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Today's blog post comes to you from product planning director Jenny Krueger.
With the Maker Movement and the popularity of STEAM, hands-on projects are an increasingly popular part of elementary education. Nonfiction standards including procedural texts, an emphasis on curiosity, and interest in integrating art into STEM all drive a need for simple, fun resources that require readers to roll up their sleeves. Coming in Spring 2017, Lerner has some fun resources that will turn readers into makers, all while conveying key STEM and art curriculum.
Little Kitchen of Horrors: This fun series offers hideously delicious recipes such as Zombie-Gut Chili and Cat Litter Cake. Each recipe includes clear, step-by-step instructions. Readers are encouraged to put their own spin on the horror with food styling and presentation ideas. Fearsome fun!
Create with Duct Tape: The classic tape, now available in an endless array of patterns and colors, comes alive in these funky projects for fashionistas, campers, and everyone in between. Clear instructions and detailed photos illustrate projects such as a duct tape top hat and a dinosaur costume.
Mini Makers: The Maker Movement meets the miniature craze in Mini Makers, a unique series offering tiny crafts and science projects. From a mini ecosystem to a tiny tea set, these pint-sized projects offer readers endless opportunity to customize and express themselves in miniature!
Check out these new Maker resources for curious, crafty kids. We hope you have as much fun reading them as we had making them!
Special thanks to digital intern McKenna Balzer for the following post!
Have you ever noticed animal tracks outside and wondered
Who Was Here?
In Minnesota, we pride ourselves on being very engaged with nature and the “great outdoors.” We love to go camping, hiking, biking, and exploring and learn so much about the world and the animals that live around us when we do. But, sometimes, when the temperature is in the double negatives and an avalanche of snow is falling from the sky, the outdoors doesn’t sound quite as good as a great book about wild animals, some hot cocoa and a warm fireplace!
Lerner Digital's eBook, “Who Was Here? Discovering Wild Animal Tracks” by Mia Posada, presents
readers with engaging text that calls for the answer to what tracks belong to which animal. Posada writes in beautiful, rhyming sentences that make the book even more exciting to read. The realistic and extremely detailed illustrations are completely mesmerizing and only add to the wealth of knowledge that can be learned in this book. Do you have what it takes to correctly answer who was here?
“The huge furry paws of an animal sank into the soft mud of the riverbank.
Leaving deep footprints, with dagger-sharp claws, the beast lumbered on, a fish snared in its jaws."
Can you guess who was here?
Read Mia Posada’s eBook “
Who Was Here?” to find out if you were right!
Congratulations to Elizabeth Elder, who's won our holiday giveaway! Elizabeth, please send us your address and we'll send you the books when we're back in the office on Tuesday.
Happy holidays from all of us at Lerner Publishing Group! May your days be merry and bright, and we wish you many good books in new year ahead.
By: Amy McGuire,
on 12/20/2016
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Special thanks to Spencer Hanson for the following post!
Many pet owners have witnessed the phenomenon of their animals displaying odd behaviors, which sometimes includes emulating their owners or even their furry peers. Half the internet is dedicated to chronicling this. We’ve all heard it said that cats think they are human, and humans have been observed to refer to them as their “children” and even going as far as dressing them. My sister would stuff the family cat into American Doll clothing. The cat was not amused. Other pet owners will detail what’s new with their dog in their Christmas card and have their hound front and center in the picture wearing reindeer antlers. The confusion of identity goes both ways and sets the stage for humorous situations.
The story of a guinea pig named Fido that behaves like a dog and goes mad for T-bone steak shaped dog treats is Lerner Digital’s unique entry into the boy and
his dog genre. Many of us know and have experienced the “dog” substitution deal made between parents and their puppy enthusiastic children. This is the origin story of the
Guinea Dog series, as Rufus, a young boy who wanted his own Lassie or Old Yeller, had to settle for a canine compromise. However, to everyone’s surprise the substitution puppy surpasses expectations and perceptions, as Rufus explains:
Fido is a guinea dog. I’d always wanted a real dog, but my fussy dad wouldn’t let me have one, so my unfussy mom bought me a guinea pig. To everyone’s surprise, it barked, begged, whined, fetched, obeyed commands, got fleas, and chewed up Dad’s shoes. In other words, it (she) acted like a dog.
This excerpt is from
A Very Merry Guinea Dog, a short Christmas story written as a special addition to the
Guinea Dog series. This digital exclusive eBook features the antics of Fido, as the guinea dog dutifully causes Christmas mayhem by ripping open gifts and knocking over the tree like any loyal hound is known to do. Author Patrick Jennings’ Christmas gift to Guinea Dog fans also serves as an entry point into the series for new readers. After enjoying
A Very Merry Guinea Christmas, checkout the three full length Guinea Dog novels for more hilarity and stories of friendship.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
Doesn't it feel as if astronomers are finding new planets every day? Just this September, astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope confirmed the existence of a planet that is orbiting two stars in the system OGLE-2007-BLG-349, eight thousand light-years away. So I asked Karen Latchana Kenney (above)
to share some thoughts about researching and writing her new Spring 2017 TFCB YA title Exoplanets: Worlds Beyond Our Solar System (cover, top).
