New Releases by Laurie Lawlor

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

Break through the glass ceiling with six incredible women whose scientific research changed the world. Katherine Coleman Johnson. Eugenie Clark. Marie Tharp. Gertrude Elion. Florence Hawley Ellis. Eleanor Margaret Burbidge. Acclaimed author Laurie Lawlor deftly paints portraits of each of these figures who refused to take no for an answer, pursuing their passions through fieldwork, observations, laboratories, and research vessels in the face of sexism, racism, and more. This diverse group of women, all with awe-inspiring accomplishments, were active mentors and determined people who wouldn’t take no for an answer. The beautifully written book includes key photographs, a glossary, and source notes. A 2018 NSTA-CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students K-12!

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 John Burroughs Riverby Award Green Earth Book Award Honor Book

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 the deaths of her father and father-in-law, Laurie Lawlor discovers an unlikely place for healing and transformation in a wetland in southeastern Wisconsin—a landscape of abundant and sometimes inaccessible beauty that has often been ignored, misunderstood, and threatened by human destruction. In her decade-long personal wetland journey, she examines the sky, delves underwater, and peers between sedges in all seasons and all times of day. This Tender Place is a celebration of nature, the elements, and humanity. From the wetland’s genesis during the ice age to its survival in the twenty-first century, Lawlor chronicles the universal ties among people, wild places, and healthy wetlands. An engaging and deeply intimate record, This Tender Place is at its heart a story of refuge and renewal refracted through the lens of life within the wetlands—one of the most productive, yet most endangered, ecosystems in the world.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

This version of the classic story of four sisters in nineteenth-century New England is based on the Columbia Pictures movie.

Unhappy to leave her home and friends, Addie reluctantly accompanies her family to the Dakota Territory and slowly begins to adjust to life on the prairie.