Charles George Esperanza, C. G., has a gift for illustrating stories. His choice of palette paints the plot on canvas. His brushstrokes create characters so real and relatable, you feel like you’re a part of the setting, a character in the landscape. His thoughtful execution of the stories on the paper before him is a gift to the world, a present to readers everywhere.

C. G. was sitting in his Bronx apartment near Yankee Stadium when his phone went RING-RING-RING! It was the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Jury delivering good news. C. G. had received this call before. It was January 2022 when the committee called to share the news that he had won a CSK Illustrator Honor for our book Soul Food Sunday. But this time the call was different. This time it wasn’t an honor notification. This time it was the award itself!

The award would be conferred on My Daddy Is a Cowboy, written by Stephanie Seales. An award that represents Black excellence. An award that says, you are the best; and your art exemplifies Coretta Scott King’s vision for great representation of Black and African American culture in children’s literature.

It was his second call that day from an ALA committee. An hour earlier, the Caldecott committee had notified him that he had won a Caldecott Honor. Two awards in one day. “I felt like I was living in a dream!” said C. G. “I just sat on my couch and tried to enjoy living in that moment.”

When I asked C. G., “Deep down, did you think this was possible?” he replied, “I only felt it was possible because ­Winsome [Bingham], Concetta [­Gleason], and others told me it was possible.”

C. G. remembered being in kindergarten and knowing that art was the career he wanted to pursue. He remembered his teacher standing over his shoulder, staring at his hands scribbling and drawing on paper after paper after paper. He remembered her excitement seeing his creations. And when she said, “You should become an artist,” C. G. decided that was a great idea.

But it took years after kindergarten before he would begin to paint. At thirteen years old, C. G. painted for the first time at The Bronx River Art ­Center. And even then, he never stopped ­drawing. He fell in love with drawing comics at seven years old, and he loved it so much that you can still find him doing it today. C. G. attributes his love for comics to his father, who always bought C. G. lots of comic books, nurtured his love for them, and made sure his son had more than enough to read and trace and draw.

While many artists use mixed media to tell stories, C. G. prefers oil paint. He is also slowly learning to use acrylics efficiently so that he can work faster. “I painted on watercolor paper, so the oils dried much faster for My Daddy Is a Cowboy. It took me six months to complete this book.”

C. G. is from a multicultural family. His ancestry is rooted in the southern region of the United States and the Caribbean community. His maternal grandparents are from Puerto Rico. His paternal grandmother is from Charleston, South Carolina, and his grandfather is from Antigua. And C. G. was born and raised in the Boogie-Down Bronx.

His broad cultural affiliation and affection for his Bronx community can be seen throughout his work. From the graffiti on the wall in Boogie Boogie, Y’all, to sneakers dangling high above the characters’ heads on wires stringing from pole to pole in Kicks in the Sky, to the spread of macaroni and cheese, collard greens, chicken, and ribs in Soul Food Sunday, to cowboys and horses galloping through urban streets passing neighborhood staples of soul food restaurants, nail salons, jewelry stores, and pizza palaces, C. G. brings Black culture to life, letting his characters show up and show out on every page.

C. G. and Winsome have collaborated on two books. Photo courtesy of Winsome Bingham.

According to C. G., it was different illustrating each of his CSK-winning books. “Working on Soul Food Sunday was much easier because I was drawing on my own lived experience, visiting my family on holidays for dinner, and watching my grandma in the kitchen,” he said. “My Daddy Is a Cowboy took much more research and imagination on my part since I knew very little about horses.”

As a writer, I have my way of creating stories, of knowing what I want to say and how to say it, of controlling my narrative free from stereotypes, struggles, and strife. I wondered if illustrators did the same. How do they choose which manuscript to illustrate? For C. G., it began with a series of questions to himself. How does this story challenge the status quo? Will this be fun for me? Is it different from things I have done already?