It's a Junior Library pick, and a well-researched STEM title that schools will want to add to their collections. Here's what Karen says: Seeing the brilliance of a clear night sky in northern Minnesota is breathtaking. The multitude of stars grows the longer you gaze. It’s humbling, just looking at that light.
While researching
Exoplanets: Worlds Beyond Our Solar System, I learned
how this light is the key to finding planets billions of miles away. Subtle variations of a star’s light tell us how big an orbiting planet is, what’s in its atmosphere, and even what’s inside the planet. I loved learning about the especially strange worlds scientists have discovered. The massive planet TrES-4 was one of my favorites. It has the density of cork. If you stuck it in water, it would float!
TrES-4
(right) and Jupiter
(left), size comparison from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TrES-4bExoplanet discoveries have exploded since the mid-1990s, when scientists found the first ones. Just in the year while writing this book, the number almost doubled—from close to 1,900 in late 2015 to the current count of more than 3,400. This number changes nearly every day. Readers can find the latest counts by using resources in the book’s back matter.
What’s even more exciting is that exoplanet research will likely lead us to alien life and other Earth-like worlds. Many scientists believe this will happen within the next few decades. We are on the verge of finding another pale blue dot and proof that we are not alone in the universe.
Now when I look up, I don’t just see stars, I see solar systems; and I wonder,
How many planets are in each one?EDITOR'S NOTE:
You can learn more about exoplanets at NASA's super-informative exoplanet page. https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/news/
Happy Friday! Congratulations to Annette Bay Pimentel, who's won Like a Bird: The Art of the African American Slave Song. Annette, please send your address to [email protected] and we'll get your book in the mail!
The holiday season is now officially in full swing, and since it's the most wonderful time of the year (though the windchill in Minnesota suggests otherwise), we're giving away galley gift box of Spring 2017 titles.
Here are the three ways you can enter for a chance to win a beautiful red box full of 12 picture book, middle-grade, and YA galleys:
- leave a comment on this post that includes your first and last name
- send an email to [email protected] that includes your first and last name
- tweet this line: Tweet for a chance to win LIKE A BIRD by @cynthia_grady and Michele Wood from @LernerBooks! bit.ly/1OrSN
US entries only, please. We'll announce the winner on the blog on Friday, December 23. Good luck!
My apologies if the title of my post just gave you a major earworm. You know, “Oh Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah, come light the menorah”? Classic holiday tune. Tends to get stuck in my head all day. But I adored singing this song in elementary school, so the earworm brings back only happy memories for me. But anyway.
The subject of today’s post, as you probably guessed, is Hanukkah—specifically, a wonderful offering about the holiday especially for preK–2 readers from Bumba Books.
It’s Hanukkah! (cover pictured) explains the history of the holiday, when in the year it occurs (November or December—and it starts on December 24th this year), how people celebrate, and what special foods are connected with Hanukkah. The book also includes great critical thinking questions, such as, “Why might Hanukkah be called the Festival of Lights?” and “Why might the top [the Hanukkah dreidel] have writing on it?”
But by far my favorite part of It’s Hanukkah! are the descriptions of how families enjoy spending time together during the season—plus, the cozy photos of them doing exactly that. We see a grandma, a grandpa, and their three adorable grandkids gathered for a menorah lighting. There’s a dad and his daughter playing dreidel next to a plate of sufganiyot (delicious jelly doughnuts popular at Hanukkah). There’s a little boy pulling Star of David wrapping paper off a Hanukkah gift. So sweet, so special, and so very evocative of what all of us love about the holidays, regardless of whether we celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or some combination of these.
I hope you’ll consider treating a child you know to It’s Hanukkah! this year. With the holiday just eight days away, the timing couldn’t be better. Happy Holidays, everyone!
Special thanks to digital intern McKenna Balzer for the following post!
This year December 24th marks the first day of the Jewish holiday, Hanukkah. Many will gather to celebrate this miraculous holiday with family and friends. Hanukkah is a very important holiday in the Jewish tradition; it is the 8 day “festival of lights” that commemorates the triumph of a group of Jewish Rebels known as the Maccabees against their oppressors, the Greek-Syrians. In the 2nd century B.C., the Greek-Syrians ruined the Jewish Temple by constructing an altar to Zeus and sacrificing pigs within the walls of the temple. In order to rededicate their temple, the Maccabees had to keep a menorah lit at all times, however, they only had enough pure olive oil remaining to keep the menorah lit for one day. Despite this, the miracle of Hanukkah was that this menorah burned for eight days.
On each night of Hanukkah, a new candle on the nine-branched menorah is lit, one for each day. The ninth space on the menorah is for the candle that will light all of the other candles. Many families celebrate by gathering and exchanging gifts, reciting blessings and eating traditional foods.
During this year’s Hanukkah celebration, share with your family one of Kar-Ben’s many Hanukkah themed eBooks. With many stories about Hanukkah celebrations such as “
Happy Hanukkah Lights” by Jacqueline Jules, “
Rainbow Candles” by Myra Shostak, or “
Hanukkah Delight” by Lesléa Newman, Kar-Ben offers a wide variety of eBooks for all types of readers. With so many beautifully illustrated titles and stories sure to engage all ages, these eBooks are perfect to share with all members of the family during this year’s Hanukkah celebrations.
