Rajani LaRocca

Rajani LaRocca
LaRocca at BookExpo in New York City, May 2019
Born
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
CitizenshipUSA
Alma mater
OccupationsWriter, physician
Writing career
LanguageEnglish
Notable works
Websiterajanilarocca.com

Rajani LaRocca is an Indian-American author of children's literature and a primary-care physician.[1][2] She writes middle grade fiction relating to Indian-American identity and medicine.[3][4] She won a 2022 Newbery Honor for her novel Red, White and Whole.[5]

LaRocca enjoyed creative writing in high school and college but stopped when she began attending medical school. She began writing again in 2011.[2] She signed with TriadaUS Literary Agency in 2017.[6]

LaRocca is of Tamil descent.[7] She was born in Bangalore[6] but grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, where she attended Louisville Collegiate School.[2] She moved to Boston for college.[2] She is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Medical School.[8]

As of 2022, she lived in Concord, Massachusetts,[9] with her family.[10]

Four of LaRocca's books are Junior Library Guild selections: Much Ado about Baseball (2021),[11] Red, White, and Whole (2021),[12] Summer Is for Cousins (2023),[13] and Sona and the Golden Beasts (2024).[14]

Publications

Picture books

  • Seven Golden Rings: A Tale of Music and Math. Illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan. Lee & Low Books Incorporated. 2020. ISBN 978-1-885008-97-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)[15]
  • Bracelets for Bina's Brothers. Illustrated by Chaaya Prabhat. Charlesbridge Publishing. 2021. ISBN 978-1-62354-129-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)[16]
  • My Little Golden Book About Kamala Harris. Illustrated by Ashley Evans. Random House Children's Books. 2021. ISBN 978-0-593-43022-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  • The Secret Code Inside You: All About Your DNA. Illustrated by Steven Salerno. little bee books. 2021. ISBN 978-1-4998-1075-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)[17]
  • Summer is for Cousins. Illustrated by Abhi Alwar. Abrams. 2021. ISBN 978-1-4197-5733-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)[7]
  • Where Three Oceans Meet. Illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan. Abrams. 2021. ISBN 978-1-64700-500-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)[18]
  • I'll Go and Come Back. Illustrated by Sara Palacios. Candlewick Press. 2022. ISBN 978-1-5362-0717-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)[19]
  • Chicken Soup for the Soul BABIES: Now! (Barks Dog). Illustrated by Greg Paprocki. Charlesbridge Publishing. 2022. ISBN 978-1-63289-339-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  • Chicken Soup For the Soul KIDS: Lucas's Tricky Day: Looking on the Bright Side. Illustrated by India Valle. Charlesbridge. 2022. ISBN 978-1-62354-283-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  • A Vaccine is Like a Memory. Illustrated by Kathleen Marcotte. Little Bee Books. 2023. ISBN 978-1-4998-1326-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)[2][20]
  • Your One and Only Heart. Illustrated by Lauren Paige Conrad. Dial Books. 2023. ISBN 978-0-593-32633-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)[21]
  • Masala Chai, Fast and Slow. Illustrated by Neha Rawat. Candlewick Press. 2023. ISBN 978-1-5362-1940-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)[22]
  • Mauntie and Me. Illustrated by Nadia Alam. Candlewick Press. 2024. ISBN 978-1-536-22941-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)[23]
  • Some of Us: A Story of Citizenship and the United States. Illustrated by Huy Voun Lee. Christy Ottaviano. 2025. ISBN 978-0-316-57175-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)[24]