When C. G.’s agent sent him My Daddy Is a Cowboy, he knew he had to illustrate this book. The story challenged the status quo. It could be fun. It would push him out of his comfort zone, forcing him to explore other cultures and encouraging him to learn something new. And he had never, ever, ever illustrated anything like this.

The concept was inspiring and inviting, new and nuanced, intriguing and important, exciting and empowering. Think about it. “A Black cowboy who looks and dresses like a regular dude from New York, Philly, or Compton would definitely challenge the status quo,” he said. “And I don’t recall seeing a Black cowboy who wears a Pelle Pelle and a beanie with sneakers in a picture book.”

C. G. had to do a lot of research for My Daddy Is a Cowboy. But it also helped that the author, Stephanie Seales, was readily available to answer ­questions and fill in the gaps about cowboy culture. “It made the ­art-making process so much easier,” said C. G. “Since I was creating so far outside of my own lived experience, she taught me a lot about ­Panamanian culture, which I ­incorporated into the book.”

C. G.’s research was fascinating. To find inspiration and capture the mood and tone of the book, he watched interviews and documentaries about the ­Compton Cowboys and the Fletcher Street ­Cowboys. He read up on ­Panamanian culture. He studied mola art. Because if C. G. was going to add to our pop culture knowledge about Black ­cowboy culture, he needed to finish up what Beyoncé started: convincing the world and readers that cowboy culture was still existing and not extinct.

Each of C. G.’s books has a specific palette, which he usually decides upon before starting a project. My Daddy Is a Cowboy was different. He had no palette picked out before starting. “The manuscript came with the neon pink in the sky and the dark blues in the beginning of the book,” said C. G. From there, he just went with the flow, letting the rest of the palette choose him.

I always love to see C. G. coming. His fashion flair, his whimsical walk, and his bigger-than-life personality command every room he steps into. Bright-colored patterned clothes exude joy. His knowledge about art and artists is expansive. This may have something to do with his alma mater, The Fashion Institute of Technology. I once asked C. G., “Being an FIT graduate, do you ever use your fashion sense as reference in your illustrations?” He replied, “I think it is very important to have characters dressing fabulously.”

C. G. originally wanted to be an animator. But there came a time when he realized it felt very tedious. So, he pivoted, because sometimes in life we have to pivot. We have to turn away and do something different. In this case, it was illustrating and writing children’s books, which have garnered him many awards such as The New York City Book Award and a Pura Belpré Honor for Boogie Boogie, Y’all; a CSK Illustrator Honor Award for Soul Food Sunday; and a CSK Award and a ­Caldecott Honor for My Daddy Is a Cowboy.

C. G.’s art is not only contained on canvas or restricted to spreads in picture books. He is also a muralist, and his work can be seen around New York City. Much of his art is commissioned by nonprofit organizations such as ­Chashama and Groundswell. Other murals may be seen in public schools, women’s and children’s shelters, and The Bronx Children’s Museum.

C. G. shows off his homemade Halloween costume ("The Mister Softee Photo"). Photo by James Paz, courtesy of C. G. Esperanza.

C. G. has felt the love and support from family, friends, and the community. Everyone is ready with words of encouragement when he needs it. He says one of the best pieces of advice he has ever gotten was from his mother: “Everything will work out in due time.” More great advice came from his teacher and mentor, award-winning illustrator Eric Velasquez, who told C. G., “It is your decision what you are willing to compromise on for your art in pursuit of success.” But the best advice came from his friends: “Make your own ­Halloween costume!” (Have you seen the ice-cream truck?)

So what’s next for C. G.? Right now he is awaiting the release of our latest book, Fish Fry Friday, published by Abrams Books. It hits bookstores on July 8, 2025, and in the meantime he’s at work painting another book.

Creating stories is one of the biggest joys in C. G.’s life, and he hopes to see his art on movie screens one day.

From the July/August 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine: Special Issue: ALA Awards. For more speeches, profiles, and articles, click the tag ALA 2025.

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