Joanne Ryder

Joanne Ryder is an American author born in 1946 in Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey, who has published dozens of books for children, many centered on nature, animals, and gentle fantasy. Early in her career she worked as a writer and literary magazine editor, and after meeting fellow children's author Laurence Yep at Marquette University, she encouraged him toward children's literature; the two married in 1984. Ryder and Yep later co-wrote the illustrated middle-grade series A Dragon's Guide, beginning with A Dragon's Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans (2015) and continuing through A Dragon's Guide to Making Your Human Smarter and A Dragon's Guide to Making Perfect Wishes, illustrated by Mary GrandPré. Across a long career, Ryder's picture books and early readers have emphasized close observation of the natural world for young audiences.