Rajani LaRocca

Award-winning Children's Book Author

News

Check out what’s been happening!

A New Middle Grade Novel!

The only thing better than writing a book is writing a book with a dear friend—Chris Baron!! Chris and I are so thrilled to be working on THE SECRET OF THE DRAGON GEMS, our nerdy, out-of-this-world epistolary novel with Charlie Ilgunas at Little Bee Books! We're eternally grateful to our agents, … [Read more...]

WHERE THREE OCEANS MEET is a California First Partner’s Summer Book Club Selection!

I am SO thrilled that WHERE THREE OCEANS MEET, written by me and gorgeously illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan, has been selected to be part of the California First Partner's Summer Reading Club! Huge thanks to Jennifer Siebel Newsom and her staff for selecting my book to be read by children across … [Read more...]

MIRROR TO MIRROR ARCs Arrrive!

I was thrilled to get a package from HarperCollins with ARCs of my forthcoming novel, MIRROR TO MIRROR! This novel in verse is about twin sisters who grow apart and must find their way back to each other releases March 21, 2023! You can learn more and find preorder links here. … [Read more...]

RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE in Korean!

Copies of the Korean translation of RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE arrived today, and they are so beautiful they made me weepy! The cover and interior are absolutely stunning, and it includes QR codes to my RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE Inspiration playlist on Spotify! And check out that gorgeous interpretation of … [Read more...]

Where Three Oceans Meet Wins a 2022 South Asia Book Award Honor!

I'm thrilled that WHERE THREE OCEANS MEET, written by me and gorgeously illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan, has been named a 2022 South Asia Book Award Honor book! Congratulations to all the winners and honorees: Srividhya Venkat, Kavita Ramachandran, Padma Venkatraman, Sheba Karim, Anuradha … [Read more...]

2022 Newbery Celebrations!

The most exciting part of the ALA Annual Conference was celebrating the Newbery Awards! On June 25, I got to attend the #Newbery100 Celebration — which, as you might guess, commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Newbery Award, the oldest children's book award in the world! We learned about … [Read more...]

The 2022 American Library Association Annual Conference!

From June 24-27, 2022 I went to Washington, DC to attend my first ever ALA Annual Conference, the first held in person since the pandemic started! I was so grateful to see so many friends, hang out with my publishers, meet amazing librarians, and sign books. And it was the thrill of a lifetime to … [Read more...]

Four More Novels!

I'm out of my mind THRILLED that I get to write FOUR more books with QuillTreeBooks / HarperCollins!! I've got two more middle grade and two young adult (eek!) novels coming from 2024-2027!! My forthcoming books include a fantasy (THE SOUND OF MAGIC), a contemporary (NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH), a … [Read more...]

The 2022 Walter Awards Ceremony!

I was honored and thrilled to attend the 2022 Walter Dean Myers Awards for Outstanding Children's Literature at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, DC on June 23! After a wonderful panel featuring Honorees Kekla Magoon, Eden Royce, and Natasha Donovan, Grace Lin introduced … [Read more...]

The Cover Reveal for MIRROR TO MIRROR!

I'm absolutely delighted to share the cover of my forthcoming novel in verse, MIRROR TO MIRROR, coming in March 2023 from Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins! MIRROR TO MIRROR is about musical identical twins, anxiety, misunderstanding, forgiveness, and a bond that is stronger than fear. I can't wait for … [Read more...]

A Fun New Picture Book—MAUNTIE, coming in 2024!

I’m thrilled to announce that I have another picture book coming with Candlewick Press in 2024!! Mauntie is about a little girl who loves her favorite auntie...and finds it really hard to share her. This story featuring family, food, and riddles will be illustrated by amazing Nadia Alam!! I can’t … [Read more...]

RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE Wins the Crystal Kite Award from New England SCBWI!

I am thrilled beyond belief that RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE has won the 2022 Crystal Kite Award from New England SCBWI! I've been a member SCBWI since 2013, and the New England chapter is my home, where I have made so many creative friends! To have this book of my heart chosen by my peers for this honor … [Read more...]

A Glorious Time at SCBWI Florida!

I was honored to be a faculty member at the SCBWI Florida Conference 2022! The theme was "Reunited, and It Feels So Good!" It certainly felt fantastic to hang out with writers, illustrators, and fellow faculty members, including: Teaching a Novel Intensive with agent Saritza Hernandez and … [Read more...]

TLA 2022!

What an incredible time I had at my first in person Texas Library Association conference! The weather was beautiful in Fort Worth, and I had such a great time meeting wonderful librarians from all over Texas! I got to sign copies of RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE (at my first in person conference!), I'LL GO … [Read more...]

I’LL GO AND COME BACK In-Person Book Events!

I had such fun launching I'LL GO AND COME BACK in person at two of my favorite local bookstores! On April 10, I had a well-attended in-person launch at Brookline Booksmith, where I talked about the inspiration for the book and read the story! Then on April 23, I headed to Silver Unicorn Bookstore, … [Read more...]

Greenwich, Connecticut School Visits

What an amazing week I had in Greenwich, CT visiting three superlative schools: Greenwich Academy, Sacred Heart Greenwich, and Greenwich Country Day School, where I had breakfast with their Newbery Club, which had selected RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE as their winner, complete with Tiger Claw medal! There … [Read more...]

Newton CAS AuthorFest 2022!

I had such a lovely time at the 2022 CAS AuthorFest in Newton! On Tuesday, April 12, I visited Williams, Cabot, and Underwood elementary schools, then returned to Cabot in the afternoon for an awesome book signing where I got to see so many author friends! Then on April 13, I headed to Angier … [Read more...]

We Are All Readers Book Festival 2022

I loved attending the first annual We Are ALL Readers Book Festival in Rhode Island on April 9, 2022 along with several other incredible authors! In light of the resurgence of book bans across our country, I spoke about the importance of diverse books for everyone and the fact that everyone deserves … [Read more...]

RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE an Anti-Defamation League Book of the Month!

I'm so honored that the Anti-Defamation League chose Red, White, and Whole as their ADL Book of the Month in April 2022. The ADL Book of the Month program features books that "teach about bias and prejudice, promote respect for diversity, [and] encourage social action." As part of its Book of the … [Read more...]

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