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Daniel
Award Winning Children’s Author & Illustrator
Paper Boat Captain
Travels from: Kansas City, MO

“[V]isually stunning and emotionally rich. . . . [Big and Small and In-Between] is designed to inspire conversation and reflection about what is depicted on each page.”-School Library Journal, starred review

Daniel Miyares is a critically acclaimed picture book author and illustrator. Some of his books include: Float, Night Out, That is My Dream, and Bring Me A Rock!. Daniel has been called “…a master of visual storytelling” by Jody Hewston of Kinderlit, and “…enchanting, versatile” by The New York Times. He believes that our stories have the power to connect us all. Daniel’s story currently takes place in Lenexa, KS with his wife, their two wonderful children, and a dog named Violet that gives them all a run for their money. His most recent book, Big and Small and In-Between, was published in April 2022.

Daniel's Featured Titles

Nell Plants a Tree

Balzer + Bray |
Children’s

This stunning, poetic picture book shows how one little girl’s careful tending of a pecan tree creates the living center of a loving, intergenerational Black family.

Before her grandchildren climbed the towering tree,

explored its secret nests,

raced to its sturdy trunk,

read in its cool shade,

or made pies with its pecans . . .

Nell buried a seed.

And just as, with Nell’s love and care, her tree grows and thrives—so do generations of her close-knit family.

Inspired by the pecan trees of her own childhood, Anne Wynter’s lyrical picture book, brought to life with gorgeous illustrations by Daniel Miyares, brims with wonder and love.

Big and Small and In-Between

Chronicle Books |
Children’s
You Are (Not) Small meets The Quiet Book in this beautiful compilation of all the little things that make up our big world.

This wide, wonderful world contains many things. Some things are as big as a family of bears; some are as small as a reflection in a puddle. Some things are felt rather than seen.

In between it all is . . . you. What kinds of things will you collect?

This lovely, lyrical book collects the world by size. Divided into three chapters with three specially paper-engineered separations, every page encapsulates one precious moment that perfectly represents both a size and an experience. Beloved author Carter Higgins’s poignant, poetic text and Daniel Miyares’s incandescent illustrations capture a whole new way of seeing the world in this beautiful, giftable meditation on what it means to be a kid-and what it means to be a human.

A GIFT FOR ALL: This book expresses a genuine love for the world in a sincere, observant way. The author’s imagination and the illustrator’s keen eyes make it a perfect choice for anyone seeking a gorgeous gift that celebrates the wonder of our world, whether between parents and kids, between grandparents and grandchildren, or even between friends.

SPECIAL CONCEPT: Every child learns about size, usually through nonfiction. This book makes the concept of size personal and emotional, something that changes how you feel in any given situation.

CLASSIC LITERATURE: Fans of A Hole is to Dig or A Tree is Nice will recognize the inspiration of classic literature and the timeless quality of this special text.

THOUGHT-PROVOKING IDEA: This book will change the way every kid encounters the world. Is their room smaller than their parents’ or bigger than a mouse’s? Is a rock a big hill for an ant or a small pebble for a bear? The mix of poetic and practical in this text makes every life experience worth investigating both from far away and with a microscope.

BELOVED AUTHOR: Carter Higgins is the author of many favorite books for kids, including the bestseller Everything You Need for a Treehouse, illustrated by Emily Hughes; Circle Under Berry, which she illustrated herself; and Audrey L and Audrey W, a chapter book series.

Perfect for:

• Fans of Ruth Krauss
• Fans of Margaret Wise Brown
• Fans of classic children’s literature
• Educators looking for a new way to teach the concept of size
• Parents and grandparents

Come Next Season

Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) |
Children’s

Winner of the Northern Lights Nature Award

A gorgeous picture book that celebrates the magic of the seasons and the joys of family.

Come next season . . .
The lake will sparkle.
The leaves will fall from the trees.
We’ll play all day in the snow.
We’ll visit the farm—and maybe make a friend.

Every season is full of its own magic, every change brings new excitement, and every experience is better when it’s shared. With poetic text from bestselling author Kim Norman, brought to life by critically acclaimed illustrator Daniel Miyares, Come Next Season is a celebration of nature, adventure, and family—all year round.

Bambino and Mr. Twain

Charlesbridge |
Children’s

LOST
Mark Twain’s Cat

After the death of his beloved wife, Samuel Clemens—known to his fans as Mark Twain—holed himself up in his house, too sad to face the outside world. His constant companion in his grief was Bambino, his daughter Clara’s cat. Despite the pleas of his daughter Jean and the well wishes of his friends and admirers, Sam could not find joy in life. His only peace was in the moments he spent with the curious cat.

Then one day Bambino got out of the house to chase a squirrel and didn’t come back. Distraught, Sam placed an ad in the newspaper offering a reward for Bambino’s return. Many people with many cats came to his door. The world wanted to cheer up Mark Twain. No cat but Bambino could console the great writer, however.