Happy Friday! Congratulations to Karen Maurer (@NanaKaren9), who's won David Zeltser's Blast from the North. Karen, please send your address to [email protected] and we'll get your book in the mail!
Enslaved African Americans longed for freedom, and that longing took many forms—including music. Drawing on biblical imagery, slave songs both expressed the sorrow of life in bondage and offered a rallying cry for the spirit.
Like a Bird brings together text, music, and illustrations by Coretta Scott King Award–winning illustrator Michele Wood to convey the rich meaning behind thirteen of these powerful songs.
School Library Journal calls the book "an excellent resource for music and art teachers as well as for social studies and U.S. history lessons" in its starred review.
Here are the three ways you can enter for a chance to win:
- leave a comment on this post that includes your first and last name
- send an email to [email protected] that includes your first and last name
- tweet this line: Tweet for a chance to win LIKE A BIRD by @cynthia_grady and Michele Wood from @LernerBooks! bit.ly/1OrSN
US entries only, please. We'll announce the winner on the blog on Friday, December 16. Good luck!
This holiday season slow down and curl up with your loved ones and a book from our "Best Of" list, which shines the spotlight on Gecko Press, Andersen Press, and The Kane Press.
These beloved titles delve into a variety of themes including friendship, responsibility, coping with change, and exploring world cultures. Young readers will cherish the timeless stories and vibrant illustrations as they count their way through West Africa, learn about the challenges of being a patient friend, rediscover an old classic, and more!
Bicycling to the Moon written by Timo Parvela and illustrated by Virpi Talvitie
Gecko Press
List Price: $16.99
Ages: 6-10
Purdy the cat and Barker the dog live together in a sky-blue house on a hill. But while the two friends share a house, they are as different as cat and dog can be. Their days together bring quarrels, contradictions, and craziness—a cat with so many ideas needs a dog with a lot of patience if friendship is to win out in the end.
"A solid purchase for those seeking fresh tales with a classic feel or a broader world-lit collection." –Kirkus Reviews
"Readers with fond memories of Frog and Toad and those who love Winnie-the-Pooh will adore meeting this new pair of friends."
–School Library Journal
Gecko PressList Price: $9.99Ages: 1-2
From award-winning illustrator, Jörg Mϋhle, comes the perfect sleep book to gently and effectively help children wind down at the end of the day. Readers help little rabbit with his bedtime ritual by plumping the pillow, tickling little rabbit's ears, giving him a goodnight kiss, and turning out the light.
"Soft, crayonlike outlines and some lovely touches . . . help establish a quiet mood that could help pave the way for smooth bedtimes on readers' parts, too."—Publishers Weekly
Life According to Dani written by Rose Lagercrantz and illustrated by Eva ErikssonGecko PressList Price: $16.99Ages: 6-9
It's summer break. With her father in the hospital, Dani is staying on an island with Ella, her best friend in the world. They swim, build huts, fish, and spy on wild animals. Then Dani's dad arrives with a new girlfriend. Will the best summer ever be ruined? Life According to Dani is a follow-up to the acclaimed and beloved chapter book series that began with My Happy Life, which was a New York Times Notable Book of the year. "Another sterling early chapter book by this duo."—starred, Kirkus Reviews
How to Be an Earthling (4 Book Series)Kane PressList Price: $26.56Reading Grade Level: 2Interest Grade Level: 1-3
Earthlings are weird! After Spork crashes his spaceship on the school playground, he joins Mrs. Buckle's third-grade class to fulfill his mission of earning a Galaxy Scouts Explorer Badge! But figuring out how to act like an Earthling isn't easy. Respect? Responsibility? Honesty? These rules seem completely odd to Spork! Each book in the How to Be an Earthling® series focuses on a positive character trait and encourages kids to think about how their words and actions affect others.
"Good additions for collections that need additional early chapter books."—School Library Connection
Gold Medal Winner of the Moon Beam Children's Book Award
Black Beauty written by Ruth Brown and Anna SewellAndersen PressList Price: $17.99Ages: 4-9
Black Beauty's classic story is retold for young horse lovers in this beautiful picture book by beloved author Ruth Brown. Black Beauty's story improved the lives of horses all over the world. Seen through his own eyes, young horse lovers will be swept up in his incredible journey from a peaceful paddock to the streets of London. No matter what he encounters, nothing can break Black Beauty's spirit.
"A satisfying picture book for young horse fans."—Booklist
"A good introduction to a classic, perfect for classroom reading and storytimes with older children."—School Library Journal
All Aboard for the Bobo Road written by Stephen Davies and illustrated by Christopher CorrAndersen PressList Price: $17.99Ages: 4-9
Readers help Big Ali the bus driver and his family count bikes, sacks of rice, melons and even goats and chickens as the bus travels past Gurunsi houses, the hippo lake, waterfalls and jungle, all the way to Bobo. With the authentic setting in Burkina Faso drawn from the author's own experience, this is a wonderfully fun way for children to journey through a spectacular part of West Africa.
"The numerous vibrant details make this a great choice not only as a counting primer but also for use as an introduction to Burkina Faso culture and geography."—Booklist
"A delightful introduction to a lively way of life."—Kirkus Reviews
By: Amy McGuire,
on 12/6/2016
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As soon as I heard about the Icelandic tradition of Jólabókaflóð, I knew my family had a new Christmas Eve tradition. What’s not to love about a “Christmas book flood” celebrated by a country that cherishes two of my favorite things…reading and chocolate?
