Author Wendy Mass talks about her newest book, The Candymakers.

https://www.kidlit.tv/PastPresentGAMECHANGERS Past Present hosted by author Lesa Cline-Ransome is where to discover new ways to appreciate children's literature by exploring the many diverse stories from the past. ABOUT THE BOOK GAME CHANGERS: THE STORY OF VENUS AND SERENA WILLIAMS by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by James Ransome Venus and Serena Williams. Two peas in a pod. Best friends. Sisters. Six days a week they awoke before the sun came up to practice their serves and returns, to learn to run faster and hit harder. They were unstoppable. At age fourteen, Venus played her first professional match. Three years later, it was Serena’s turn. It wasn’t easy. Some tennis fans cheered for these two fresh faces, while those who were unhappy to see two black girls competing in a nearly all-white sport booed and taunted them. But they didn’t let it stop them. With vibrant mixed media art, nonfiction superstars Lesa Cline-Ransome and Coretta Scott King Honor winner James E. Ransome share the inspirational story of two tennis legends who were fierce competitors on the courts, but close sisters above all. ABOUT Lesa Cline-Ransome Lesa Cline-Ransome is the writer of many picture books. Her picture book biography titles include Satchel Paige, Major Taylor, Champion Cyclist, Young Pele, Soccer’s First Star, Helen Keller, The World in Her Heart, Before There was Mozart and Words Set me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass. Other titles are Quilt Alphabet, Quilt Counting and her newest is Light in the Darkness, A Story about How Slaves Learned in Secret. Originally from Malden, Massachusetts, Lesa has worked as a proofreader, fashion copywriter, publicist, teacher in the New York City Schools, and taught writing for adults. She has a B.F.A. in Merchandising and Management from Pratt Institute and an M.A. in Education from N.Y.U. She lives in Rhinebeck, New York and with her husband and frequent collaborator, illustrator James Ransome, four children and St. Bernard, Nola. CONNECT WITH KidLit TV Facebook Page - https://facebook.com/kidlittv Facebook Group - https://facebook.com/groups/kidlittv Instagram - http://instagram.com/kidlittv Newsletter - https://kidlit.tv/newsletter Pinterest - https://pinterest.com/kidlittv Twitter - https://twitter.com/kidlittv_nyc YouTube - https://kidlit.tv/YouTubeSubscribe Executive Producer - Julie Gribble - https://twitter.com/juliegribblenyc

https://kidlit.tv Lesa Cline-Ransome is back with her third book in the Finding Langston TRILOGY: BEING CLEM! Learn about the history, characters, and key historical events featured in the these amazing stories! The final novel in the award-winning Finding Langston trilogy from Coretta Scott King Author Honoree and Scott O’Dell Award medalist Lesa Cline-Ransome. Clem can make anybody, even his grumpy older sisters, smile with his jokes. But when his family receives news that his father has died in the infamous Port Chicago disaster, everything begins to fall apart. Clem’s mother is forced to work long, tough hours as a maid for a wealthy white family. Soon Clem can barely recognize his home–and himself. Can he live up to his father’s legacy? In her award-winning trilogy, Lesa Cline-Ransome masterfully recreates mid-twentieth century America through the eyes of three boys: Langston, Lymon, and, now, Clem. Exploring the impact of the Great Migration, the Harlem Renaissance, Jim Crow laws, and much more, Lesa’s work manages at once to be both an intimate portrait of each boy and his family as well as a landscape of American history. ★★★THE REVIEWS ARE IN!★★★ A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection! Praise for Finding Langston, a Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book and winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction “There aren’t any explosions in this spare story. Nor is there a happy ending. Instead, Langston discovers something more enduring: solace.”–The New York Times * “This crisply paced book is full of historical details of the Great Migration and the role a historic branch library played in preserving African American literary culture.”–The Horn Book, Starred Review * “This is a story that will stay with readers long after they’ve finished it.”–School Library Journal, Starred Review Read Lesa’s TRILOGY! Finding Langston, Leaving Lymon, Being Clem ABOUT Lesa Cline-Ransome Lesa Cline-Ransome is the writer of many picture books. Her picture book biography titles include Satchel Paige, Major Taylor, Champion Cyclist, Young Pele, Soccer’s First Star, Helen Keller, The World in Her Heart, Before There was Mozart and Words Set me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass. Other titles are Quilt Alphabet, Quilt Counting and her newest is Light in the Darkness, A Story about How Slaves Learned in Secret. Originally from Malden, Massachusetts, Lesa has worked as a proofreader, fashion copywriter, publicist, teacher in the New York City Schools, and taught writing for adults. She has a B.F.A. in Merchandising and Management from Pratt Institute and an M.A. in Education from N.Y.U. She lives in Rhinebeck, New York and with her husband and frequent collaborator, illustrator James Ransome, four children and St. Bernard, Nola. Sponsored by HOLIDAY HOUSE CONNECT WITH KidLit TV Facebook Page - https://facebook.com/kidlittv Facebook Group - https://facebook.com/groups/kidlittv Instagram - http://instagram.com/kidlittv Newsletter - https://kidlit.tv/newsletter Pinterest - https://pinterest.com/kidlittv Twitter - https://twitter.com/kidlittv_nyc YouTube - https://kidlit.tv/YouTubeSubscribe Executive Producer - Julie Gribble - https://twitter.com/juliegribblenyc

13 children's authors share their middle-grade books and what they're about.