Ann Reynold (maiden name Anilu Bernardo) born in Cuba and then, as a child in 1961, fled the island nation to the United States, her personal jumping off to freedom. She grew up in Miami, Florida and attended Coral Gables High school. She earned a B.A.

in Spanish in 1971 from Florida State University and then an M.A. in communications in 1980. Like many authors for young people, Bernardo began writing, when a youngster, stories and poems in her native language Spanish. She, her husband Jim, and daughters Stephanie and Amanda now live in Plantation, Florida.

Her first published book Fitting In is a collection of short stories that includes "Hurricane Friends" and was published as part of the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project at the University of Houston. Fitting In tied with Margaret Wiley's Facing the Music for the Paterson Prize for Books...