Lynn Joseph facts for kids

Lynn Joseph is a talented writer who creates amazing books for children and young adults. She is also an American lawyer. Her longer story, The Color of My Words, won an important Américas Award and a Jane Addams Children's Book Award.

Lynn Joseph's Early Life and Education

Lynn Joseph was born in Trinidad, a beautiful island country. When she was nine years old, she moved to the United States with her family. Even after moving, she would visit Trinidad every summer.

As a student, Lynn loved to write. She wrote many poems and stories. Some of her early work was even published in student newspapers and magazines.

She went to the University of Colorado and earned a degree in 1986. Later, she studied law at Fordham University Law School, finishing in 1993. Before becoming a lawyer, she worked at a children's book publisher called Harper & Row. As a lawyer, she worked for New York City and a law firm in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Lynn Joseph's Books and Writing Career

Lynn Joseph started publishing books in 1990. Her first children's book was called Coconut Kind of Day: Island Poems. It had 13 poems told by a child living in Trinidad.

In 1991, she released A Wave in Her Pocket: Stories from Trinidad. This book shared traditional stories and legends from Trinidad. She wrote more stories from Trinidad in 1994, called The Mermaid's Twin Sister.

Lynn also wrote An Island Christmas in 1992. This book described how Christmas is celebrated in Trinidad through a child's eyes. In 1994, she published Jasmine's Parlour Day, a story about a mother and daughter.

In 1998, Lynn Joseph released Jump Up Time: A Trinidad Carnival Story. This book is about two sisters during the exciting Trinidad Carnival. She also wrote Fly, Bessie, Fly that year. This book tells the story of Bessie Coleman, who was the first Black woman pilot.

In 2000, she published The Color of My Words. This is a longer story for children. It follows a young main character and her life in the Dominican Republic.

Later, in 2013, Lynn Joseph wrote the novel Flowers in the Sky. This book features a teenage main character. Her story takes place in the Dominican Republic and in Washington Heights, a neighborhood in New York City.

In 2015, she released Dancing in the Rain. This novel is about children from the Dominican Republic. It shows how they deal with life after the September 11 attacks.

Awards and Recognition

Lynn Joseph has won several awards for her wonderful books. In 1994, she won the Américas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature for The Mermaid’s Twin Sister.

She won the Américas Award again in 2000 for her book The Color of My Words. This book also received a Jane Addams Children's Book Award. Her story The Truth Is was a finalist for the 2015 Burt Award for Caribbean Literature.

Lynn Joseph's Personal Life

Lynn Joseph lives in New York and also in Bermuda.