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Rajani LaRocca
LaRocca at BookExpo in New York City, May 2019.
Born	Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Occupation	Writer, physician
Language	English
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Harvard College Harvard Medical School
Website
www.rajanilarocca.com

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

Writing career

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

Publications

Picture books

• LaRocca, Rajani (2020). Seven Golden Rings: A Tale of Music and Math. Lee & Low Books Incorporated. ISBN 978-1-885008-97-8.
• LaRocca, Rajani (2021-04-20). Bracelets for Bina's Brothers. Charlesbridge Publishing. ISBN 978-1-62354-129-3.
• LaRocca, Rajani (2021-08-24). Where Three Oceans Meet. Abrams. ISBN 978-1-64700-500-9.
• Summer is for Cousins (2021)
• LaRocca, Rajani (2021-08-31). My Little Golden Book About Kamala Harris. Random House Children's Books. ISBN 978-0-593-43022-4.
• LaRocca, Rajani (2021-09-14). The Secret Code Inside You: All About Your DNA. little bee books. ISBN 978-1-4998-1075-2.
• LaRocca, Rajani (2022-03-29). I'll Go and Come Back. Candlewick Press. ISBN 978-1-5362-0717-0.
• LaRocca, Rajani (2022-06-28). Chicken Soup for the Soul BABIES: Now! (Barks Dog). Charlesbridge Publishing. ISBN 978-1-63289-339-0.
• LaRocca, Rajani (2022-10-25). Chicken Soup For the Soul KIDS: Lucas's Tricky Day: Looking on the Bright Side. Charlesbridge. ISBN 978-1-62354-283-2.
• A Vaccine is Like a Memory (2023)
• Your One and Only Heart (2023)
• Masala Chai, Fast and Slow (2023)

Middle grade novels

• LaRocca, Rajani (2019-06-11). Midsummer's Mayhem. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4998-0889-6.
• LaRocca, Rajani (2021-02-02). Red, White, and Whole: A Newbery Honor Award Winner. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-304744-0.
• LaRocca, Rajani (2021-06-15). Much Ado About Baseball. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4998-1223-7.
• Switch (2022)
• The Secret of the Dragon Gems (2023)
• Mirror to Mirror (Quill Tree Books, 2023)
• Sona and the Golden Beasts (2024)

Personal life

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

She currently lives in Concord, Massachusetts with her family.

References

1. Makhijani, Pooja. "Q & A with Rajani LaRocca". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
2. ^ Rath, Arun; Ruhalter, Kana (14 July 2023). "'A Vaccine is Like a Memory' teaches children about the history of vaccines". WGBH. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
3. Smith, Vicky. "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 (2022-01-24). "'The Last Cuentista' wins 2022 Newbery Medal for best children's book". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
6. ^ Cooper, Laura Fineberg (2023-07-18). "Interview: Kidlit Author Rajani LaRocca Discusses Four Eagerly Awaited Books". WRITERS' RUMPUS. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
7. ^ Balaban, Samantha (5 August 2021). "Hop in the minivan: 'Summer Is for Cousins' invites you on a family vacation". NPR. National Public Radio. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
8. Soleore, Keira (2021-09-16). "Getting to know the scope and breadth of author Rajani LaRocca's children's and middle grade books". International Examiner. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
9. "Author Interview: Rajani LaRocca". Only Picture Books. 2023-05-08. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
10. LaRocca, Rajani (13 July 2021). "How I Managed to Get Six Books Published in 2021". Writer's Digest. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
11. Boles, Sydney; Dearing, Tiziana (2 August 2022). "Local author Rajani LaRocca on writing complicated identities". WBUR. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
12. Shohet West, Nancy (4 March 2022). "Even during the pandemic, these Greater Boston authors kept writing". Boston Globe. Retrieved 15 February 2024.

• Living people
• 21st-century American women physicians
• 21st-century American physicians
• American women children's writers
• American people of Tamil descent
• People from Louisville, Kentucky
• Newbery Honor winners
• Harvard College alumni
• Harvard Medical School alumni
• People from Concord, Massachusetts
• Writers from Kentucky
• Physicians from Kentucky