According to tradition, Icelanders give each other books on Christmas Eve and spend the evening savoring their new books as well as chocolate. It sounds to me like the perfect way to spend a wintry evening after all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.
Iceland values reading and publishes more books per capita than any other country in the world. Their literacy rate is nearly 100%, and one out of ten Icelanders will publish a book in their lifetime. Celebrate this Christmas Eve like an Icelander by surrounding yourself with family, friends, chocolate, and a selection of Lerner Digital eBooks like the holiday favorites below. Happy Jolabokaflod!
David McKee
Our favorite patchwork elephant Elmer keeps his young elephant friends busy as they wait for Papa Red to make his annual visit. After a day playing in snow and decorating a Christmas tree, they hope to catch a glimpse of Papa Red as he lands his sleigh full of presents.
Joe Kulka
The Coal Man works hard searching mines for the coal Santa drops into the stockings of naughty boys and girls. When he arrives at the North Pole with his coal delivery, Santa informs him that he’s no longer giving out coal. This turn of events leads to an unexpected happy ending for the Coal Man.
The Nutcracker Comes to AmericaChris Barton, Cathy Gendron
How did The Nutcracker become a beloved American holiday tradition? Three brothers from a small town in Utah are surprisingly credited with introducing the little known Russian ballet to San Francisco in the first full length production on Christmas Eve 1944, and American audiences fell in love.
Chris Judge
The Beast and all the villagers have been robbed of their tools, so they cannot build their snow festival. The Beast is on a mission to catch the creature causing all the mayhem and soon a snow-covered chase is underway! Along the way, the Beast learns he may have more in common with the thief than he realized.
Harriet and George’s ChristmasTreatNancy Carlson
No Christmas reading list would be complete without my children’s favorite holiday book! In this delightful Harriet and George tale, the young friends avoid the well-meaning Ms. Hoozit and her infamous fruitcake only to find out they may have missed out on a special Christmas treat.
While the title of this blog post might be ever so slightly tongue in cheek, but I'm a big fan of giving kids books as gifts. I asked some of my colleagues for recommendations from the books we've published in the past year.
Without any further ado:
Alix Reid says: "I’d recommend The Secret of Goldenrod, which is the perfect book to curl up with under a blanket and next to a fire, and immerse yourself in a book about a lonely girl and a house that is magical and mysterious."
Greg Hunter says: "I would recommend
The Midnight War of Mateo Martinez, because the story teaches readers that every gift is precious--and that you should always beware of talking skunks."
For elementary-age kids, Anna Cavallo recommends
Dino-Racing. She says: "It’s hard not to enjoy seeing the largest dinosaurs crammed in tiny cars, and illustrator Barry Gott’s fake logos adorning the race cars are hilarious. Plus, the text features lots of fun info about racing!"
And for teen girls, Anna recommends
The Immortal Throne (along with the first two Into the Dark books,
The Shadow Prince and
The Eternity Key), saying, "This series is an engrossing escape from the winter cold and gray, easily enjoyment under a blanket with a mug of something warm. And Daphne, the badass strong female main character, should be a welcome example of a girl who’s saving the world, despite the bumbling and/or greedy men around her."
Amy Fitzgerald says, "I’d have to recommend
Gabriel’s Horn, a Kar-Ben picture book about a boy whose brief meeting with a mysterious soldier changes his life forever. The art is gorgeous, the story is universal (thought it’s cleverly based on a Jewish legend), and the theme of giving and looking beyond our own needs is perfect for the holidays."
And finally, I'll throw in a couple recommendations of my own. For the science-loving kid:
Masters of Disguise by Rebecca L. Johnson.
This book offers a surprising--and occasionally gross--look at animals that use incredible tricks to deceive predators or prey. (The assassin bug on the cover is wearing a "coat" of dead ants!)
For the kid who is going to be seeing a lot of relatives:
Don't Call Me Grandma by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, with illustrations by Elizabeth Zunon.
Getting together with relatives can be wonderful, but at times it can be nerve-racking. This book explores something we don't often see in picture books--a feisty, prickly great-grandmother--and it offers a gentle message about finding ways to love our relatives as they are, eccentricities and all.
And that's our list! I wish our readers a happy holiday season: may you all read something you love!
Happy Friday! Congratulations to Catherine Flynn (@flynn_catherine), who's won A Spy Called James: The True Story of James Lafayette, Revolutionary War Double Agent. Catherine, please send your address to [email protected] and we'll get your book in the mail!
In
Dawn of the Ice Age, Lug the caveboy became a hero after saving his clan from saber-toothed tigers. Now, a giant glacier is rolling toward their village, and it's on course to crush the whole settlement. Can Lug save the day again?
Here are the three ways you can enter for a chance to win:
- leave a comment on this post that includes your first and last name
- send an email to [email protected] that includes your first and last name
- tweet this line: Tweet for a chance to win BLAST FROM THE NORTH by @davidzeltser from @LernerBooks! bit.ly/1OrSN
US entries only, please. We'll announce the winner on the blog on Friday, December 9. Good luck!
