Pam Muñoz Ryan was born December 26th, 1951, in Bakersfield, California. Raised in a half-Mexican, half-American family, Ryan spent her childhood straddling two cultures in the San Joaquin Valley. As a young girl, Muñoz Ryan spent many hours reading books at the local libraries. She attended Bakersfield Junior College before transferring to San Diego State University.
Upon graduation, Muñoz Ryan became a bilingual teacher. However, she eventually quit her job to raise her two children. She later returned to school to get her master’s degree in post-secondary education. With encouragement from her graduate school professors, Muñoz Ryan began to pursue her dream of writing children's...
