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Joan Verniero’s April 2003 book,"Victory or Death! Stories of the American Revolution," is a timely, multicultural biography for children about eight heroes and heroines of the Revolutionary War. It is published by HarperCollins Children’s Books and co-authored by Doreen Rappaport. The book, for ages 8 to 12, received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews, which called it "a model of excellent historical writing." In her latest Anthology, "101 Asian Read-Aloud Myths and Legends," published by Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers in April 2001, she has retold ancient stories from China, Tibet, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. She also has authored "101 Read-Aloud Celtic Myths and Legends," a magical journey into Irish, Scottish, Breton, Manx, Cornish and Welsh folklore, "101 Read-Aloud Bible Stories for Children" and "101 Read-Aloud Myths from Around the World for Children," written with Robin C. Fitzsimmons. Verniero’s first children’s book, "You Can Call Me Willy," (A Story for Children about AIDS), written in 1995, was selected by ABC-TV’s "Good Morning America" to be included in the television network’s "Millennium Time Capsule." The picture book is published by Magination Press, an imprint of the American Psychological Association. The book, for children ages 4 to 8, is a story about an 8-year-old girl with AIDS who wants to play Little League Baseball. A love for reading has inspired Verniero to work with young children in instilling in them a love for literature and the magical world of reading. To accomplish this, she is a member of Project Dream (Developing Reading, Education, and Motivation), a federally funded program in the New Haven Public Schools. Project Dream distributes books to students and invites authors to conduct reading and book-signing programs with students in bookstores. A writer for more than 20 years, Verniero has been a copywriter for newsletters, catalogues, manuals and press releases. She is an adjunct instructor in Children’s Literature at Naugatuck Valley Community-Technical College in Waterbury, Conn. In addition, she conducts individual and group class instruction in creative writing for children and adults. Verniero is a graduate of Seton Hall University where she graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Modern Languages. She earned a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Bank Street College of Education in New York City. She is a graduate of the Vassar Institute of Children’s Literature where she worked under the mentorship of children’s editor Barbara Lucas and author Margery Facklam. In the early ‘70s, Verniero ran an after-school enrichment program for city children and was director of the experimental Rainbow’s End school for children 3 to 8 in New York City. Verniero is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, The Authors Guild, The National League of American Pen Women, Bank Street College Writers Lab, and a consultant for Wonder Tots, an enrichment program in science and discovery for ages 3 to 5 at the Discovery Museum in Bridgeport, Conn. Her articles and short stories have been published in a variety of consumer and professional publications including Education Week and Psychological Perspectives. When she is not researching non-traditional, non-sexist, racially-, ethnically-, gender-unbiased literature for children, Verniero may be found writing at the computer, reading to young people, teaching adults the craft of writing, or at the ballet barre stretching her muscles to maintain that strong mind/body connection. Exercise remains a strong force in her life. The author/teacher culls her many ideas from dancing and long walks in the Connecticut woods. The writer has traveled extensively in Europe and North America and speaks fluent Spanish and French.
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