A Little Bit Gringa is the debut middle-grade graphic novel of writer/artist Andrea Cañizares-Fernandez, for publication in 2026.
A Little Bit Gringa is the debut middle-grade graphic novel of writer/artist Andrea Cañizares-Fernandez, told in journal entries across three summers in Ecuador as a girl navigates her Latina identity. Michelle Lee at Dial bought world publication rights, with publication intended for the summer of 2026. Andrea's agent, Monica Rodriguez at Context Literary negotiated the deal.
Andrea Cañizares-Fernandez posted "my semi-autobiographical graphic novel, A Little Bit Gringa, coming to bookstores June of 2026! thank you to Monica Rodriguez from @contextliterary, my absolute gem of an agent, and Michelle Lee from Dial Books for Young Readers at Penguin Randomhouse for making my childhood dreams (and journal entries) become a reality"
Andrea Cañizares-Fernandez is an Ecuadorian-American who lives in Chicago. An actress, artist, and writer, she graduated from Northwestern University Summa Cum Laude with a BA in Theatre, a concentration in Acting For Screen, and a double minor in Psychology and Environmental Policy & Culture. Andrea is an organizer with Sunrise Movement, Sunrise Movement LA, Veggie Mijxs, and the Hollywood Food Coalition. She has also appeared in Chicago PD, Itchy Fingers, and Night Sky,
Dial is an imprint owned by Penguin Books USA (but then again, isn't everyone these days?) and which publishes books for children, young and old. Bleeding Cool has previously highlighted Fernanda Frick's graphic novel from Dial, formerly a greenlit-then-rejected Netflix cartoon, Raise The Bar as well as Fouad Mezher's YA graphic novel, Suraya. , Vanessa Flores' Moriviví, Huda Fahmy's Yes I'm Hot In This and Pedro Martin's Mexikid.
The expansion of children's graphic novels is fuelling all manner of publishers extending into the comics medium. Right now, it seems like an infinite market that is being tapped into, and creating longstanding comic book readers for decades to come. It is not for nothing that kids' graphic novels in bookstores are being referred to as the newsstand of the twenty-first century.