About
Ronni Diamondstein spent her life surrounded by books and immersed in the world of children’s literature. An avid reader since childhood, libraries, books, and writing are her life’s work. As a school library media specialist and teacher of gifted and talented students in the U.S. and abroad, Ronni nurtured her students’ creativity by sharing her love of reading with them. Ronni is a graduate of Syracuse University. She attended Bread Loaf Writers Conference and led writing workshops and open mics to encourage people of all ages to tell their stories. Ronni served on the Board of the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival and is a past President of the Chappaqua Library Board of Trustees. Jackie and the Books She Loved is her debut picture book. Ronni lives in Chappaqua, New York with her toy poodle, Maggie Mae.
Featured Work
Jackie and the Books She Loved
Discover a delightful new story about Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, one of the most famous women in the world. History remembers Jackie Kennedy as the consummate First Lady, especially for her White House restoration and the cultural events she instituted during her husband’s administration. Jackie was on the world stage in 1963 when President Kennedy was assassinated. She led the nation in grieving the fallen leader with grace and dignity.
In this inspirational celebration of reading, Ronni Diamondstein with her engaging writing style introduces readers to an independent and confident Jackie, and how books guided her life. The insightful picture book biography paints the portrait of a child captivated by reading and a love of literature and writing--from five-year-old Jackie reading Chekhov stories and shushing her friends to be quiet so that she can read at Miss Porter’s School, to her desk as an editor in the last two decades of her life.
Jackie never wrote a memoir but revealed herself in the nearly 100 books she brought into print. Jackie and the Books She Loved is a dazzling book about the real woman behind this American icon of style and grace brought to life by the whimsical and tasteful artwork of Bats Langley.
