Lesa Cline-Ransome – Author Study

Three Things You Can Learn from this Nonfiction Expert

Today we continue our 2020 Author Study series! Our first 2020 Author Study put the spotlight on author-illustrator Sophie Blackall. You can still read that post here. Written by Keila V. Dawson, our author studies focus on a few elements from our Superstar Speakers and what you can learn from their work before the big online conference on October 3, 2020. Here are three things you can learn from Lesa Cline-Ransome.

Learn from the Cook

As a child, Lesa Cline-Ransome loved to read and write. However, she did not enjoy reading about history in school because the subject was not presented in an interesting way. She did enjoy uncovering stories and wanted to become an investigative journalist. But along the way, she changed her mind and became a teacher and a copywriter in advertising. One day, her illustrator husband James Cline-Ransome encouraged her to write stories for kids. And today, they are an award-winning creative team.

Picture books by Lesa feature people and their experiences in specific historical moments in time. Many of her books introduce kids to figures left out of history books. All of her stories help kids understand our nation’s past. And her books inspire children to imagine a better future.

When choosing subjects to write about, Lesa Cline-Ransome researches widely and allows the research to inform how to tell a particular story. And she believes “By reading stories about historical figures we discover history from a variety of perspectives and that changes the way we see the world.”

Learn from the Book

OVERGROUND RAILROAD

by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by James E. Ransome ‧ Release Date: January 7, 2020.

Lesa Cline-Ransome uses lyrical language to bring the reader up close to the characters. History comes alive through her storytelling. And the cadence of her phrasing makes reading the story aloud engaging.

“No more picking,”

Daddy said mad.

“No more working someone else’s land,”

Mama said proud.

“We’re gonna make our own way up North.”

 they both said.

Out the window

I watched

Blue Ridge Mountains

And fields with folks

Already hunched and picking

Row after row

of cotton, tobacco, and peanuts

every day

except the Lord’s day

just like my granddaddy

but not anymore for my daddy.

The Great Migration is a topic that may be unfamiliar to many children because too often African American history is limited or may not be a part of a school’s curriculum. This book, and others by Cline-Ransome, will help fill that gap.

Learn from the Hook

What is the OVERGROUND RAILROARD about?

This is the summary from the publisher: A girl name Ruth Ellen tells the story of her family’s train journey from North Carolina to New York City as part of the Great Migration.

However, that summary tells us what happens in the story, it’s not what the book is really about.

The hook is what the story is really about.

This is the book’s hook: A girl named Ruth and her parents flee harsh conditions leaving behind family and the only home they know for a chance at a better life.

The hook is the heart of the story that connects readers to our common humanity. It’s what makes kids care.

And other books by Lesa Cline-Ransome are wonderful examples of how to connect readers to a moment in time and to the people who made history.

Learn More

Find out how Lesa develops the rich voice of her picture book subjects at Picture Book Summit Special Edition: Finding Your Voice. Lesa is presenting Speak Their Truth: Conveying the Voice of Picture Book Biography Subjects.

When writing picture book biographies, how do you balance the authentic voice of your subject with your authorial voice? How much artistic license is acceptable when writing about a person from the past, and how can sources help capture the voice? Renowned picture book author Lesa Cline-Ransome will answer these questions and more. Lesa has received NAACP Awards, Kirkus Best Books and Coretta Scott King awards for her books including FINDING LANGSTON, BEFORE SHE WAS HARRIET, GAME CHANGERS: THE STORY OF VENUS AND SERENA, OVERGROUND RAILROAD, and THE POWER OF HER PEN: THE STORY OF GROUNDBREAKING JOURNALIST ETHEL L. PAYNE.

Lesa will be speaking alongside Superstar Speakers Sophie Blackall and Peter H. Reynolds. Join us for the LIVE online conference October 3, 2020.

Click this button to see the full program and get registered today!

Don’t delay. Register today!

We can’t wait to see you there!

Keila V. Dawson is a former community organizer, educational consultant, and advocate for children with special needs. A New Orleans native, she has also lived and worked in several states across the U.S., in the Philippines, Japan, and Egypt. Keila is a co-editor of No Voice Too Small (Charlesbridge, September 22, 2020), author of The King Cake Baby (Pelican Pub, January 23, 2015), and the forthcoming Opening the Road: Victor Hugo Green and His Green Book, (Beaming Books, January 19, 2021).

She is represented by Dawn Frederick, Red Sofa Literary