriculture in 1898, he later joined forces with Theodore Roosevelt to turn 16 million acres into national forests, now known as the "Midnight Forests" because of an eleventh-hour executive order.

Primer Dia En Las Uvas
By L. King Perez, Jesse A Perez
Lee & Low Books, 2004
ISBN 978-1584302391 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1584302407 (paperback)

Growing up in a migrant family, Chico has experienced first school days in artichokes and first days in onions, and "now his first day in third grade would be in grapes." His encounters with bullies and the grumpy school bus driver shake Chico's confidence, but a friendly classmate and an understanding teacher help him adjust.

Awards
Pura Belpre Honor Book. Illustrator

The Dream on Blanca's Wall/
El Sueno Pegado en la Pared de Blanca:
Poems in English and Spanish/
Poemas en Ingles y Español
by Jane Medina
Boyds Mills Press; bilingual edition (2004)
ISBN 978-1563977404 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1590782644 (paperback)

This free-verse collection delineates the life of Blanca, a sixth grader who, encouraged by her teachers, aspires to become an educator herself. Her dreams are embodied in a picture she drew in second grade of a young, brown teacher who looks like her. Now the tape is yellow and curling, and in the face of challenges from life, Blanca feels that her dream, too, is curling and cracked. The 24 poems outline the obstacles she faces: poverty, non-English-speaking parents, long absences from school to return to Mexico, and a much-loved but underachieving older brother who belittles her ambitions.

Awards
Americas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature, Commended

First Day in Grapes
by L. King Perez
Lee & Low Books, 2002
ISBN 978-1584300458 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1550413403 (paperback)

Growing up in a migrant family, Chico has experienced first school days in artichokes and first days in onions, and “now his first day in third grade would be in grapes.” His encounters with bullies and the grumpy school bus driver shake Chico's confidence, but a friendly classmate and an understanding teacher help him adjust.

Awards
2004 Pura Belpre Illustrator Honor award, ALSC/REFORMA; 2002 Notable Books, Smithsonian Magazine; “2003 Choices” Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC); Best of Beyond Difference List for 2002, Vermont Center for the Book; Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award 2004-2005 Masterlist; Pennsylvania School Librarians Association

Mama Had to Work on Christmas
by Carolyn Marsden
Viking Juvenile, 2003
ages 9 to 12, ISBN 978-0670036356

When nine-year-old Gloria’s mama has to work at a fancy hotel on Christmas, the girl must spend the day there as well.

Daddy Poems
by John Micklos
Boyds Mills Press, April 2000
ages 4 to 8, ISBN 978-1563977350 (hardcover)
ages 4 to 8, ISBN 978-1563978708 (paperback)

These 22 poems make up one of the few collections on this often-asked-for subject. Contemporary children’s poets such as X.J. Kennedy, Deborah Chandra, and Nikki Grimes, as well as Micklos himself, speak to the everyday but big-as-life importance of dads.

Awards
Children’s Choice 2000

The Legend of Mexicatl
Turtle Books, Feb 1998
ages 9 to 12, ISBN 978-1890515058 (hardcover)
ages 9 to 12, ISBN 978-1890515218 (paperback)

Growing up under the blistering sun of the desert, the boy Mexicatl can hardly imagine being chosen to lead his people—until he has a vision. One day the Morning Star tells him to search for “a place of harmony” and reveals the sacred image of the eagle and snake. Only after Mexicatl learns the hard lessons of leadership do his people prosper. Richly illustrated, this is an enchanting story of faith and wisdom, drawn from ancient Aztec history.

La Leyenda de Mexicatl
Turtle Books, 1998
Language: Spanish
ages 4 to 8, ISBN 978-1890515065 (hardcover)
ages 4 to 8, ISBN 978-1890515225 (paperback)

Growing up under the blistering sun of the desert, the boy Mexicatl can hardly imagine being chosen to lead his people—until he has a vision. One day the Morning Star tells him to search for “a place of harmony” and reveals the sacred image of the eagle and snake. Only after Mexicatl learns the hard lessons of leadership do his people prosper. Richly illustrated, this is an enchanting story of faith and wisdom, drawn from ancient Aztec history.

El Pintorcito de Sabana Grande
by Patricia Maloney Markun
Harcourt School, 1997
ISBN 978-0153069796  (paperback)

School is out for the dry season (January-March) vacation, and Fernando wakes up in Sabana Grande, his small village high in the mountains of Panama. He is ready to try his hand at painting, using the information his teacher had given him before the end of the year. He painstakingly searches for and creates natural paints (dried grass for yellow, berries for blue), only to realize there is no paper to be found. He sees that the whitewashed adobe walls of his house would be perfect for the vivid images in his mind and convinces his parents to let him paint them.

A Picture Book of Thurgood Marshall
by David A. Adler
Holiday House, 1997
ages 4 to 8, ISBN 978-0823413089 (hardcover)
ages 4 to 8, ISBN 978-0823415069 (paperback)

Offers a succinct, visually handsome presentation of the youth and the career highlights of the history-making Marshall. The early family years, with the strong influence of Thurgood’s waiter father, who loved attending courtroom trials, and his teacher mother, are perhaps the most interesting part of the story.