About Judy Young
![[ Mom's Choice Award ]](images/MCAGoldEmbossed.jpg)
Judy Young is an
award-winning children's author and poet who specializes in school
visits and writing workshops for students. She also speaks at events such
as children's literature festivals and young author conferences as well
as conducting poetry writing workshops for elementary and middle school
students nationwide. Judy is also a frequent featured speaker at professional
educational conferences nationwide as well as for individual school districts'
professional development workshops and school in-services. With twenty
years experience in the public schools, Judy has first hand knowledge
in improving students' writing skills and her presentations and workshops
are directly related to school curriculum.
When Judy was about ten years old, she showed her grandmother a poem she had written. Her grandmother encouraged her to keep on writing, and Judy has done so ever since. Her children's books, which include poetry, nonfiction and fiction, are used extensively in the classrooms across the country. Judy's book R is for Rhyme, A Poetry Alphabet received a starred review in The Kirkus Review, the Mom’s Choice Award Gold Recipient: Educators’ Choice, a National Parenting Publications Honor Award for ages 9+ and the Missouri Writers' Guild Best Juvenile Book Award. In addition, it was performed by the Tanner Creative Dance Program of the University of Utah for their 58th annual performance and was the Albuquerque Public Schools Featured Book for their K-12 "Words and Images ARTS Program."
Judy is a full member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Missouri Writers' Guild and Missouri State Poetry Society. She is the Youth Works Director on the board of the Missouri State Poetry Society, and as such, was recognized in 2005 by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies with their first annual Award of Merit for Outstanding Youth Activities. For five years, Judy was editor of the MSPS Poetry Anthology, Grist.
Born and raised
in Springfield, MO, Judy went to college at the University of Tulsa where
she received her BS and MA in Speech and Language Pathology. Soon afterwards,
she and her husband, Ross, moved to Maine, where they lived for eight
years before returning to Springfield. Formerly employed in the public
schools for 20 years, Judy worked with students in the area of language
arts. She frequently used poetry writing to help elementary school children
improve their writing skills in both special language classes and in the
regular classroom. Judy feels "the genre of poetry is the perfect
place to teach a variety of writing conventions. Its shorter form enables
students to be immediately successful, and the concepts learned during
poetry writing can easily be generalized to prose."
Judy resides in the country near Springfield, MO, where she writes full time. Her husband, Ross B. Young, is a professional artist. He illustrated Judy's S is for Show Me, A Missouri Alphabet and Show Me the Number, A Missouri Number Book. They have a grown daughter and son, and several dogs. When not writing or speaking at schools and conferences, you can find Judy hiking, fishing, or gallivanting around the country in "Arlo," the Young's traveling studio.
To receive more information concerning Judy's Books,
Presentations or Workshops,
Contact Judy Young.