2025 STars hall of fame

Joanna Rowland

Children’s Book Author & San Juan Unified Educator

Cottage & Cowan ES| Arcade MS | El Camino HS ‘96

Joanna Rowland is a children’s book author known for addressing difficult situations children face, such as divorce, grief, trauma, PTSD, moving, change, and uncertain times.

 Her bestselling book The Memory Box: A Book about Grief  has helped thousands of children and families work through complex emotions that arise after the death of a loved one. The Memory Box has received several honors, including the Mom’s Choice Gold Medal and was a 2017 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards winner. It has been translated into over four languages and was read at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s Day of Remembrance in 2018, an event attended by more than 120 families from around the world.

 Both The Memory Box and Big Bear Was Not The Same have been recommended by news stations as a resource to help families following devastating events like natural disasters and traumatic events.

Joanna was born and raised in Sacramento, CA by her parents alongside her three sisters who all attended schools in the San Juan Unified School District.  She spent her summers with her sisters at Cottage pool on the Fulton-El Camino synchronized swimming team which later she went on to coach.

Joanna remembers meeting author Barbara Douglass and getting her first signed book Good As New in 1985 at Cottage Elementary.

 It wasn’t until Joanna began teaching in the San Juan Unified School District that her dream of writing began to take shape. In 2009, she participated in a professional development course called Writing Workshop offered by the district. This training inspired her to write books for children. Her first book Always Mom; Forever Dad sold in 2013 to Tilbury House Publisher while she was teaching at Thomas Kelly.

Still residing in the Sacramento area, Joanna and her husband have three daughters who also attended San Juan Unified schools. Continuing to teach and write, she currently teaches Transitional Kindergarten at Cameron Ranch.

Her next book, The Memory Tree: A Holiday Grief Story, comes out in October, through Beaming Books. A grief book and heartwarming Christmas story in one, The Memory Tree provides comfort to grieving families--whether for the first holiday celebrated after the loss of a loved one, or many years later.

To learn more about Joanna Rowland, visit https://www.beamingbooks.com/store/author/6895/Joanna-Rowland.