By Lerner Editorial

Life is pretty amazing when you look at it with childlike wonder. We harnessed that wonder in creating the Step by Step and Food Field Trips series, both of which focus on the amazing ways that everyday things are made, produced, or grown.

Step by Step traces everything from the footballs kids toss around their backyards to the syrup they might find on their breakfast tables from their beginnings as pieces of leather or tiny maple seeds to their final states as products that make life sweeter and more fun. Vibrant photos and sequencing words such as “next,” “then,” and “finally” educate kids on the processes, patience, and hard work that go into making or growing each item in the series. Our personal favorite title is The Story of a Tulip: It Starts with a Bulb (coming in Fall 2021). Looking at that book’s bright, spring-y pics got us through many a cold winter days of editing here in Minnesota.

Food Field Trips looks at some of our editors’ favorite foods (can you say chocolate, anyone?) and how they come into being, following farmers and workers as they produce and distribute delicious treats like farm-fresh eggs, crunchy carrots, and gooey peanut butter. There are fun activities in each book so kids can try their own hand at making something. Certain editors may or may not have been drooling over that chocolate-covered pretzel rod recipe at the end of Let’s Explore Chocolate!

There’s so much for kids to explore in this world, and these books make it possible for kids to explore from their very own libraries or living rooms. Crack open Step by Step and Food Field Trips and get ready to take a virtual adventure.