Isabel Campoy


Isabel Campoy is an author of children's books, poetry, and pedagogical resources. Central to Campoy's work is the promotion of bilingual education.

Biography

F. Isabel Campoy was born in Alicante, Spain on June 25, 1946. Her father was a professor of English and her mother a tailor. Campoy first came to the US at the age of 16 as an AFS Intercultural Programs exchange student for one year of high school in Trenton, Michigan. She received her degree in English Philology at the Complutense University of Madrid in 1973 and completed post-graduate courses at University of Reading. She returned to the US as a Fulbright Scholar to continue her doctoral studies at UCLA. In 1981, she emigrated permanently to the United States where she worked as the senior acquisitions editor for foreign languages in the College Division of Houghton Mifflin in Boston. In addition to writing, Campoy has also served on numerous advisory boards, such as the San Francisco Public Library, Leap Frog, and American Reading Company. In 2012, the California Association of Bilingual Educators established "The Isabel Campoy Teachership Award" given annually in her honor. In 2013, Campoy was named a Collaborating Member of the North American Academy of the Spanish Language. Campoy currently resides in San Rafael, California.

Writing

Campoy's writing of over 150 titles covers a broad range of genres, from children's literature, poetry, textbook reading programs, and pedagogical books. Her children's books and poetry illuminate on the richness of the Latino culture and her strong belief in the power of transformation and social justice. Campoy frequently collaborates with Alma Flor Ada to author reading programs for Harcourt School Publishers, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Santillana, and Frog Street Press. She is the co-author of Gateways to the Sun / Puertas al Sol and has edited a number of anthologies of traditional folklore, poetry, and plays.
Campoy has also translated extensively from English into Spanish for authors such as Mo Willems, Gary Soto, Alice Schertle, Audrey Wood, Kathleen Krull, Lois Ehlert, Ellen Stoll Walsh, Mem Fox, and Gerald McDermott.

Awards and honors

  • Fulbright Scholar
  • Association of Spanish Professionals in the US, President
  • San Francisco Public Library Laureate Award
  • University of San Francisco's Reading the World Award
  • National Association of Bilingual Education Ramon Santiago Award

    Literary awards

  • Miami Herald Best Book of the Year - ¡Pío Peep!
  • Notable Book Award, American Library Association - ¡Pío Peep!
  • New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing - ¡Pío Peep!
  • Parenting Magazine Books of the Year Award - ¡Pío Peep!
  • Best Ten Books for Babies, Center for Early Literacy - ¡Pío Peep!;
  • Best Book Selection, American Library Association - Tales Our Abuelitas Told / Cuentos que contaban nuestras abuelas.
  • Junior Library Guild Premier Selection Award - Tales Our Abuelitas Told / Cuentos que contaban nuestras abuelas
  • NCTE's Notable Poetry Titles - Yes! We are Latinos
  • International Latino Book Award - Yes! We are Latinos
  • International Latino Book Award - Poesía eres tú
  • Silver Medal for Best Children's Nonfiction at the International Latino Book Awards - ''La expedición de la vacuna''

    Selected poetry

  • Poesía eres tú
  • Salta, Santarín
  • Pimpón
  • ''Dulce es la sal''

    Selected nursery rhymes (selector and contributor)

  • Pío Peep: Traditional Spanish Nursery Rhymes
  • Merry Navidad: Christmas Carols in Spanish and English
  • ''¡Muu, moo!: Rimas de animales/Animal Nursery Rhymes''

    Selected picture books

  • Get Up Rick
  • Ibis and Jaguar's Dinner
  • My Day from A to Z/Mi día de la A a la Z
  • Rosa raposa
  • Before and Now/Antes y ahora
  • Fantástica fiesta
  • La pelota
  • !Mírennos!
  • Todas las buenas manos
  • Series Gateways to the Sun / Puertas al sol
  • La ''Expedición de la Vacuna''

    Selected folktales

  • Tales Our Abuelitas Told: An Hispanic Folktale Collection/ Cuentos que contaban nuestras abuelas: Una colección de Folklore Hispano
  • Mamá Goose: A Latino Nursery Treasury/Un tesoro de rimas infantiles
  • ''Ten Little Puppies/Diez perritos''

    ''Música amiga'' collection of books and CDs

  • Canción y alegría
  • Canta la letra
  • Caracolí
  • Con ton y son
  • Corre al coro
  • Do, re, mi, ¡Sí, sí!
  • El camino de tu risa
  • El son del sol
  • ¡Qué rica la ronda!
  • ''Sigue la música''

    Selected pedagogical books

;coauthored with Alma Flor Ada
  • Authors in the Classroom. A Transformative Education Process
  • Spanish Literacy Strategies for Young Learners
  • Comprehensive Language Arts
  • Effective English Acquisition
  • ''Home School Interaction with Cultural or Language Diverse Families''