Book Giveaway: CODE BREAKER, SPY HUNTER: HOW ELIZABETH FRIEDMAN CHANGED THE COURSE OF TWO WORLD WARS.

Laurie Wallmark has a new non-fiction picture book, CODE BREAKER, SPY HUNTER: HOW ELIZABETH FRIEDMAN CHANGED THE COURSE OF TWO WORLD WARS, illustrated by Brooke Smart and published by Abrams Kids on March 2nd. Laurie has agreed to send a copy with one lucky winner.

All you have to do to get in the running is leave a comment. Reblog, tweet, or talk about it on Facebook with a link and you will get additional chances to win. Just let me know other things you do to share the good news, so I can put the right amount of tickets in my basket for you.

Sharing on Facebook, Twitter or reblogging really helps spread the word for a new book. So, thanks for helping Laurie and Brooke.

If you have signed up to follow my blog and it is delivered to you everyday, please let me know when you leave a comment and I will give you an extra ticket. Thanks!

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Decode the story of Elizebeth Friedman, the cryptologist who took down gangsters and Nazi spies

In this picture book biography, young readers will learn all about Elizebeth Friedman (1892 – 1980), a brilliant American code breaker who smashed Nazi spy rings, took down gangsters, and created the CIA’s first cryptology unit. Her story came to light when her secret papers were finally declassified in 2015. From thwarting notorious rumrunners with only paper and pencil to counter-spying into the minds and activities of Nazis, Elizebeth held a pivotal role in the early days of US cryptology. No code was too challenging for her to crack, and Elizebeth’s work undoubtedly saved thousands of lives. Extensive back matter includes explanations of codes and ciphers, further information on cryptology, a bibliography, a timeline of Elizebeth’s life, plus secret messages for young readers to decode.

BOOK JOURNEY:

As many of you know, I write picture book biographies about (dead) #WomenInSTEM. Like is the case for many of the unsung woman scientists and mathematicians, I had never heard Elizebeth Smith Friedman’s story. That is until I read the book, The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America’s Enemies, by Jason Fagone. After reading it, I knew I had to learn more about this amazing woman. In addition to reading other books, I was able to access her archived papers at the Marshall Foundation in Lexington VA. One of their librarians, Melissa Davis, was able to help me with my research. (Thank you librarians everywhere!)

Of course, writing (and revising!) the book isn’t the end of the process. You have to find an editor and publisher who’d like to publish your book. I was lucky in that even though my amazing editor, Meredith Mundy had switched publishing houses, I was able to follow her to Abrams Kids. But, they had too many picture book biographies in their pipeline, so I had to wait a few years before it was published. I hope everyone thinks it was worth the wait.

LAURI’S BIO:

My latest #WomenInSTEM picture book biography, CODE BREAKER, SPY HUNTER: HOW ELIZABETH FRIEDMAN CHANGED THE COURSE OF TWO WORLD WARS (Abrams, 2021) is available for pre-order now. came out in March 2020. My previous titles were NUMBERS IN MOTION: SOPHIE KOWALEVSKI, QUEEN OF MATHEMATICIAN (Creston Books), HEDY LAMARR’S DOUBLE LIFE (Sterling Children’s Books, 2019), GRACE HOPPER: QUEEN OF COMPUTER CODE (Sterling Children’s Books, 2017), and ADA BYRON LOVELACE AND THE THINKING MACHINE (Creston Books, 2015).

My books have earned multiple starred trade reviews, been chosen as Junior Library Guild Selections, and received awards such as Outstanding Science Trade Book, Cook Prize Honor, AAAS/Subaru Prize Longlist, and Parents’ Choice Gold Medal.

I speak at many educator conferences such as NCTE, NSTA, TLA, ISTE, NJASL and was a keynote speaker for a NJ SCBWI annual conference. I enjoy doing school visits and sharing my love of reading and STEM with children.

I have an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and am co-chair of the Rutgers University Council on Children’s Literature. I live in Ringoes NJ with my husband. My two grown daughters (software engineers!) live in the Boston area.

I am represented by Liza Fleissig and Ginger Harris-Dontzin of the Liza Royce Agency. You can find me online at www.lauriewallmark.com and @lauriewallmark.

BROOK SMART’S BIO:

Hi! My name is Brooke.

I started my artistic career as a fine artist, painting the beautiful people around me, but my style and life has changed so much since then.

I’m an illustrator, and I love being an illustrator. I love telling stories from my head, or stories from other people’s heads, or stories from history. I’ve always loved to read and my books are some of my greatest treasures. The opportunity has come to begin illustrating my own books and I couldn’t be happier. I love working with traditional media, especially with watercolor, gouache, and on occasion, acrylic paint. My work appears in children’s magazines, children’s books, but also on cards and other learning materials.

I am divorced, but recently remarried. I’m so lucky to have my husband. He is kind, selfless, and shares my love for creating. He’s a part of much of my work and I’m grateful for his support. We have three children between the two of us and are living the sleepless, happy, busy, busy dream right now. I’ve truly stumbled into heaven with this new family of ours.

Some of my clients include Random House Kids, Penguin Workshop, Viking, Greystone Kids, Little Tiger UK, Little Brown UK, Peachtree Publishing, The New York Times, Bravery Magazine, Illustoria Magazine, Gathre, Wildbird, and Better Days 2020.

For inquiries regarding book illustration, please contact Teresa Kietlinski at Bookmark Literary at teresa@bookmarkliterary.com. For all other inquiries, or commissions, please contact Brooke at brooke@brooke-smart.com.

Laurie thank you for sharing your book and journey with us. You always come up with such interesting strong, smart women in history. I am sure kids will love reading about breaking secret codes and read about how her work helped smashed Nazi spy rings. I know I want to read it. Brooke did a great job with the illustrations. They really helped you tell the story. Good luck with the book!

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy