Jen Bryant – författare

From award-winning author Jen Bryant and bestselling illustrator Amy June Bates comes the incredible true story of STEMinist Eunice Foote, the woman who discovered the science behind global warming.From a young age, Eunice Foote’s natural curiosity led her to learn more about how the world worked. What makes milk turn to butter? Why can I see my breath when it’s cold? Why are there different kinds of clouds?By the time she grew up, scientists announced that the Earth was much hotter in the past, and that the warmer temperatures must mean the Earth’s core was the cause. But Eunice thought something else could be at work. Through experiments and tests, Eunice’s curiosity helped her make an important breakthrough: the greenhouse effect.Jen Bryant and Amy June Bates have created a remarkable biography about Eunice Foote, the first person to discover that trapped carbon dioxide warms the Earth’s surface—a process that causes climate change, which impacts the world to this day.

Imagine you are Bruno Richard Hauptmann, accused of murdering the son of the most famous man in America.In a compelling, immediate voice, 12-year-old Katie Leigh Flynn takes us inside the courtroom of the most widely publicized criminal case of the 20th century: the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh’s baby son. And in doing so, she reveals the real-life figures of the trial—the accused, the lawyers, the grieving parents—and the many faces of justice.From the Hardcover edition.

The year is 1925, and the students of Dayton, Tennessee, are ready for a summer of fishing, swimming, some working, and drinking root beer floats at Robinson’s Drugstore. But when their science teacher, J. T. Scopes, is arrested for having taught Darwin’s theory of evolution in class, it seems it won’t be just any ordinary summer in Dayton.As Scopes’ trial proceeds, the small town is faced with astonishing, nationwide publicity: reporters, lawyers, scientists, religious leaders, and tourists. But amidst the circus-like atmosphere is a threatening sense of tension–not only in the courtroom, but among even the strongest of friends. This compelling novel in poems chronicles a controversy with a profound impact on science and culture in America–and one that continues to this day.From the Hardcover edition.

Will Lyza’s 1968 summer mystery lead to . . . pirate treasure?When Lyza helps her dad clean out her late grandfather’s house, a mysterious surprise brightens the sad task. In Gramps’s dusty attic, Lyza discovers three maps, carefully folded and stacked, bound by a single rubber band. On top, an envelope says “For Lyza ONLY.” What could this possibly be? It takes the help of her two best friends, Malcolm and Carolann, to figure out that the maps reveal three possible spots in their own New Jersey town where Captain Kidd (the Captain Kidd, seventeenth-century pirate) may have buried a treasure. Can three thirteen-year-olds actually conduct a secret treasure hunt? And what will they find? In a tale inspired by a true story of buried treasure, Jen Bryant weaves an emotional and suspenseful novel in poems, all set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War during a pivotal year in U.S. history.From the Hardcover edition.

Like her mother, Georgia McCoy is an artist, but her dad looks away whenever he sees her with a sketchbook. Sometimes it’s hard to remember what it was like when her mother was still alive . . . when they were a family . . . when they were happy. But then a few days after her 13th birthday, Georgia receives an unexpected gift–a strange, formal letter, all typed up and signed anonymous–granting her free admission to the Brandywine River Museum for a whole year. And things begin to change.An accessible novel in poems, Pieces of Georgia offers an endearing protagonist–an aspiring artist, a grieving daughter, a struggling student, a genuine friend–and the poignant story of a broken family coming together.From the Hardcover edition.

Carmen Navarro rings up customers at the Quikmart, bored to tears. It’s a job, and she needs it. But Carmen’s true love is music: she dropped out of high school to sing with the Gypsy Lovers and land a recording contract, someday. Just a few miles away, Ryan Sweeney hunches over his books, a studious cadet with his eye on West Point. There’s not a single girl at the Valley Forge Military Academy, and that’s fine by him. But when Ryan, on a day pass from campus, spots Carmen, with her shining black hair and snake tattoo, his pulse quickens. Carmen, who normally rolls her eyes at the stiff Academy soldados, can tell this one is different. She slips him a note: “Come hear my band.” A romance begins, unlikely, passionate . . . and quickly imbalanced. In an enthralling narrative of obsessive love, the novel builds to a stunning close.Inspired by the novella and opera Carmen, Jen Bryant creates a strong-minded and alluring heroine in this contemporary tale of tragic love.From the Hardcover edition.

An inspiring picture-book biography of Louis Braille—a blind boy so determined to read that he invented his own alphabet.**Winner of a Schneider Family Book Award!**   Louis Braille was just five years old when he lost his sight. He was a clever boy, determined to live like everyone else, and what he wanted more than anything was to be able to read.   Even at the school for the blind in Paris, there were no books for him.   And so he invented his own alphabet—a whole new system for writing that could be read by touch. A system so ingenious that it is still used by the blind community today.   Award-winning writer Jen Bryant tells Braille’s inspiring story with a lively and accessible text, filled with the sounds, the smells, and the touch of Louis’s world. Boris Kulikov’s inspired paintings help readers to understand what Louis lost, and what he was determined to gain back through books.   An author’s note and additional resources at the end of the book complement the simple story and offer more information for parents and teachers. Praise for Six Dots: "An inspiring look at a child inventor whose drive and intelligence changed to world—for the blind and sighted alike."—Kirkus Reviews"Even in a crowded field, Bryant’s tightly focused work, cast in the fictionalized voice of Braille himself, is particularly distinguished."—Bulletin, starred review"This picture book biography strikes a perfect balance between the seriousness of Braille’s life and the exuberance he projected out into the world." — School Library Journal, starred review