The Lerner Blog

By Editor Mandi Janikowski I love to bake, so I was thrilled to edit the Little Kitchen of Horrors series, a set of cookbooks that include deliciously disgusting foods, kid-friendly step-by-step instructions, and fun suggestions for displaying these dishes (because we all know that presentation is important—especially when you’re trying to gross out your guests). […]Read more "Baking Adventures with the Little Kitchen of Horrors Series"

Special thanks to digital intern Amy Richardson for the following post! In my college-level computer science courses that I took just four years ago, there were three females out of about thirty students. This makes some sense, considering that while women are increasingly choosing to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), these […]Read more "Women of NASA, STEM Trailblazer Bios"

It’s amazing the difference a three hour flight can make! Walking down the jetway toward the plane in Minneapolis, I saw the breath of the passengers ahead of me. Walking up the jetway three hours later, I immediately felt the heat and humidity of an 85-degree day in Austin. Not only was I excited to […]Read more "TCEA 2017: Engaging Innovative Educators"

Love him or hate him, Donald Trump has had a huge impact on Saturday Night Live viewership. In a downward spiral not so long ago, the metrics for the overall viewership of the iconic show are up by 22%. Folks are tuning in for the cold open every Saturday night, or (like me) watching it […]Read more "It’s Saturday Night!"

Spring 2017 Watch & Win Webinar Discover Out-of-This-World New Books for Your Library! February 23, 2017 1:00 p.m. CST Explore Lerner’s top Spring 2017 series and titles for grades K-12. From rocket-powered nonfiction to imagination-fueled novels, these new releases are sure to inspire a variety of reading missions. Throughout the 30-minute webinar, we’ll hold live […]Read more "Spring 2017 Watch & Win Webinar: Discover Out-of-This-World New Books for Your Library!"

It seems only fitting that the February edition of Books and a Snack is all about Valentine’s Day! To get in on the fun, just gather a group of kids, some fun Valentine’s-themed books—might I recommend our super-cute books about a girl named Ruby Valentine, pictured below?—and the following ingredients to make the easy Holiday […]Read more "Books and a Snack"

Recently I’ve been thinking about two reading experiences that changed my life. (Oh joy, you’re thinking, one of those posts. I know. Bear with me.) Example No. 1. Last fall, around the same time I was working on the nonfiction book Racial Profiling: Everyday Inequality for Twenty-First Century Books, I read Mildred D. Taylor’s Roll […]Read more "Game Changers"

Special thanks to Kris Vetter Tomes for the following post! Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on February 2, 1812—which makes today his 205thbirthday! Dickens started off as a serial writer, meaning he would write stories and novels broken up into chunks that would be published separately on a weekly or monthly basis. Due to […]Read more "Happy 205th Birthday, Charles Dickens!"

Just in time for Valentine’s Day comes a fun offering from Bumba Books—It’s Valentine’s Day! (cover pictured). This book is like a sweet little Valentine for preK–2 readers. It talks about how people celebrate the day—cards, flowers, chocolates!—and the colors and symbols associated with Valentine’s celebrations. Critical-thinking sidebars sprinkled in among the main text ask […]Read more "A Valentine from Bumba Books"