Joyce Hansen facts for kids

Joyce Viola Hansen (born October 18, 1942) is an American writer and a retired schoolteacher. She is well-known for her books for kids and young adults. Many of her stories are historical fiction or non-fiction, focusing on important parts of African-American history.

About Joyce Hansen

Joyce Hansen was born in the Bronx, New York City, on October 18, 1942. Her parents were Austin Victor and Lilian Dancy Hansen. She studied English at Pace University and New York University.

For 22 years, Joyce Hansen worked as a teacher in New York City public schools. She retired from teaching in 1995. Her time in the classroom greatly influenced her writing. She noticed that some of her students found reading difficult or weren't very interested in it.

How Teaching Inspired Her Writing

To help her students, Joyce Hansen decided to make learning more fun. For example, when she taught about the Civil War, she saw that students struggled to understand it. To make these topics easier to grasp, she started writing books for young adults.

Her books often covered subjects like slavery and the Civil War. She used her own experiences and understanding to make her stories feel real and true for her readers. After she retired, she moved to South Carolina with her husband and continued to write.

Her Books

Joyce Hansen has said that she writes to make reading more interesting for students. She also wants to tell stories about people who are not always seen in children's books.

Fiction Books

Her first novel was The Gift-Giver, published in 1980. This book was about a group of friends living in the Bronx. She later wrote two more books that continued their story: Yellow Bird and Me (1986) and One True Friend (2001).

Joyce Hansen has also written many historical fiction books about African-American history. These include stories about slavery and the Civil War.

Historical Stories

Her first historical fiction book was Which Way Freedom? (1986). This book was honored with a Coretta Scott King Award. It tells the story of a Black teenager who serves with the Union Army during the Civil War. This book was the first in a series of three. The other books were Out From This Place (1998) and The Heart Calls Home (1999).

Two more of her novels, The Captive (1994) and I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl, also received Coretta Scott King Honors. I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly is part of the popular Dear America book series.

Non-Fiction Books

Joyce Hansen has also written several non-fiction books for young people. These books explore African-American and African history.

Real-Life Stories

Women of Hope: African Americans Who Made A Difference (1998) shares short life stories of thirteen important Black women. These women include neurosurgeon Alexa Canady, astronaut Mae Jemison, and activist Fannie Lou Hamer. Reviewers called this book "inspirational" and "effective as art and as history."

With Gary McGowan, Joyce Hansen wrote Breaking Ground, Breaking Silence: The Story of New York's African Burial Ground (1998). This book was also a Coretta Scott King Honor Book. It tells about the discovery in 1991 of a burial ground in New York City. This was a burial site for enslaved people and free blacks.

She also wrote Freedom Roads (2003) with Gary McGowan. This non-fiction book tells the story of the Underground Railroad. It was praised for being "well-written" and "well-documented."

In 2004, Joyce Hansen wrote African Princess: The Amazing Lives of Africa's Royal Women. This book features six important royal women from Africa, such as Hatshepsut, Amina, and Elizabeth of Toro. A review in The New York Times said the book was "meticulously researched" and "rich with detail, drama and intrigue."

Selected Works

Fiction

• The Gift-Giver (1980) ISBN: 9780899198521
• Home Boy (1982) ISBN: 9781413491449
• Yellow Bird and Me (1986) ISBN: 9780618611164
• Which Way Freedom? (1986) ISBN: 9780802735515
• Out From this Place (1988) ISBN: 0802768164
• The Captive (1994) ISBN: 9780590416245
• I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl (Dear America series, 1997, 2011) ISBN: 9780545280907
• The Heart Calls Home (1999) ISBN: 0802786367
• One True Friend (2001) ISBN: 9780618609918
• Home is with Our Family (2010) ISBN: 9780786852178

Non-fiction

• Between Two Fires: Black Soldiers in the Civil War (1993) ISBN: 9780531111512
• Breaking Ground, Breaking Silence: The Story of New York's African Burial Ground (with Gary McGowan, 1998) ISBN: 9780805050127
• Women of Hope: African Americans Who Made A Difference (1998) ISBN: 9780590939737
• Freedom Roads: Searching for the Underground Railroad (with Gary McGowan, 2003) ISBN: 9780812626735
• African Princess: The Amazing Lives of Africa's Royal Women (illustrated by Laurie McGaw, 2004) ISBN: 9780786851164