Rich, luminous illustrations highlight this friendship of a man and his cat in a time of great sorrow and through his healing. Nothing compares to the solace of a pet.

Little Fox in the Snow

Candlewick |
Children’s

Follow a young red fox on a snowy day in this striking glimpse of woodland life in winter from Jonathan London and Daniel Miyares.

Little foxling, where will you go?
A red fox emerges from its burrow one wintry morning, a fiery streak against stark white surroundings, driven by hunger and curiosity to investigate its world. Encountering a mouse, a hare, and a wolverine, the little fox takes on the role of both hunter and hunted before returning to the safety of its den, where — perhaps — it dreams of something more. Jonathan London’s poetic text and Daniel Miyares’s stunning impressionistic paintings provide an evocative portrait of a fox and its place in the natural world.

Night Out

Schwartz & Wade |
Children’s

Evoking picture book classics like Aaron Becker’s Journey and Chris Van Allsburg’s The Polar Express, here is an emotionally rich bedtime picture book about a lonely child’s nighttime adventure that is also a showcase for the extraordinary illustrations of Daniel Miyares.

When a small, friendless boy goes to bed at his boarding school, an adventure is about to begin! First he finds an invitation in his turtle’s bowl. Next he makes an escape–out the window, through the woods, across a river, and onto an island. And then he joins a grand celebration, with larger-than-life animals serving tea and dancing late into the night. And finally? After the journey back, he has a fantastic story to tell–the perfect way to make a friend.

A simple text and glorious illustrations combine to make a deceptively powerful and touching picture book, cementing Daniel Miyares’s reputation as one of the most exciting children’s book author-illustrators working today.

That Is My Dream!: A picture book of Langston Hughes’s “Dream Variation”

Anne Schwartz Books |
Children’s
“Dream Variation,” one of Langston Hughes’s most celebrated poems, about the dream of a world free of discrimination and racial prejudice, is now a picture book stunningly illustrated by Daniel Miyares, the acclaimed creator of Float.

To fling my arms wide
In some place of the sun,
To whirl and to dance
Till the white day is done….

Langston Hughes’s inspiring and timeless message of pride, joy, and the dream of a better life is brilliantly and beautifully interpreted in Daniel Miyares’s gorgeous artwork.
 
Follow one African-American boy through the course of his day as the harsh reality of segregation and racial prejudice comes into vivid focus. But the boy dreams of a different life—one full of freedom, hope, and wild possibility, where he can fling his arms wide in the face of the sun.

Hughes’s powerful vision, brought joyously to life by Daniel Miyares, is as relevant—and necessary—today as when it was first written.

That Neighbor Kid

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers |
Children’s

Acclaimed author/illustrator Daniel Miyares returns to the sweet, nostalgic tone of his beloved illustrated book, Float, in this gorgeous, spare picture book about making a new friend.

There’s a new boy in the neighborhood, and he’s up to something very curious. His next door neighbor, a girl his age with two long braids, peeps around corners and watches as he scavenges wood from the fence between their houses, drags around a hammer and a bucket of nails, and reads a book about living in trees. When she finally works up the courage to say “hi,” she finds herself invited to help build the private getaway every child has dreamed of: a tree house. She also finds herself with a new best friend.

Calling back to his critically-acclaimed work Float, Daniel Miyares wordlessly creates a beautiful story of friendship through his meaningful and warm illustrations that awaken imaginations of young readers.

Bring Me a Rock!

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers |
Children’s

From the author-illustrator of Pardon Me! and Float comes a funny and fun picture book about a little bug who proves that even the small can be mighty.

When a power-hungry grasshopper king wants a throne to loom over his bug subjects, he summons each of them to “bring me a rock!” One by one, the bugs bring him the biggest rocks they can carry, but one little bug can contribute only a very small pebble. The grasshopper king shuns the little bug. But when his throne is in danger of tipping, that little bug might be the only one who can save him.

With beautiful, bold illustrations and a folk-tale sensibility, Bring Me a Rock! is a classic underdog tale with a humorous twist.

Surf’s Up

NorthSouth Books |
Children’s

Surf’s up! Not yet, Dude! Books are boring! Not this one! Bro and Dude have very different ideas about how to spend the day at the beach. But as Bro continues to gasp and cheer as he reads his book (Moby Dick), Dude can’t help but get curious. Before you can shout ‘Surf’s up!’ both frogs are sharing the same adventure, that is, until they get to the beach. Newbery Medal Winner, Kwame Alexander, and Daniel Miyares have joined forces to give little listeners a wild ride.

Float

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers |
Children’s

A boy’s small paper boat—and his large imagination—fill the pages of this wordless picture book, a modern-day classic from the creator of Pardon Me! that includes endpaper instructions for building a boat of your own.

