Judy Young is the award-winning author of thirty children’s fiction, poetry and nonfiction picture books and novels. She has spoken at over 1,300 schools and children’s lit fests across the USA and is now bringing the same exciting educational programs to elementary, intermediate and middle schools with her virtual author visits. With 20 years of experience working in the public schools before becoming a full-time author, Judy relates well with students and teachers, and her presentations are directly related to school curriculum.

When Judy was ten years old, she showed her grandmother a poem she had written. Her grandmother encouraged her to keep writing and Judy did! Judy’s books are used extensively in classrooms across the country and have received numerous awards, honors and recognition. One of Judy’s most exciting honors was having A Pet for Miss Wright read by LeVar Burton for Reading Rainbow Storytime Video to celebrate National Reading Month. Another cherished honor was watching as R is for Rhyme, A Poetry Alphabet was performed by the Tanner Creative Dance Program and Children’s Dance Theatre of the University of Utah for their 58th annual performance. Judy says, “It brought tears to my eyes knowing my words were the creative inspiration of two other art forms: music and dance.”

Judy was born and raised in Springfield, MO, where she met her husband, Ross B. Young, a professional artist, who illustrated two of Judy’s books: S is for Show Me, A Missouri Alphabet and Show Me the Number, A Missouri Number Book. Judy received her Bachelor and Master degrees in Speech and Language Pathology at the University of Tulsa, and worked for 24 years in that field. In 2004, after having two books accepted for publication on the same day, Judy left that field to fulfill her dream of writing full time. Having lived in OK, ME and MO, Judy and Ross, along with several dogs, now reside in the Bear River Mountain Range thirteen miles from Preston, Idaho. When not writing or conducting virtual author visits, you can find Judy doing something outdoors! She’s often hiking, camping, fishing, snowshoeing, skiing, playing with her dogs, working on the Youngs’ wildlife preserve called Raven’s Roost or gallivanting around the country in Arlo, the Youngs’ traveling studio.