Aida Salazar

Aida Salazar is an author, arts activist and translator who lives in Oakland, California. She writes for young readers across forms, from novels in verse for middle-grade readers to picture book biographies.

Her middle-grade novels in verse include The Moon Within, Land of the Cranes and A Seed in the Sun. Her picture book biography Jovita Wore Pants: The Story of a Mexican Freedom Fighter, illustrated by Molly Mendoza, tells the true story of Jovita Valdovinos, a distant relative who led fighters in a Mexican rebellion, and it received a 2024 Caldecott Honor for its art. Her novel Ultraviolet received a 2025 Pura Belpré Children's Author Honor.

Her other books include In the Spirit of a Dream: 13 Stories of Immigrants of Color, and she co-edited the anthology Calling the Moon: Period Stories by BIPOC Authors. She is also the translator of the picture book Paz Paz.