Zest Books – The Lerner Blog

Witness: An Interview with Co-Anthologists Ari Tison and Ty Chapman

Witness: Poems to Address the Past, Present, and Future of Policing is a wide-ranging collection that sprung from a simple invitation to share stories. It includes contributions from nearly forty poets, including Ada Limón, Jason Reynolds, Erin Entrada Kelly, Danez Smith, and Amanda Gorman. It explores experiences and emotions related to policing and over-policing by […]Read more

An Astonishing Circle: An Interview with Author Maria Parrott-Ryan

In 1628, a controversial medical pamphlet by William Harvey challenged previous scientific beliefs by claiming that blood moved in a circle through the body. This discovery was dismissed as a dangerous lie, but a similar revelation had been made by Ibn al-Nafis, an Arab physician, who made a similar discovery 300 years before. An Astonishing […]Read more

Happy Book Birthday: August New Releases

Light the candles and slice the cake! We have a whole new slate of incredible titles arriving on shelves this August. Grab your bookmark and join us in celebrating these incredible new picture books, middle grade, nonfiction and more as they officially make their way into the hands of young readers everywhere!Read more

Author Interviews

The Real Rosalind: An Interview with Authors Debbie Loren Dunn and Janet Fox

For years, Rosalind Franklin’s name has lingered in the background of one of science’s greatest discoveries, but her full story has remained largely untold. In The Real Rosalind, authors Debbie Loren Dunn and Janet Fox bring her out of the margins and into focus, revealing a scientist whose work, curiosity, and determination extended far beyond […]Read more

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April Happy Book Birthday

We are excited to announce these new titles to keep the little ones turning pages during the rainy springtime season!Read more

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March Happy Book Birthday

We are excited to share the March new releases from Lerner Publishing Group. These titles emphasize themes of togetherness, the environment, achievement, and storytelling to help young readers understand the world around them and welcome in the spring.Read more

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Books to Resource Your Community in Today’s Current Events

If you are struggling to know how to talk to kids about ICE, you’re not alone. Some of the books below are ones that you don’t want to need, but your community needs them now. Others are stories of the immigrant and refugee experience, because humanizing people is important for helping all children to feel […]Read more

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Starstruck: 2025 in Review

Looking back, Lerner has seen some amazing years publishing exceptional fiction and nonfiction for K–12 readers. But 2025 has been a year unlike any we’ve seen! Our titles earned an extraordinary 57 starred reviews, and our distribution partners earned another 8. Explore the celebrated picture books, middle grade and young adult fiction, graphic novels, and […]Read more

Author Interviews

Lullabies for the Insomniacs: An Interview with Author Ella Grace Foutz

In Lullabies for the Insomniacs: A Memoir in Verse, Ella Grace Foutz weaves an intimate and gripping chronicle of her experience with mental illness. Amidst the turbulence of manic and depressive episodes, often accompanied by insomnia, she relentlessly pursues stability and self-understanding. Balancing poignancy with moments of levity, Foutz invites the reader along for her […]Read more

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