by Carol Hinz, Associate Publisher
Although picture books are not long in terms of page count, they often take multiple years to make. Today I’d like to share a peek behind the scenes at the journey of The Library in the Woods by Calvin Alexander Ramsey and R. Gregory Christie.
We had published Ruth and the Green Book, which Calvin coauthored, in 2010. When he told me in 2018 or 2019 that he had a new story he wanted to tell as a picture book, I was excited. I brought it to acquisitions, and it was approved in June 2019. From the beginning, I loved the way Calvin told the story of a beloved library that served the Black community in Roxboro, North Carolina. We see the library through the eyes of Junior, a young boy who moves from a more rural area to Roxboro. Calvin himself lived in Roxboro for part of his childhood, and although the story isn’t autobiographical, he had rich memories to draw on in telling it.
Finessing the text and adding back matter took some time, and once we hired Greg to do the illustrations, we needed to wait until he had an opening in his very busy schedule. When he finally sent in his sketches, they took my breath away. Look at the way he captures Junior and his new friends in a casual scene on the porch.
And in the midst of working on the book, Greg just happened to have a trip to Minneapolis, so art director Danielle Carnito and I were able to visit with him in the Lerner office. Among other things, we found a set of printed sheets from The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth, and Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and illustrated by Greg. Most communication while making a book happens via email (or sometimes phone or Zoom), so it was a real treat to be able to meet with Greg in person and talk about how his paintings were coming along.
Greg at the Lerner offices in July 2024.
The final art came in early in 2025, and the book finally came out on August 5, 2025! Here’s a peek at how the final art for that porch scene turned out.
The book is honest about the realities of life for Black folks during Jim Crow, but it also highlights the resourcefulness and resilience of people places like Roxboro, highlighting something hopeful even in the midst of challenging times. The book has gotten an excellent reception so far, including a starred review from Booklist, which said, “The first-person narrative unfolds with simplicity, clarity, and emotional resonance. Christie’s illustrations, painted with acrylics, capture the tone of events as well as the look of the mid-twentieth-century setting.”
Although it was a six-year journey to publication, I’m so proud of how the final book turned out and am eager for it to reach readers everywhere!
Praise for The Library in the Woods
★”The first-person narrative unfolds with simplicity, clarity, and emotional resonance. Christie’s illustrations, painted with acrylics, capture the tone of events as well as the look of the mid-twentieth-century setting.”—starred, Booklist
“A tribute to a community treasure, understated but rich in feeling.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Christie’s rich acrylic illustrations employ smudgy textures across town and country landscapes in this personal-feeling work about adult illiteracy that ends with a moving reflection on intergenerational connection and different kinds of knowledge.”—Publishers Weekly
Take a look inside this remarkable picture book on the Lerner website!