New Releases by Laurie Lawlor

“The Nation’s First Superhighway” existed before the spread of cars… or even railroads! This immersive photo book ferries readers through the past and present of the Erie Canal, from impossible idea to groundbreaking reality. In the twenty-first century, it’s hard to imagine a canal as cutting-edge technology. Yet even to the most scientifically-minded, the Erie Canal once seemed an unachievable dream. Thomas Jefferson himself called it “nothing short of madness;” one critic felt sure it was impossible as “building a canal to the moon.” Yet with eight years and nearly $185 million dollars in today’s currency, the Erie Canal opened in 1825 to celebratory cannon fire: an innovating—and enduring—marvel of engineering. But as the Canal shaped the flow of American history, the sociopolitical impact reached much further than its shores. A largely untold tale of creativity and cowardice, sacrifice and greed, heroism and prejudice, the Erie Canal’s story is as complex and compelling as that of America itself. Award-winning nonfiction author Laurie Lawlor captures the landmark achievements of the Erie Canal while diving deep into corporate greed, environmental devastation, poor working conditions, and its impact on the Haudenosaunee people. Pairing rich back matter (including maps, source notes, an index, bibliography, glossary, and timeline) with attention grabbing photographs, accomplished STEAM storyteller Laurie Lawlor connects the Erie Canal’s past and present to plumb the depths of unexplored American history.

Strings quivered. Notes shimmered. Meet best friends acclaimed composer Ludwig van Beethoven and bold female entrepreneur Nannette Streicher in this lively and lyrical nonfiction picture book. In a tall, narrow building on a wide avenue pianos plinked and plunked day and night. Everyone in quiet Augsburg knew the Stein home. What music! In 1787, aspiring yet unknown composer Ludwig van Beethoven arrives at young Nannette Stein’s home. What follows is a decades-long friendship that persists whether life hits a low or high note. Acclaimed nonfiction writer Laurie Lawlor deftly depicts how these two fascinating friends—a composer with hearing loss and a woman who became an innovative piano maker in a time that discouraged female entrepreneurship—fought the odds and worked together in perfect harmony. The author of picture book biography Fearless World Traveler, Lawlor masterfully uses forgotten historical letters, a glossary, and rich back matter on both friends’ lives and art to introduce readers to the man behind the music, from his loud laughter to his crushing handshake. Complete with Fearless World Traveler collaborator Becca Stadtlander’s intricate mixed-media artwork, What Music deftly dives into musical history–and herstory–in an intimate yet expansive picture book biography that hits just the right note.

A small town with few resources comes together to restore nature and create a valuable resource for the entire community in this inspiring middle grade nonfiction book. Restoring Prairie, Woods, and Pond is about activism at the community level—and tells how a small village transformed a city-owned dumping ground into a nature trail with three distinct ecosystems that runs from an elementary school to a public library and community center. Filled with beautiful photos the book will explain how this trail became a valuable outdoor classroom during covid, a STEM teaching center, a respite for people young and old, and a place for community engagement.Books for a Better Earth are designed to inspire children to become active, knowledgeable participants in caring for the planet they live on. A Bank Street Best Children''s Book of the Year A Green Earth Book Award Recommended Title

Scientist. Artist. Rule-breaker. The vibrant and daring life of Marianne North by the award-winning author of Super Women and Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World. In 1882, Marianne North showed the gray city of London paintings of jaw-dropping greenery like they''d never seen before. As a self-taught artist and scientist, Marianne North subverted Victorian gender roles and advanced the field of botanical illustration. Her technique of painting specimens in their natural environment was groundbreaking. The legendary Charles Darwin was among her many supporters. Laurie Lawlor deftly chronicles North''s life, from her restrictive childhood to her wild world travels to the opening of the Marianne North Gallery at Kew Gardens to her death in 1890. The North gallery at Kew Gardens remains open to the public today. Becca Stadtlander''s award-winning lush, verdant artwork pairs wonderfully with the natural themes. A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection A Mighty Girl Best Book of the Year An NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students

A biography of the pioneering scientist and environmentalist, Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring. "Once you are aware of the wonder and beauty of earth, you will want to learn about it," wrote Rachel Carson. Determined and curious even as a child, Rachel Carson''s fascination with the natural world led her to study biology, and pursue a career in science at a time when very few women worked in the field. This lyrical, illustrated biography follows Carson''s journey—from a girl exploring the woods, to a woman working to help support her family during the Great Depression, to a journalist and pioneering researcher, investigating and exposing the harmful effects of pesticide overuse. Best known for writing Silent Spring, Rachel Carson was a major figure in the early environmental movement, and her work brought a greater understanding of the impact humans have on our planet. Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World offers a glimpse at the early life that shaped her interest in nature, and the way one person''s determination can inspire others to fight for real change. An author''s note delves into how Silent Spring helped shape the modern environmental movement and inspired a generation of readers to get involved in conservation. Detailed source notes and a list of recommended reading are included. A National Sciencce Teachers Association Outstanding Science Trade Book A Bank Street Best Children''s Book of the Year