A little boy takes a boat made of newspaper out for a rainy-day adventure. The boy and his boat dance in the downpour and play in the puddles, but when the boy sends his boat floating down a gutter stream, it quickly gets away from him.

So of course the little boy goes on the hunt for his beloved boat—and when the rain lets up, he finds himself on a new adventure altogether.

This seemingly simply story from Daniel Miyares is enriched with incredible depth and texture that transcend words.

Pardon Me!

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers |
Children’s

A little bird just wants some peace and quiet—but he’s about to get a whole lot more than he bargained for in this clever picture book debut, in the tradition of Jon Klassen’s I Want My Hat Back.

It’s a beautiful, sunny day in the swamp when a little yellow bird settles down on a rock—only to be interrupted as first a heron, then a frog, then a turtle ask to sit on the rock with him. As each animal says “pardon me,” the little bird’s replies get grumpier:

“I suppose I can’t stop you.”
“It’s already crowded, don’t you think?”
“Sure, the entire swamp’s here already. Why shouldn’t you be, too?”

When a fox comes by, the bird finally loses his cool. But it just so happens that fox showed up for a reason, and the little bird’s outburst leads to a surprise ending you’ll want to read again and again.

Waking Up Is Hard to Do

Charlesbridge |
Children’s

A unique offering of a book and CD recorded by Neil Sedaka, one of the most popular songs in music history becomes one of the most delightful children’s books ever.

Rise and shine! It’s morning time. The alarm clock’s ringing, the birds are singing. Everything’s saying: get up, get going! Breakfast is warming, school is calling. The street’s are bustling, all the world is stirring.

It’s sure to be a happy day with this bright and sunny picture book and CD, with new lyrics based on the hit song by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. Daniel Miyares’s delightful art opens the eyes with its vivid colors, playful details, and adorable collection of animal characters.

And to make waking up just a little easier, there’s a CD with Neil Sedaka singing this happy song, plus two new songs with lyrics and music by Neil written especially for this CD: LIGHTNIN’ JIM and SING.

Warm and friendly and full of fun, this is a musical and visual celebration of the everyday joys of home, family, and neighborhood.

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Growing Picture Book Visual Literacy

Picture Books, Graphic Novels, and illustrated novels are rooted in visual storytelling. At their best, they strike a delicate but powerful balance between visuals and the written word. It’s what makes them such unique literary forms and why we can learn so much by decoding them. In this workshop we take a look at the structures and concepts that are the building blocks of these types of books. I believe that as our understanding of the visual language increases, so does our ability to understand an author’s intent in a nuanced way.

Who is this workshop for? For educators, bookmakers, students, or anyone who wants to grow their visual literacy through books.

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Simple Story Building Project

In this workshop, Daniel walks students through the process of building the core of a strong and engaging picture book story. They create three sentences and three visuals to tell their story. We focus on answering the three biggest questions one needs to answer to make a compelling story: (1) who is this about and what is their problem? (2) what do they do about theat problem? and (3) how is their world different because of what they did? This is essentially the process he goes through with all of his books, just on a larger scale. This works for a variety of age groups.

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Character Development Activity

Students use drawings to develop fictional characters and define who they are and what might be the beginning of their story. Daniel takes them through a progressive brainstorm to show how to build characters the reader can emotionally connect to.

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Shape Animals

This is a fun exercise where Daniel takes students through simple basic shapes and turns them into a menagerie of imagined animals. The students are encouraged to rely on their imaginations to not draw what things are, but rather what things feel like.

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Script It”

Daniel has students make a great backdrop to write their own stories while responding to his visual narrative. They focus more in-depth on the structure of a story and how words and images can play together to tell a compelling tale.

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Larger Group Assemblies

Daniel tailors his assemblies and large group presentations to his audience, speaking on topics cush as how he started with an interest in art and storytelling as a child and how that led to a career as an author/illustrator; what an author/illustrator; does; the importance or reading and the essential building blocks of a story; his creative process, sketches to finished books; book readings; live interactive drawing/painting demonstrations, the final art product of which he leaves behind for the school.

Daniel’s Portfolio

Shop Daniel’s Artwork

Daniel’s News Posts

Honors, Awards & Recognition

Texas Great Read choice, 2023
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee
ALA Notable Children’s Books
CCBC Choices (Cooperative Children’s Book Council)
Kansas NEA Reading Circle List Primary Title
NYPL 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee (IN)
Georgia Children’s Picture Book Award Finalist
Chickadee Award Nominee (ME)
Wisconsin State Reading Association’s Reading List
Society of Illustrators Original Art Show Silver Medal, 2016
Buckaroo Book Award Nominee (WY)
Kansas Notable Book
South Carolina Picture Book Award Nominee
MSTA Reading Circle List

Media clips

Publishers Weekly | Q & A with Daniel Miyares 

 

Media Kit

By clicking the link below you will be directed to a Google Docs Folder
where you can download author photos and cover images.

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