About
Karen Young is a Los Angeles-based writer and editor specializing in food, tourism, and human interest stories. Do you want to know where to find the best grilled cheese in the world? Just ask!
A graduate of the University of California Berkeley, Karen's career has transversed through the worlds of journalism and entertainment as a newspaper and magazine editor, website founder, book editor and more.
Karen is the mother of two grown children, Adam and Rachel, who often chide her for having a bad case of 'FOMO.' Among her favorite things: travel and urban walks, outdoor concerts, live theater, movies, bookshops, visiting open-air markets wherever she travels, shaggy dogs and panda bears.
She can't imagine her world without cheese, tomatoes, ice cream, blueberries...and laughter. Her secret desire is to be a private investigator. The Girl with the Magic Ponytails French Tales is her second book, and the follow up to The Girl with the Magic Ponytails (October 6, 2020).
Featured Work
The Girl with the Magic Ponytails, French Tales
The second book in The Girl with the Magic Ponytails series.
Grab your passport to fun and join Riley on another magical, fantastical, ponytail-powered, imagination-fueled adventure.
An afternoon Parisian-inspired tea party in her grandparents’ garden soon gives way to a surprising and thrilling journey to France. Who else but Riley can soar on a giant sunflower, cozy up in a gargantuan croissant or fashion a space age vehicle out of macarons?
With a flip and a twirl, a swoosh and a curl, Riley and her canine pal Pup zoom through time and space to visit with Monet and Van Gogh, compete in the Grand Prix, dance in the French Alps and savor treats in Paris with unexpected visitors.
A story about sweet memories, old and new, and the magic we make along the way.
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The Girl with the Magic Ponytails was inspired by the author’s daughter, Rachel, who was born with a full head of dark brown hair that from early on was styled into two symmetrical ponytails. As Rachel grew, so did her ponytails. Up until elementary school, Rachel would rarely leave the house without them.
“She could never really say exactly why she was so attached to her ponytails,” Young said. “I always thought that for Rachel, the ponytails held some kind of ‘magic.’ The kind that spurs imagination, lifts the spirit, and ultimately, strengthens identity.”
From IPG Books/Huqua Press/Padaro Press, the publisher of Grammy Award-winning Brandi Carlile's Caroline, Graham Nash's Our House, and Heart's The Dog and the Butterfly. The Girl with the Magic Ponytails offers colorful imagery and engaging prose for children under eight, inspiring them to explore their own unique magic and vivid imagination. Written by food and human interest journalist Karen J. Young and illustrated by award-winning artist Yoko Matsuoka.
Other Works
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The Girl with the Magic Ponytails
2020
