Caryn YacowitzAward-winning author Caryn Yacowitz was born in New York City and grew up in New York, Michigan, Ohio, and New Jersey. She now lives in Palo Alto, California, where she teaches writing at several colleges and universities. An avid reader and lover ofstories since childhood, Ms. Yacowitz's entry into children's book writing was through the Palo Alto Children's Theater, for which she wrote a book and made a film called Onstage/Backstage. She has since published eleven children's books, including a series of books on Native Americans, and her poetry and plays have appeared in several anthologies. She has also earned several awards for her writing. Ms. Yacowitz won second place in the California Writer's Club Contest for juvenile nonfiction and was a grant recipient at the Chautauqua Writer's Conference, awarded by Highlights Magazine for Children. Jade Stone was cited among the Best Books of 1992 by the San Francisco Chronicle and Book Links magazine. Her picture book Pumpkin Fiesta was named to the California Collections in 2005. Ms. Yacowitz holds a master of arts degree in creative writing from San Francisco State University and an undergraduate degree in history/political science from Rutgers University. Read More Read Less