She attended North Miami Senior High (1976)[1] She received her Bachelor of Arts in History from University of California, Santa Barbara in July 1983,[2] And her Master of Arts, in Library and Information Science, from the School of Information, University of South Florida Tampa Bay, Florida, in April 1991.

[3] An accomplished storyteller, puppeteer, and children's librarian, Gonzalez started her career in library services to children in 1987 after receiving the Bachelor of Arts Degree in History from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and while pursuing her Masters in Library Science at the University of South Florida.

She is the author of the bilingual books The Bossy Gallito[4] winner of the Pura Belpré Award for Children's Literature Honor Medal and named one of New York Public Library's 100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know; and Señor Cat's Romance and Other Favorite Stories from Latin America, an Americas Award Commended Title.

Gonzalez was named the 1998 Jean Key Gates Distinguished Alumna by the University of South Florida School of Library and Information Science.

Her book, The Storyteller's Candle[5] is a bilingual picture book illustrated by Lulu Delacre, winner of the 2008 Pura Belpré Children's Literature Honor Medal.