Penguin Young Readers to Publish New Children’s Picture Book by Amanda Gorman, #1 Bestselling Author, Poet & Activist
Amanda Gorman (l) photo credit Danny Williams; (r) Loveis Wise.
On Thursday, August 22, 2024, Time Magazine exclusively announced that Viking Children’s Books will publish GIRLS ON THE RISE, a children’s picture book by Amanda Gorman. The exciting news followed Gorman’s appearance at the Democratic National Convention.
GIRLS ON THE RISE, slated for publication on January 7, 2025, is an adapted version of Gorman’s 2021 poem: “We Rise.” With illustrations by Loveis Wise, this electrifying original poem celebrates the strength of girls in their many forms – all beautiful, not for how they look but for how they look into the face of fear and reminds us how girls have shaped our history while marching boldly into the future. The book will release on January 7, 2025, four years after Gorman delivered her legendary poem, “The Hill We Climb” and captivated the nation at Joseph Biden’s presidential inauguration.
Amanda Gorman speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 21, 2024. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds—AFP/Getty Images
Gorman, a #1 New York Times bestselling author, poet and activist, said in her interview with Time Magazine, “I’m so excited about this book because it really leans into a poem that I wrote a few years ago when I was a bit of a younger woman, and I was thinking about the importance of elevating female voices and listening to them, but also in a way that’s gender inclusive, because there’s so many ways to be and identify as a woman. So when I was thinking about my next children’s book, I really was like, in none of my children’s books has my femininity shown up in a vibrant way. Loveis Wise contributes so much in terms of the art and having this really expansive, visual definition of womanhood. I didn’t realize Kamala was going to be running when I wrote that book, but I couldn’t have chosen a more perfect time to indulge in the fantasy of having it out in the world.”
Tamar Brazis, Vice President and Publisher, Viking Children’s Books, said, “Dynamic and fierce, GIRLS ON THE RISE is a rousing rallying cry that will inspire girls of every age to uplift one another and proudly be themselves.”
Amanda Gorman is the youngest presidential inaugural poet in US history. She is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of THE HILL WE CLIMB, CALL US WHAT WE CARRY, and the children’s picture books CHANGE SINGS and SOMETHING, SOMEDAY. She has been nominated for a Grammy Award and was honored with the Chairman’s Award at the 55th NAACP Image Awards. In a groundbreaking collaboration with the Estée Lauder Companies as a Global Changemaker, she established the “Writing Change” initiative to support grassroots organizations dedicated to advancing literacy as a pathway to social change. She graduated cum laude from Harvard University and now lives in her hometown of Los
Angeles.
Loveis Wise is an artist, designer, creative director, and illustrator who wears many hats. They have collaborated with several companies like Google, Disney, and Adobe, and brands like Coach, Dr. Martens, L’Oréal, and Target. Their work has also been featured in publications like The New Yorker, TIME, and The New York Times. They’ve illustrated several picture books that have garnered critical acclaim, including MAGNOLIA FLOWER by Zora Neale Hurston and Ibram X. Kendi, ABLAZE WITH COLOR: A STORY OF PAINTER ALMA THOMAS by Jeanne Walker Harvey, and THE PEOPLE REMEMBER: A KWANZAA HOLIDAY BOOK FOR KIDS by Ibi Zoboi, which won the Coretta Scott King Honor Award. They currently live in Los Angeles.