Mila's Mask
Mila's Mask is a new children's book written by Mexico By Hand founder, Peggy Stein. It's the story of a little girl in the United States who spends a great deal of time at her grandparent's house which is full of colorful Mexican folk art. 
Here you can find out more about some of the artisans that appear in Mila's Mask.
On page 1 we see the mask in Mila's grandparents house which is called "El Señor de Naranja". It was made by Victoriano Salgado (photo below) a renowned mask maker of Uruapan, Michoacán who died in 2012. The mask is made of wood and covered with a lacquer technique known as "maque". The crown is made of hammered tin.
On page 2 we meet a carved snake made by Rutilio Pascual, now deceased. Here's a photo of the artisan with his grandchildren in his home workshop in Ocumicho, Michoacán. On page 16 his wife, Tomasa Gonzalez Sanchez --another artisan of Ocumicho--is featured with some of her clay figures.
Another Ocumicho artisan made the little clay whistles and her name is Angela Esteban Felipe.
The embroidered pillows on page 5 are made by various women in Rancho Santa Cruz near Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán. Artisans embroider scenes of women cooking, men fishing, and other scenes of daily life in a Purépecha village, as well as traditional village dances such as La Danza de los Viejitos (Dance of the Little Old Man), and festivals such as El Día de los Muertos. The pictures can be framed or are often made into clothing and decorative pillows like these. Below is Teofila Servin, one of the women who does this embroidery.
Antonio Anita Mejia of Quiroga made the little painted furniture on page 6. He passed away in 2021, but he had created many remarkable pieces, including large wood bateas (trays) some of which are in museums and one was a special gift (pictured below) to Pope Francis from the government of Mexico.
On page 9 you can see two figures made out of papier maché. The little frog was made by José Andrés Chavez who has been making animals and skeleton figures out of paper maché in his workshop in Patzcuaro, Michoacán for a few decades.
The figure we call an alebrije was made by a member of the Linares family of Mexico City. You can read more about the history of the family and the art of papier mache in Mexico here: https://www.mexican-folk-art-guide.com/alebrijes.html#.YrNfxezMJ_A
On page 10 you'll see several different kinds of artesanía, from three different states in Mexico. The woven rug is from the pueblo in Oaxaca state that is famous for its weavings, Teotitlan del Valle.
The "coco" masks that are in Mila's grandparents' kitchen are a favorite of hers too. They're called that because they're made out of coconuts. They're made in the state of Guerrero but are sold in markets all around Mexico and in folk art stores in the United States. You can find out more about how they're made here: https://www.mexican-folk-art-guide.com/coconut-masks.html#.YrOWDezMJ_A You can purchases coco masks on this website: https://www.lafuente.com/Mexican-Art/Coconut-Masks/
The woven animal figures are made out of a tule reed called "chuspata" in Michoacán. The artisans gather them, dry them, and then weave the reeds into tortilla baskets, figures, and even lamps and furniture. Mila likes to turn on the lamp at her abuelos house and hang the animals on doorknobs.