As glad as we always are to see Lerner books earn accolades, I particularly love seeing people start to notice the beautiful, important books that would otherwise exist quietly in the world.
 |
| Example A: a beautiful, important book of 2016 (IMHO) |
The weekend before Thanksgiving, I was following along with Twitter updates from the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Annual Convention, which was taking place that weekend in Atlanta. This conference is always an inspiring gathering of educators and others who recognize the immense value books can bring to students of all stripes, at all levels, and who are committed to sharing and learning new ways to engage students in the power of language and literature. While it's no substitute for being there in person, I highly recommend following the creative and profound ideas from the conference that come through in 140-character bits
hashtagged #NCTE16.
The
Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children is one of several honors announced each year at NCTE. This award was established in 2014 "to promote and recognize excellence in the writing of fiction for children. [It] recognizes fiction that has the potential to transform children’s lives by inviting compassion, imagination, and wonder." (Source linked above.) I was thrilled to learn that the Carolrhoda picture book
Luis Paints the World, by Terry Farish and illustrated by Oliver Dominguez, was named a Charlotte Huck Recommended Book for 2016.
Published in April, this tender, timely story offers a glimpse of the struggle of military families and the hopeful power of community. Young Luis wishes his older brother, Nico, wasn't leaving for the Army. To show Nico he doesn't need to go, Luis begins a mural on the alleyway wall. Their house, the river, the Parque de las Ardillas—it's the world, their Dominican neighborhood in Lawrence, Massachusetts, all right there. Won't Nico miss Mami's sweet flan? What about their baseball games in the street?
The seasons pass, and texts from Nico overseas become sporadic. Luis presses Mami to know when Nico is coming home, with heartbreaking uncertainty in her response.
"Muy pronto," Mami says. "Pero, Luis, sometimes people, they move on. They don't come back for the baseball. Even the flan."
"Yes, they do," Luis whispers. But as Luis awaits his brother's return from duty, his own world expands as well, through his swoops of paint and the bright world that takes shape as neighbors grab a brush.
From the moment this book started coming together, I've been struck by the tenderness of the family relationships painted both in words and in paint, the authentic innocence of young Luis and the fear that he faces, and the power he demonstrates through his act of creative expression, which brings the community together. It's a universally relatable story of siblings, of family, and of struggling with the unknown.
I'm so glad to see
Luis Paints the World recognized with this honor, with hopes that it will continue to find its way to a wider audience--for it is only in the hands of readers that the book will truly have the power to transform lives.
Congratulations to Terry Farish and Oliver Dominguez on this recognition!
By: Amy Fitzgerald,
on 11/30/2016
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What a year, folks. What. A. Year.
Last week as Thanksgiving approached, I was at a loss for a blog post topic until the obvious choice smacked me in the face. The foundational myth of the first Thanksgiving and its implications for generations of Americans? Good guess, but not today.
It feels especially important, this year, to reflect on causes for gratitude. (Shout-out to my colleague Sara Hoffmann, whose post from earlier this month I'm shamelessly ripping off.) As a children's book editor, I'm thankful for these things, among others:
1. Courageous authors. "Courageous" is an oft-overused word, like "traumatic" and "actionable." (Blog post for another day.) But as 2016 has shown us perhaps better than many other years, words really do have tremendous power for good and ill, and those who wield words balance universes (multiverses!) in their hands. I've worked with some very brave authors this past year--authors who reject easy answers, who give voice to harrowing and heartbreaking truths, who challenge their readers to think and feel in ways that are uncomfortable and enriching and vitally necessary. Their words have made me laugh out loud and cry into my tea, sometimes simultaneously. Their words have made me question my own assumptions, have put me to shame, and have given me hope. I can't wait for you to read their books.
2. Amazing readers. Our authors often send us photos from their signings, talks, and other events. Nothing does more to assure me I'm in the right business than seeing a young reader who's devoured all the books in a series, or who's found just the type of book he was looking for after a long search, or who opened a book on a whim one evening and was glued to the same spot, still reading, hours later. I can pull up sales figures for our books whenever I feel like it, but the number of copies sold feels insignificant compared to the beaming face of one kid who saw herself in a character.
3. Awesome coworkers. Danielle, our trade art director, bakes incredible cakes and designs stunning book covers. Giliane, our senior photo editor, scours the photography world for the best images and then wrangles politely and diligently with the gatekeepers who license those photos; she may eventually leave us for a career as a diplomat. Carol, Millbrook Press's editorial director, shares fascinating articles and books and anecdotes about her adorable children-slash-beta-readers. Vicki, our interim editor-in-chief, has a secret potions lab where she brews patience, a positive outlook, a sense of the big picture, and the ability to function without sleep. I picked those names out of a hat; everyone else is fantastic too.
4. Food. (See above re: Danielle's baking prowess.)
5. Booksellers, librarians, et al. Without customers and advocates outside Lerner, many of our books would spend their lives moping in the warehouse. You know who you are. You know you matter. We know too, and we've got your back.
6. The past. This has been a year of self-examination for many of us in this industry. We've learned a lot. We see where we've gone wrong in the past, whom we've failed to include and represent, what we've neglected to tackle, how many unnecessary printouts we've circulated, how rarely we've used recycled paper in the printers. (Come on, guys. You remove any staples beforehand, and it goes in blank side up. We can do this. I believe in you.)
