Melinda González Author

Dr. Melinda González is a poet, spoken word artist, storyteller, anthropologist, and educator of Afro-Indigenous/Puerto Rican descent. Curious Mind and Dancing Feet is her debut as a children’s author. She has performed poetry internationally under the pen name La Poeta Guerrera. As a socio-cultural anthropologist specializing in environmental anthropology, Melinda’s work maps how disaster is differentially distributed across race, class, and gender. She brings decolonial and Indigenous research methods to environmental justice studies. She has facilitated creative writing and academic workshops as tools to resist colonial repression and to support poets, writers, and scholars in finding and strengthening their authentic voices throughout their academic and creative journeys. Her poetry and writing have appeared in both academic and literary journals and on the stage. Melinda believes in the transformative power of storytelling to imagine new futures and nurture hope across generations.

Amélie Videlo is a French/Mauritian illustrator based in the UK. Family and nostalgia from her childhood inspire her the most. She loves making pictures full of rich flora and playful characters with mediums such as gouache, acrylic, crayons, and digital painting.