German jurist and legal theorist Carl Schmitt (1888-1985) significantly influenced Western political and legal thinking in the last century, yet his life and work have also stirred considerable controversy. While his ideas have been used and diffused by prominent philosophers on both the left and the right, such as Jurgen Habermas and Leo Strauss, his Nazi-era past, especially his active efforts to remove Jewish influence from German law, has cast a cloud over his life and oeuvre. Still, his many supporters have generally been successful in claiming that Schmitt''s was an "antisemitism of opportunity," a temporary affectation to gain favor with the Nazis. In Carl Schmitt and the Jews, available in English for the first time, historian Raphael Gross vigorously repudiates this "opportunism thesis." Through a reading of Schmitt''s corpus, some of which became available only after his death, Gross highlights the importance of the "Jewish Question" on the breadth of Schmitt''s work. According to Gross, Schmitt''s antisemitism was at the core of his work--before, during, and after the Nazi era. His influential polarities of "friend and foe," "law and nomos," "behemoth and Leviathan," and "ketechon and Antichrist" emerge from a conceptual template in which "the Jew" is defined as adversary, undermining the Christian order with secularization. The presence of this template at the heart of Schmitt''s work, Gross contends, calls for a major reassessment of Schmitt''s role within contemporary cultural and legal theory.

Emmet, a fifteen-year-old orphan, learns hard lessons about survival when he sails from England in 1577 as a servant aboard the Golden Hind--the ship of his cousin, the explorer and pirate Francis Drake--on its three-year circumnavigation of the world.

With the Civil War ended and Reconstruction begun, fifteen-year-old Billy resolves to make the dangerous and challenging journey West in search of real fortune--his true father.

After falling in love, eighteen-year-old Will Shakespeare, a bored apprentice in his father''s glove business and often in trouble for various misdeeds, vows to live an upstanding life and pursue his passion for writing.

Sixty of Edward Curtis'' photographs are included in this story of his life and the Native American cultures he studied early in the twentieth century, creating what is still the most extensive and informative collection of its kind.

In 1863, fifteen-year-old Private Allen of South Carolina, captured at the Battle of Gettysburg, decides to switch his allegiance to the Union and is sent to fight "savages" in Dakota Territory, where he confronts his prejudices and learns what heroism re

Dora and her three sisters are fascinated by the World''s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893.

As the winter of 1704 approaches, New Englanders are reeling from news of war with the French and Indians. A mysterious letter arrives for Madame Sarah Kemble Knight, instructing her to bring the identical twin servants, 12-year-old Hester and Philena, from Boston to New Haven, Connecticut. Neither girl imagines that the real reason for the trip will change their lives forever.

The Hitchcocks seek gold but face poverty and their own prejudices.

Eleven-year-old Su-Na experiences a harsh lesson in racism when she and her family arrive in California seeking prosperity. As she struggles to retain her Korean heritage, she also tries to embrace American culture.

Jamestown''s American Portraits, an American saga of families and friends, traces the fascinating history of America through many generations and cultures and through the eyes of adolescent girls and boys. Jamestown''s American Portraits is a unique, enriching reading program designed to teach reading skills and strategies while exploring exciting historical novels.

Abigail Garrett and her older sister, Hannah, leave their home in England to board a ship bound for the New World and freedom from religious persecution. By the time they reach their destination, the two girls have weathered a difficult journey and become friends.

Recounts the life and achievements of Helen Keller who overcame the handicaps of being deaf and blind.

An amateur horror show scares no one except its creators until a frightful actor appears on the scene.

Two sisters journey from their home in Sweden and board the new steamship Titanic to rejoin their father in America.

Sixteen-year-old Rosita Trevino and her stepsister, Maria Alvarez flee the hardship they face in Guerrero on board a steamboat traveling the Rio Bravo.

In 1775, while traveling with her family from Virginia to Kentucky, and joined by another family along the way, eleven-year-old Elizabeth reads Gulliver''s Travels to the children and keeps a journal of their adventures, which include a runaway slave, encounters with Cherokees, and a near-fatal accident.

Dashing and brave, tall and free Harriet "Duck" Scott was looking for adventure as the Scott family left Illinois for the faraway Oregon Territory. Then Mother died and Father became lost in a world of his own. It was up to Duck and her five sisters, three brothers, and nine hired hands to keep their wagon train together. But nothing could have prepared the Scott family for the dangers they would meet as they crossed the desert, the plains, and the mountains, and felt the heat, the hunger, and the thirst that wouldn''t go away. Now Duck and her sisters have to find water and save their family, no matter what the risks!qw

From the award-winning author of the "Heartland" series comes this story of a plucky girl in the 1870''s Rockies. Lawlor fills the void in the enormous market for new middle-grade historical fiction.

While her father is looking for a homestead in the Dakotas, Addie and her mother and brothers spend the summer with her aunt and uncle in Sabula, Iowa, where she rescues her best friend during a flood and where her baby sister is born.

Madeline "Moe" McDonohugh finally finds adventure when her father buys a Ford Model T.

"Moe" McDonohugh is a girl who wants to fly in her own plane and she has a lot of adventures trying to get the money to buy one.

Addie''s twelve-year-old brother, George, doesn''t think anyone appreciates his musical talent, and when his father threatens to sell his trombone, George decides to run away from the family''s prairie home.

Complemented by photographs from historical collections, exhibits, and fashion collections, a shoe-lovers guide to the history of shoes demonstrates how shoes reflect the lives of their wearers throughout different eras.

The third title in a fun, historical series finds Addie, whom The Horn Book calls "a strong, likable heroine", waiting for a visit from her two cousins. But since the proper older girls are more concerned about not getting dirty than having fun, it looks like it''s going to be a long, boring summer.