RitaLorraine

Hello Everyone! I am a former special education teacher, and am currently a full-time children's writer, book blogger and freelance editor. My newest picture book, The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read (Random House) debuted as the No. 1 Picture Book in Women's Biographies and Children's American History. It has received STARRED REVIEWS from Kirkus, Booklist, Publisher's Weekly and School Library Journal, and received a great review by The Wall Street Journal. My first picture book, Hammering for Freedom: The William Lewis Story (Lee and Low) debuted on September 24, 2018. It is a School Library Journal selection and received positive Kirkus and Horn Book reviews. I penned African Americans of Chattanooga: A History of Unsung Heroes, which earned the 2014 Eastern Tennessee Historical Preservation Award, and I earned the 2014 SCBWI Letter of Merit for an unpublished multicultural novel. I am the author of several educational books for teens, and I occasionally review books for The New York Journal of Books. Thanks for visiting!