Joanna Ho

Joanna Ho (Chinese: 何曉光 Hé Xiǎo-Guāng) is a Chinese-American author. She is best known for writing the 2021 picture book Eyes That Kiss in the Corners, a New York Times best seller. Her writing features themes of anti-racism and self-acceptance.

Early life and education Ho was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to immigrants from Taiwan and China.

Ho earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and a master's degree from the Principal Leadership Institute at the UC Berkeley School of Education. During her time in college, she lived in Ghana for a year, where she studied traditional dance.

In 2021, HarperCollins published Ho's first book, Eyes That Kiss in the Corners, illustrated by Dung Ho (no relation). The picture book, featuring a Taiwanese-American girl who says her eyes "kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea," became a New York Times best seller and won a Golden Kite Award. In 2022, she published a companion book featuring a young Asian boy, Eyes that Speak to the Stars.

Ho continued exploring cultural identity in her 2023 picture book, Say My Name, where she gave her full Chinese name, 何曉光 Hé Xiǎo-Guāng, to one of the characters;

Ho co-hosts a podcast, Kidlit Happy Hour, with fellow author Caroline Kusin Pritchard. Ho and Kusin Pritchard co-authored the 2025 picture book The Day the Books Disappeared, which addresses book banning. While on tour to promote the book in October 2025, the authors were barred from a planned appearance at an elementary school when they refused a request from the San Ramon Valley Unified School District to omit mentions of book banning from their presentation.

Personal life Ho lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has three children.

Selected bibliography