Eric Velasquez is the illustrator of more than thirty children’s books, including Octopus Stew, and the 2021 NAACP Image Award winner She Was The First: The Trailblazing Life of Shirley Chisholm As well as the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award winner The Piano Man; and the Pura Belpre’ Award winner Grandma’s Gift. He is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts and teaches at FIT (The Fashion Institute ofTechnology) in New York.