The wax palm knows what it's like to defy the odds. Ynes Mexia knew it too. QUEEN OF LEAVES tells the true story of Ynes Mexia, the inspiring and fearless Mexican-American adventurer-botanist, and her quest to find the mysterious wax palm tree.
 
Ynes enrolled in university in her 50s, at an age when women were not expected to be students. There she discovered botany -- a passion that would lead her all over the world on many adventures and change the study of botany forever. She went on to lead expeditions gathering plant and flower samples for universities and museums around the globe, introduce the botany world to the elusive wax palm tree, and forever cement herself as the QUEEN OF LEAVES.
 
Contributor Bio(s)
 
Isabel Muñoz is a Spanish children's illustrator and fine arts graduate. She studied at The Complutense University of Madrid and has worked on a number of fiction and non-fiction titles, including Buttercup the Bigfoot, voted Inspired Recommendations for Kids from Indie Booksellers and Adventures to School, winner of The Alma Flor Ada Best Latino Focused Children's Picture Book Award (English). You can follow her work at isabelmg.com.

Pura Belpré Honor recipient Stephen Briseño (The Notebook Keeper) has been a middle school English teacher for over 15 years. Stephen loves everything related to books and great storytelling. He lives in San Antonio, TX with his wife and daughter.