7. The future. Children's publishing is all about small humans who are growing hour by hour toward adulthood--struggling with responsibilities and fears, wrestling with unruly hopes, facing a world that turns and tilts and throws curveballs. (And mixes metaphors.) Words can help. Words have power. I have faith in words and in the small humans who read them. And I'm very grateful for the chance to continue investing in our future through the work that Lerner does.
So whatever's coming at us in 2017, I'm thankful for 2016. And I'm ready for the work ahead.
By: Amy McGuire,
on 11/29/2016
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Special thanks to digital intern Katharine Seggerman for the following post!Back in August, we were very excited to
announce the launch of Bumba Books™, a colorful new family of non-fiction titles for beginning and emerging readers. Library-bound editions featured a square, 9x9” design for easy grip by young hands, along with bright colors, comprehension-enhancing photographs, easy-to-read fonts, and critical thinking questions peppered throughout the text. Lerner Digital’s eBook and Interactive editions were released at the same time as multi-user digital copies that included many additional learning-to-read tools.
Now we are thrilled to announce that Bumba Books is expanding to include Spanish-language titles this coming Spring season! These eBooks are perfect for young Spanish speakers (pre-K to first grade) as well as kids growing up in bilingual households or attending immersion schools. With all the same fun yet educational features of the Bumba Books you already know and love, Bumba Books en español brings exciting non-fiction topics into focus for anyone learning to read in Spanish.
Here are the four engaging series Lerner Digital is releasing in Spring 2017 as eBooks:
Veo animales marinos (I See Ocean Animals):
Did you know that a group of rays is called a school (in Spanish, un cardumen)? Or that a starfish’s eyes are located on its arms? How about the fact that dolphins use sound to help them find food? Tessa Kenan uses a gentle, informative voice to create portraits of six fascinating ocean creatures. Animal lovers are sure to read these over and over again!
Máquinas en acción (Machines That Go):
You know those kids who can’t get enough of cars, trucks, and trains? Well, THIS is the series for them. Máquinas en acción is a fast-paced series about fast-paced machines like police cars (los carros de policía), ambulances (las ambulanicas),semi-trucks (los tractocamiones), motorcycles (las motocicletas), trains (los trenes), and monster trucks (los camiones monstruo). Buckle up!
Diviértete con las estaciones (Season Fun):
Here is a series for the child who is just learning to read and who might also be nervous about the changing seasons. Balancing interesting tidbits about the natural world (check out the cute photo of a bear in hibernación mode in ¡El invierno es divertido!) with details about what humans do during different seasons, this series shows kids that every season is fun in its own way. As in every Bumba Book, there is a picture glossary in the back.
¡Hora de deportes! (Sports Time!)
Which sports does your child like to play? This series explores six different options, from the tried-and-true (soccer/el fútbol) to the sometimes underappreciated (gymnastics/la gimasnia). In the back there is a labeled diagram in every Bumba Book, and in the Sports Time! series, each title maps out the playing field. Kids will love memorizing the diagrams of each sport’s play area—la cancha for basketball, la piscina for swimming, and el campo for baseball and football.
Be sure to check out these exciting Spanish eBooks from Lerner Digital when they come out on January 1st, 2017!
It’s official: We’ve entered the holiday season. Neighborhoods glow beautifully with strings of colorful lights. Decorations greet you at every store and mall. Holiday songs play everywhere you go, and pop-up Christmas tree lots turn plain old parking lots into winter wonderlands. It’s impossible not to get caught up in the magic—at least, for me it is. And that goes double for many kids. Focusing in school can be an uphill road once the holiday season hits.
But that’s the beautiful thing about books: They encourage all the wonder young kids feel about the world. Rather than putting the wonder aside to learn (what a very sad thought that is!), kids can read, and learn, and soak up holiday magic all at once—all it takes is finding the right book.
One book that lets kids celebrate holiday magic while also learning important reading skills is It’s Christmas! from Bumba Books (cover below). The exclamation in the title lets you know right off that this book acknowledges how exciting Christmas is! It’s also totally inclusive for kids who don’t celebrate Christmas—but who still get antsy what with holiday activity all around them and the promise of a long winter break coming up.
It’s Christmas! includes informative facts about the origins of Christmas and how people celebrate the season. Critical thinking questions sprinkled on the pages encourage kids to carefully consider what they’ve read. A calendar showing when Christmas is bolsters calendar-reading skills. There’s also a photo glossary to help define unfamiliar words and an index and further reading section to introduce nonfiction features and support those kids who want to learn more.
Rather than squelching the joy kids feel about the holidays, Bumba celebrates it and uses it as a learning tool. And what better way to help children learn than to build on their natural-born enthusiasm? Happy Holidays, one and all, and Happy Reading! Wishing you a wonder-ful season!
By: Amy McGuire,
on 11/22/2016
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Special thanks to digital intern McKenna Balzer for the following post!
This Thursday is Thanksgiving and many will gather with loved ones to reflect on all of the good in their lives (and eat way too much!). In a sometimes chaotic world, it is nice to have a day to feel the love of those around us and have the uncomfortably wonderful privilege of rolling around on the floor as full as can be.
