I Ship: An Interview with Author Kelly Rice Schmitt

Cast off on a journey across the ocean with a container ship as a guide in the delightful picture book I Ship: A Container Ship’s Colossal Journey by Kelly Rice Schmitt and illustrated by Jam Dong. The crew encounters a stuck ship in a canal, reroutes, and weathers a mighty storm, but they are determined to deliver goods to people who need them.

Today author Kelly Rice Schmitt joins us to talk about her inspiration, creative challenges, hopes for young readers and more! Read on to download the free educator resource and watch the official book trailer.

Plastic products are everywhere, from bottles to sandwich bags. The new photo picture book Washed Ashore: Making Art from Ocean Plastic combines biology and art to show young readers how so many of these plastic products end up in the ocean after use. Each spread features a sculpture created completely from ocean trash by artist and Washed Ashore founder Angela Haseltine Pozzi.

Both colorful and fun, author and photographer Kelly Crull has written an informative and powerful call to action for young readers to be active participants in saving the ocean. Read on to discover his inspiration, research process, and more. Don’t forget to download the free educator resource!

Civil Rights activist Miss Mary Hamilton was found to be in contempt of court after she demanded that an Alabama judge address her with the same honorifics used to address white people. Her case ultimately went to the Supreme Court of the United States, which ruled in her favor in 1964 and brought about a permanent change in courtrooms nationwide.

Call Me Miss Hamilton: One Woman’s Case for Equality and Respect combines powerful free verse from award-winning author Carole Boston Weatherford and striking scratchboard illustrations by Jeffery Boston Weatherford to honor this unsung heroine. Read on to hear what inspired the this family team to tell Miss Hamilton’s story and what surprised them on along the way!

We are so pleased to share that we have added a new picture book publisher, Soaring Kite Books, to the Lerner Publisher Services roster. Soaring Kite Books are uplifting and diverse children’s books that give a voice and a presence to underrepresented characters. Building off the pillars of diverse representation, family values, self-esteem, and kindness, the vision of Soaring Kite Books is to build a collection of books by diverse authors that parents and readers can trust. Read on to learn more about the inaugural Soaring Kite Books list!

When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington, he did not stand alone. He was joined by Rabbi Joachim Prinz, a refugee from Nazi Germany, who also addressed the crowd. Though Rabbi Prinz and Dr. King came from very different backgrounds, they were united by a shared belief in justice. And they knew that remaining silent in the face of injustice was wrong. The new picture book The Rabbi and the Reverend: Joachim Prinz, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Their Fight Against Silence tells the story of how these two figures spoke up and fought for a better future.

Audrey Ades, author of The Rabbi and the Reverend, joined us to talk about their own literary inspirations and reveal the inspiration they had for this impactful title.

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I Ship: An Interview with Author Kelly Rice Schmitt

Washed Ashore: Interview with Author Kelly Crull

Introducing: Soaring Kite Books