Cuban-born artist and writer, Laura Lacámara, is the award-winning author of Floating on Mama's Song / Flotando en la canción de mamá, a bilingual picture book inspired by her mother, who was an opera singer in Havana. Illustrated by Yuyi Morales and published by HarperCollins, Floating on Mama's Song was awarded a Junior Library Guild Selection for Fall 2010 and was a Tejas Star Book Award Finalist for 2011 - 2012.
Laura was awarded her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting at California State University, Long Beach. She studied printmaking at Self Help Graphics in East Los Angeles and began exhibiting and selling her work.
When a fellow artist suggested Laura's images would be ideal for picture books, Laura signed up for a children's book illustration class at Otis College of Art and Design. She instantly fell in love with both writing and illustrating for children. It was in that class that she wrote the first draft of Floating on Mama's Song.
Laura illustrated The Runaway Piggy / El cochinito fugitivo, a bilingual picture book for Piñata Books, an imprint of Arte Público Press. The Runaway Piggy, written by James Luna, won the Tejas Star Book Award for 2011 - 2012!
Laura recently illustrated another bilingual picture book for Piñata Books. Alicia's Fruity Drinks / Las aguas frescas de Alicia, written by Lupe Ruiz-Flores, came out in May 2012.
Laura lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband, Hal Bogotch, and their daughter.