Many families have Thanksgiving traditions that have been passed down through generations or big celebrations complete with a picture perfect Turkey. No matter what tradition you and your loved ones hold,
It’s Thanksgivingby Tessa Kenan is the perfect Lerner Interactive Book to prepare for the holiday festivities. Throughout this book, readers can learn more about Thanksgiving and the different ways it can be celebrated.
Bumba Books’ entire Interactive Book series
“It’s a Holiday” allows readers to explore the ways that many holidays are celebrated and help readers to build nonfiction reading skills through a photo glossary and quiz. These
Interactive Books are designed to help readers gain confidence and strengthen literacy skills. Readers can follow along with the narrator through highlighted words, with a choice between three speeds of audio.
Soon we will find ourselves surrounded by pumpkin pie, delicious cranberry sauce, and mountains of mashed potatoes. It is important to embrace holidays like Thanksgiving and recognize all that we have to be grateful for. This Thanksgiving, remember to tell those in your life how thankful you are for them and make time for the small things, like sharing a book with someone you love.
By: Libby Stille,
on 11/21/2016
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This post is from Domenica DiPiazza, editorial director of Twenty-First Century Books.
About a year and a half ago, Twenty-First Century Books author Connie Goldsmith shared a Facebook post about military working dogs and a light went off in my head. What a great idea for a YA title! We were off to the races, and in less than two months, her newest TFCB book Dogs at War: Military Canine Heroes will be available for sale. You can preorder it here .
It’s a book libraries will want to have during a time when youth interest in and awareness of war is high. The book is informative, deeply researched, and emotionally stirring. It describes the contributions working dogs make not only to the battlefield but to civilian life. We meet soldiers, families, and experts in the field and come to love the dogs who work so faithfully in the toughest of circumstances.
She gave a great radio interview recently on Fresh Air. For those of you with dogs, you’ll be inspired to take your dog for a “smell walk” to experience the world from a dog’s point of view. And you’ll be ready to order Dogs at War!
Happy Picture Book Month and happy Friday to you all! Today we're giving away a copy of A Spy Called James: The True Story of James Lafayette, Revolutionary War Double Agent, written by Anne Rockwell and illustrated by Coretta Scott King Award winner Floyd Cooper.
Told for the first time in picture book form is the true story of James Lafayette—a slave who spied for George Washington's army during the American Revolution. But while America celebrated its newfound freedom, James returned to slavery. His service hadn't qualified him for the release he'd been hoping for. For James the fight wasn't over; he'd already helped his country gain its freedom, now it was time to win his own.
Here are three ways you can enter for a chance to win:
- leave a comment on this post that includes your first and last name
- send an email to [email protected] that includes your first and last name
- tweet this line: Tweet for a chance to win A SPY CALLED JAMES from @LernerBooks! bit.ly/1OrSN
US entries only, please. We'll announce the winner on the blog on Friday, December 2. Good luck!
You guys, I seriously can’t believe that
....Or it will be in one week from today. My work as an editor keeps me so busy, and time flies by so fast, that I think it’s really important to stop and take stock of things sometimes or life will sail right past. Today I’m pausing to think about what I’m thankful for here at work. There are so many things that it was hard to narrow it down—which in itself is something to be thankful for! Here’s a partial list.
- The wonderful authors I work with. The relationship between author and editor is a creative partnership. It’s a really special thing to get to shape a book with someone, and I’m lucky I get to participate in this process nearly every single day.
- The chance to touch readers’ lives. This is the main reason I became an editor. Putting books into the world that may spark a new interest in a young child, or turn him or her into a lifelong reader, is a privilege like none other.
- The things I learn. As a nonfiction editor, I deal in facts—an amazing number of them! In this job I’ve learned about everything from early 1900s presidential history to what parts a big rig has, and I’m continually astounded by how much there is to learn.
- My talented and creative colleagues. Editors get to work with designers, artists, writers, production specialists, and so many others that I could never list them all. Each of these people is essential to getting a published book into your hands. They all bring such insight and passion to their jobs, and seeing them at work inspires me.
- Last but definitely not least, all of you. That’s right, you. If you are reading this right now, then I mean YOU! It’s a joy to share a bit about our books and what we do here on the blog, and I envision you guys—the readers—with every single post I write. Thank you so very much for reading, I hope that you enjoy what you read here, and I wish you each a very Happy Thanksgiving.
By: Amy McGuire,
on 11/16/2016
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Special thanks to Spencer Hanson for the following post!
Lerner Digital has been on the forefront of developing enhanced eBooks with audio and text highlighting for schools and libraries since the launch of Audisee eBooks with Audio® in 2014. Audisee was recently named a 2016 finalist for the Cool Tool Award from Edtech Digest and won both an Academic’s Choice Award and a Tech & Learning Award of Excellence in 2015.
We have been very intentional in the features we offer to assist struggling readers, and emerging research supports our decisions. You can find more information on Audisee including an introductory video at the
Lerner Digital website. Here’s a peek into our Audisee whitepaper. The following section is about how enhanced eBooks with audio and text highlighting help students acquire content knowledge despite decoding barriers. Enjoy!