Middle grade novels

  • Midsummer's Mayhem. Illustrated by Rachel Suggs. Simon and Schuster. 2019. ISBN 978-1-4998-0889-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)[25]
  • Red, White, and Whole. HarperCollins. 2021. ISBN 978-0-06-304744-0.[12]
  • Much Ado About Baseball. Simon and Schuster. 2021. ISBN 978-1-4998-1223-7.[26]
  • The Secret of the Dragon Gems. With Chris Baron. Little Bee. 2023. ISBN 978-1-4998-1463-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)[27]
  • Mirror to Mirror. Quill Tree Books. 2023. ISBN 978-0-063-04747-1.[28]
  • Sona and the Golden Beasts. Quill Tree Books. 2024. ISBN 978-0-06329-540-7.[29]

Young adult novels

References

  1. ↑ Makhijani, Pooja (14 September 2021). "Q & A with Rajani LaRocca". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Rath, Arun; Ruhalter, Kana (14 July 2023). "'A Vaccine is Like a Memory' teaches children about the history of vaccines". WGBH Educational Foundation. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  3. ↑ Smith, Vicky (4 July 2021). "Out to the Ball Game With Rajani LaRocca". Kirkus Reviews.
  4. ↑ Groban, Betsy (17 September 2021). "Physician, podcast host, and children's author Rajani LaRocca discusses her six-book year". Boston Globe. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  5. ↑ Barron, Christina (24 January 2022). "'The Last Cuentista' wins 2022 Newbery Medal for best children's book". The Washington Post. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  6. 1 2 Cooper, Laura Fineberg (18 July 2023). "Interview: Kidlit Author Rajani LaRocca Discusses Four Eagerly Awaited Books". Writer's Rumpus. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  7. 1 2 Balaban, Samantha (5 August 2021). "Hop in the minivan: 'Summer Is for Cousins' invites you on a family vacation". NPR. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  8. ↑ LaRocca, Rajani (13 July 2021). "How I Managed to Get Six Books Published in 2021". Writer's Digest. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  9. ↑ Boles, Sydney; Dearing, Tiziana (2 August 2022). "Local author Rajani LaRocca on writing complicated identities". WBUR. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  10. ↑ Shohet West, Nancy (4 March 2022). "Even during the pandemic, these Greater Boston authors kept writing". Boston Globe. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  11. ↑ "Much Ado about Baseball". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  12. 1 2 "Red, White, and Whole". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  13. ↑ "Summer Is for Cousins". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  14. ↑ "Sona and the Golden Beasts". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  15. ↑ "Seven Golden Rings: A Tale of Music and Math by Rajani Larocca". Publishers Weekly. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  16. ↑ "Bracelets for Bina's Brothers (Storytelling Math) by Rajani Larocca". Publishers Weekly. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  17. ↑ Kitchens, Savannah (1 October 2021). "The Secret Code Inside You: All About Your DNA". School Library Journal. Archived from the original on 8 February 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  18. ↑ "Where Three Oceans Meet by Rajani Larocca". Publishers Weekly. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  19. ↑ "I'll Go and Come Back by Rajani Larocca". Publishers Weekly. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  20. ↑ "A Vaccine Is Like a Memory by Rajani Larocca". Publishers Weekly. 27 April 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  21. ↑ "Your One and Only Heart". Kirkus Reviews. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  22. ↑ "Masala Chai, Fast and Slow by Rajani Larocca". Publishers Weekly. 5 October 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  23. ↑ Phelan, Carolyn (1 October 2024). "Mauntie and Me". Booklist. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  24. ↑ Menchaca, Ana (1 April 2025). "Some of Us". Booklist. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  25. ↑ "Midsummer's Mayhem by Rajani Larocca". Publishers Weekly. 2 May 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  26. ↑ "Much Ado About Baseball". Kirkus Reviews. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  27. ↑ "The Secret of the Dragon Gems by Rajani Larocca, Chris Baron". Publishers Weekly. 25 May 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  28. ↑ Weisman, Kay (1 January 2023). "Mirror to Mirror". Booklist. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  29. ↑ "Sona and the Golden Beasts by Rajani Larocca". Publishers Weekly. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
  30. ↑ Syed, Mahjabeen (August 2026). "Such Great Heights". Booklist Online.
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