All about Jennifer J. Stewart

You are welcome to borrow this bio...

Award-winning author Jennifer J. Stewart writes seriously funny books for children. Her best-known book is The Twelve Days of Christmas in Arizona, which comes in both picture book and board book formats. New York Times bestselling artist Lynne Avril created the illustrations. Jennifer’s collaboration with Lynne received the Glyph Award.

Jennifer's debut novel, concerning a hot-headed, time-traveling, princess-chasing dragon named Madam Yang, is a favorite among schoolchildren. If That Breathes Fire, We’re Toast! earned a place on Voice of Youth Advocates magazine's Best Fantasy list and was a finalist for the Oklahoma Sequoyah Book Award. She followed up her initial success with a tale of a rich orphan and a greedy stepmother in The Girl Who Has Everything, which Kirkus Reviews called “both amusing and engaging... fluffy and fun, with just the right touch of message.”

The book of her heart, Close Encounters of a Third-World Kind, is loosely based upon her family’s real-life adventures working as medical volunteers in Nepal. Jennifer tended patients in village hospitals and taught health education classes to women and children. She also trekked to Annapurna Base Camp and rode a runaway elephant. This children's novel was a finalist for Arizona's Grand Canyon Reader Award, Connecticut's Nutmeg Book Award, and Maryland's Black-Eyed Susan Award.

More recently, Jennifer has written educational nonfiction as "J. J. Stewart." She was also the Pima County Public Library's writer in residence (literally, from her own residence) during the summer of 2020 at the height of the pandemic.

Jennifer was born in East Patchogue, New York, to a librarian mother and a physicist father. When she was four years old, her family moved to Tucson, Arizona, where she grew up and attended Whitmore Elementary, Townsend Junior High, and Catalina High. She received an honors degree in English from Wellesley College, followed by an M.B.A. from the University of Utah. For a while, she wore suits and pantyhose, but then she discovered that writing for children is a lot more fun.

When Jennifer is not writing or speaking in schools or at writing conferences, she volunteers with the non-profit organization, Make Way for Books. Its mission is to give all children the chance to read and succeed. Jennifer is a founding board member, now emeritus. In 2022, the Library of Congress awarded the American Prize to Make Way for Books. Jennifer also helps asylum seekers navigating the Tucson International Airport.

Jennifer makes her home in Tucson with her physician husband, and together, they volunteer as Flying Samaritans. Yes, she walks her talk. They have three daughters.

Visit Jennifer on the Web at www.jenniferjstewart.com.