Mike Curato Explained

Mike Curato is a Filipino-American writer and illustrator of children's books. His graphic novel, Flamer, received a Lambda Literary Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature in 2021.

Personal life

Curato was born and raised in the suburbs of New York City and currently lives in Brooklyn.^[1]

He received a bachelor of fine arts degree from Syracuse University before moving to Seattle to pursue a career as a graphic designer.

He is Filipino-American and was raised Catholic.^[2]

Selected works

Little Elliot series (2014-2018)

See main article: Little Elliot.

The Little Elliot series follows an elephant named Elliot and consists of five books: Little Elliot, Big City (2015); Little Elliot, Big Family (2015); Little Elliot, Big Fun (2016); Little Elliot, Fall Friends (2017); and Merry Christmas, Little Elliot (2018).

Accolades for the Little Elliot books!Year!Book!Accolade!Result!Ref.

2014	Little Elliot, Big City	Society of Illustrators' Founder's Award	Winner	[3]
		Amazon's Best Books of 2014: Ages 3-5	Selection	[4]
		HuffPost's Best Picture Books: Most Charming	Winner	[5]
		PBS Best Picture Books	Honorable Mention
2015		Ezra Jack Keats Award: New Illustrator	Honor	[6]
		Communication Arts Award of Excellence: Illustration	Winner	[7]
		New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association: Picture Book of the Year	Winner	[8]
	Little Elliot, Big Family	Amazon's Best Books of 2015: Ages 3-5	Selection	[9]
2016		Children's Book Council Children's Choice Illustrator	Finalist	[10]
		NCTE Charlotte Huck Award	Recommended	[11]
		IndieBound Indies Next List	Selection
2017	Little Elliot, Fall Friends	HuffPost's Best Picture Books: Best Friendship/Kindness	Honorable Mention	[12]

Flamer (2020)

Flamer is a semi-autobiographical graphic novel, published September 1, 2020 by Henry Holt and Company. The book has received various accolades, including the Lambda Literary Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature in 2021.^[13]

Publications

Little Elliot series

• Little Elliot, Big City, published August 26, 2014 by Henry Holt and Company
• Little Elliot, Big Family, published October 6, 2015 by Henry Holt and Company
• Little Elliot, Big Fun, published August 30, 2016 by Henry Holt and Company
• Little Elliot, Fall Friends, published August 29, 2017 by Henry Holt and Company
• Merry Christmas, Little Elliot, published September 11, 2018 by Henry Holt and Company

Standalone books

• Flamer, published September 1, 2020 by Henry Holt and Company
• Where is Bina Bear?, expected to be published January 11, 2022 by Henry Holt and Company

Illustrator

• Worm Loves Worm, written by J. J. Austrian and published January 5, 2016 by Balzer + Bray
• All the Way to Havana, written by Margarita Engle and published August 29, 2017 by Henry Holt and Company
• What If..., written by Samantha Berger and published April 10, 2018 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Sunny Day: A Celebration of Sesame Street, written by Joe Raposo; illustrated alongside Christian Robinson, Selina Alko, Brigette Barrager, Roger Bradford, Vanessa Brantley-Newton, Ziyue Chen, Joey Chu, Pat Cummings, Leo Espinosa, Tom Lichtenheld, Rafael López, Emily Winfield Martin, Joe Mathieu, Kenard Pak, Greg Pizzoli, Sean Qualls, and Dan Santat; and published October 22, 2019 by Random House Books for Young Readers
• The Power of One: Every Act of Kindness Counts, written by Trudy Ludwig, published August 25, 2020 by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
• The Sharey Godmother, written by Samantha Berger and published April 13, 2021 by Imprint
• What Are You? written by Christian Trimmer and expected to be published October 18, 2022 by Roaring Brook Press

External links

• Official website

Notes and References

1. Web site: Mike Curato. live. 2021-12-24. Goodreads . https://web.archive.org/web/20230315184713/https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7760185.Mike_Curato . 2023-03-15.
2. Web site: Filipino-American illustrator Mike Curato on his book 'Flamer' and growing up as a gay Catholic . Jim . McDermott . June 24, 2023 . Raised in the 1980s and '90s in a Catholic home just outside of New York City, Mike Curato is a gay Filipino-American illustrator. . 2023-07-19.
3. Web site: Mike Curato (Founder's Award). 2021-12-25. Society of Illustrators. en-US.
4. Web site: Little Elliot Big City. live. 2021-12-25. Mike Curato. en . https://web.archive.org/web/20230620213455/https://www.mikecurato.com/little-elliot-big-city . 2023-06-20.
5. Web site: Le. Minh. 2014-12-02. The Most Stunning Picture Books Of 2014. live. 2021-12-25. HuffPost. en . https://web.archive.org/web/20230620153417/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/best-picture-books-of-201_b_6252098 . 2023-06-20.
6. Web site: 2015 Ezra Jack Keats Book Award. live. 2021-12-25. The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation . https://web.archive.org/web/20220520164450/https://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/ejk-awards/2015-winners/ . 2022-05-20.
7. Web site: Little Elliot, Big City . 2021-12-25. Communication Arts. en-us.
8. Web site: NAIBA Book of the Year Awards. dead . 2021-12-24 . New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association . https://web.archive.org/web/20211225015445/https://www.naiba.com/page/BooksoftheYear/NAIBA-Book-of-the-Year-Awards.htm . 2021-12-25.
9. Web site: Little Elliot Big Family. live. 2021-12-25. Mike Curato. en . https://web.archive.org/web/20230620150512/https://www.mikecurato.com/little-elliot-big-family . 2023-06-20.
10. Web site: 2016 Winners and Finalists. live. 2021-12-25. Children's Book Council. en-US . https://web.archive.org/web/20190131145216/https://www.cbcbooks.org/cbc-book-lists/2016-finalists/ . 2019-01-31.
11. Web site: NCTE CHARLOTTE HUCK AWARD® OUTSTANDING FICTION FOR CHILDREN PAST WINNERS. dead. 2021-12-25. National Council for Teachers of English . https://web.archive.org/web/20210511132846/https://ncte.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Charlotte-Huck-Award-Winners-2015-present.pdf . 2021-05-11.
12. Web site: Le. Minh. 2017-12-08. Best Picture Books of 2017. live. 2021-12-25. HuffPost. en . https://web.archive.org/web/20230417163727/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/best-picture-books-of-2017_b_5a2a1798e4b022ec613b80e1 . 2023-04-17.
13. Web site: Warnock. Kathleen. June 8, 2021. Writers Honored During Virtual Lambda Literary Awards Ceremony – Gay City News. live. 2021-12-24. Gay City News. en-US . https://web.archive.org/web/20230327165112/https://gaycitynews.com/lambda-literary-awards-2021/ . 2023-03-27.