Susan Middleton Elya
Susan Middleton Elya grew up in Iowa, started writing stories at age seven, traveled to Mexico City in high school, earned a dual degree in Spanish and elementary education at Iowa State University, student-taught in Venezuela, saw Machu Picchu when she was twenty-one years old, studied in Spain, taught ten years of public school, started the Spanish program and wrote the curriculum at Lewis Central Middle School in Council Bluffs, Iowa, earned a master’s degree in Linguistics from the University at Nebraska at Omaha, got married, and moved to California.
When Ms. Elya’s oldest child said, “Teach me Spanish, Mom,” that request sparked a book called Say Hola to Spanish. Twenty-four years later, Susan is still writing rhyming picture books in Spanish and English.
Some of Susan’s best known titles are Home at Last; Oh No, Gotta Go; Bebé Goes Shopping; Fire, Fuego, Brave Bomberos; Rubia and the Three Osos, Little Roja Riding Hood; La Madre Goose; and La Princesa and the Pea.
The mother of three grown children, Ms. Elya lives in Northern California with her dog, Pepper, and other family members.
