About me
Janet Costa Bates started writing poems and stories in the third grade, but it wasn't until she had her own children that she finally realized what she wanted to do with her writing skills. She developed a passion for writing children's literature.
Her first book, Seaside Dream, is a story about immigration that was inspired by her own Cape Verdean born grandmother. It was a Lee and Low New Voices Honor Award winner.
Picture book Time for Bed, Old House received four starred reviews and was an NAACP Image Award Nominee. The Horn Book calls it 'a fine, uplifting intergenerational story of literacy, literature, and homemade love. The Rica Baptista chapter book series features a Cape Verdean American girl navigating family and friend relationships. Both Llamas, Iguanas and My Very Best Friend and A Week Of are Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selections.