Struggling readers moving into the upper elementary and secondary grades face not only the challenges of decoding but the mounting demands of “mastering high-level content material (Boyle, 2003, p. 203). By the upper grades, students “have developed patterns of interactions with school and, if those patterns are negative, a teacher faces a formidable challenge in reversing them” (Dreher, 2003, p. 51). Wolfson (2008) explains the difficulty in teaching remedial readers:
Teachers in middle and high schools have so many demands on their teaching that there is little time to focus on the numerous literacy skills required for students (. . .) Students need to be able to decode unfamiliar words, comprehend narrative and expository text, understand new vocabulary, prepare various forms of writing, and participate in discussions in each of the content areas. (p. 105)
Decoding barriers stagnant the growth of struggling readers, especially when they are no longer receiving focused reading instruction, and “their participation in speaking or writing is limited by their ability or inability to read” (Wolfson, 2008, p. 106).
Wanzek & Kent (2012) explain how poor decoding skills can become a barrier to learning content, as students transition into the upper grades where learning to read switches to reading to learn:
[I]n addition to expectations that students have adequately mastered the basic reading skills such as decoding accurately and fluently, there are also expectations that students understand word meanings and are able to read text with comprehension (Chall, 1983). The focus on these comprehension skills may be difficult for struggling readers who may still be learning to accurately and fluently decode grade level text. (p. 2)
Enhanced eBooks with audio and highlighting have been successful in serving the needs of struggling readers to acquire grade level content despite their difficulties in decoding, as removing “the restraints of a student’s word recognition and decoding skills provides a very positive approach to focusing on the meaning behind an author’s words” (Wolfson, 2008, p. 107). The use of audio allows these students to access texts that “they are unable to read on their own or that they might not choose for themselves” (Serafini, 2004, p. 4). Barger and Notwell (2013) observed that their fourth grade students using nonfiction eBooks with audio and text highlighting enhancements, especially those struggling to read at grade level, could acquire content knowledge easier: One of the perks of the read-aloud feature is that it makes academic content accessible for struggling readers. [A student said], “Sometimes I get more information from the book if people read it to me instead of me reading.” Many of these students were aware of their learning styles and how eBooks helped them learn. (. . .) Many readers talked about how they liked how some eBooks would highlight the words while it was reading, helping them to stay on track. (. . .) [One student] believed she could better understand because she could hear words that she could not pronounce. (pp. 35-36)
Audisee eBooks with Audio® provides struggling and reluctant readers with professionally recorded audio narration and sentence highlighting. These features can be set to read the whole book to the student, or the student can turn the support features on and off when they need them.
I’m not one to abandon a novel midway through reading it. Most of the time, even if I'm not enamored with a book, I can’t quite let myself quit! But I discovered recently that mysteries are a special case. After sorting out a story’s central twist, and at a spot much earlier than I had expected, I couldn’t help but put the book down. It had all just happened too soon!
This is not the fault of the book,
Beast in View by Margaret Millar; I probably only pieced the mystery together because Millar's novel has had legions of imitators in the decades since its publication. (Though I’d still recommend Charlotte Armstrong’s
Mischief and Patricia Highsmith’s
The Blunderer first, both of which are present—along with
Beast in View—in
the Library of America’s excellent Women Crime Writers collection.) But the whole thing got me thinking about the different relationships readers and writers may have to mystery stories.
Say you’re a mystery writer: As you put a story together, how much thought do you give to the process of deduction a reader might go through, as opposed to your character’sprocess of deduction? Do you ever feel like you’re challenging readers to figure out the puzzle before your sleuth does?
C.M. Surrisi is the author of
The Maypop Kidnapping, a witty middle-grade mystery set in a Maine vacation town, out this year from Carolrhoda. (A sequel,
Vampires on the Run, arrives in spring 2017.) When I posed these questions to C.M., she said,
I write my stories in the first person from the POV of the detective. Since first-person POV only reveals to the reader what the character experiences, the reader and the detective are one. However, mystery-loving readers in this circumstance typically enjoy trying to second-guess the detective. Clues can be interpreted differently, events can take on varying significance, and so on. So I expect the reader to view the world through my detective’s eyes, but I provide clues that lend themselves to multiple interpretations. The reader is free to agree with or question the detective’s analytical conclusions.
Trisha Speed Shaskan’s foray into mystery begins next year with Q & Ray, a series of graphic novels for early readers, illustrated by Trisha’s partner in crime, Stephen Shaskan. (The first case, The Missing Mola Lisa, will arrive in fall 2017.) Trisha told me that,
While writing the Q & Ray mysteries, I figure out the plot and how it might unfold, then plant clues and evidence for the characters and the readers. Gillian Roberts, author of the Amanda Pepper series, states in her book You Can Write a Mystery that crime stories are three stories in one; what physically happened, the theory of what happened, and what really happened. I hope readers experience all three of those stories. I also hope they are challenged to try to solve the mystery before Q and Ray do!
Mystery writers are also mystery readers, of course, so I had another question for the authors. When you read a mystery yourself, do you find yourself working to crack the case, or do you prefer to sit back at let the story unfold?
C.M. tries to keep one step ahead of a book’s sleuth. “No question about it,” she said. “And I prefer mysteries where the author gives me some latitude to question the detective’s handling of the case.”
Trisha agreed: “When I read a mystery, I don my deerstalker, collect the clues, and try to crack the case!”
Post by Greg Hunter, Associate Editorial Director - Graphic Universe
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No way!! Merry Xmas guys!! Thanks so much!