About

F. Isabel Campoy is the well-known author of numerous children’s books in the areas of poetry, theatre, folktales, biographies, and art. 

She is a researcher and author of several books on the culture and civilization of the Hispanic world.  Songwriter and storyteller, Isabel’s goal is to provide children the key to interpreting the world in a fun, challenging and affirming way. 

Isabel’s poetry has appeared in eleven anthologies published by Harcourt and Santillana.  Poetry has been her way to communicate to children the wonder of life and words, the joy and magic of creativity.

Many of Isabel’s poems have been transformed into songs by Suni Paz, and appear in the Música Amiga collection. 

As a playwright and lover of theatre she has explored the re-telling of traditional tales and written original plots that encourage children to familiarize themselves with the way to express emotions, understand others, and value oral and written communication.  She has produced eleven anthologies of plays by various authors. Many of the plays have been written originally by her. 

Isabel has shared with young readers her knowledge of the arts and her profound interest in creative expression through the publication of four books of paintings by artists from Latin American and Spain, produced in parallel editions, in English and Spanish in the collection Gateways to the Sun / Puertas al Sol.  An art collector herself, and a daring painter during summer vacations, Isabel invites the viewer to explore a personal relationship with art, all kinds of arts.  The Journals which accompany these art books contribute to facilitate that children develop a close relationship with all forms of art. 

“Honrar, honra” (To honor, honors) said José Martí and Isabel has written, with her co-author Alma Flor Ada, biographies of important scientists, poets, artists, and leaders of the Hispanic world to honor their accomplishments.

F. Isabel Campoy is a scholar devoted to the study of language acquisition, a field in which she started publishing in 1973 after obtaining her degrees in Philology from Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Reading University in England, and UCLA in the United States.

It is not surprising that Isabel has authored books to facilitate language acquisition and development, to discover the playful possibilities of language, and to explain the history of the Spanish language. 

Born in Alicante, Spain, Isabel traveled at the age of 16 to the United States where she lived in Trenton, Michigan. Years later she moved to the United States, where she has lived in Los Angeles and Boston. Currently, she lives in San Francisco. 

About herself she says, From my mother I inherited a robust pride in my roots, a wealth of folklore through her storytelling and sayings, and an abundant sense of humor. From my father, the passion for learning and the art of teaching.