| Lori Nelson, Author, Hillary's BIG Business Adventure |
Lori Nelson is the President and Founder of Nelson Publishing, LLC, an independent publishing company dedicated to providing juvenile books for children of color. She makes her picture book debut with Hillary’s BIG Business Adventure. While in graduate school, Nelson worked as an elementary substitute teacher in Maryland. It was during this time that she realized her desire to reach African-American youth. Shortly after, she discovered that entertaining and educational literature would be her vehicle for empowering them, and thus hopefully strengthen families. She enjoys portraying young children of color as lead characters experiencing and successfully overcoming conflict and the challenges of being young in today’s not so “kid-friendly” society.
Hillary’s Big Business Adventure is the first in a series to introduce elementary-aged children to basic business and financial concepts. The main character, Hillary, is a precocious young girl from Baltimore, Maryland with a “can-do” attitude and big dreams, even though she’s only in the 5th grade. She’s on a quest to create a business opportunity that will help her earn the money that she needs to purchase a new bicycle. Award-winning cartoonist, Jerry Craft does an amazing job illustrating these animated kidpreneurs.
Hillary’s Big Business Adventure was listed in the April 2008 issue of Books for Growing Minds, and the book’s concept is gaining the attention of school teachers across the United States. Tina Baum, 2nd grade teacher from Owings Mills Elementary School (Owings Mills, MD) says “I liked that values such as teamwork, persistence and hard work were taught [in this book].” Cenetria Blocker, reading specialist for Arrowhead Elementary School (Upper Marlboro, MD) told the Gazette newspaper that “Nelson’s lessons are important because while students learn about money at any early age, they don’t learn as much about saving.” Nelson’s national book tour has had great success. Columbia, SC, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Columbus, Ohio, Miami, Hamden, CT, Washington, DC, and Baltimore (Nelson’s hometown) are all a part of the tour.
Nelson has appeared on ABC's Action News 6 (Philadelphia), WBAI 99.5 FM's The Wakeup Call Morning Show (New York City), and has been featured in the Gazette newspaper (Maryland). She received her B.B.A. from Howard University, and her M.S. from the University of Maryland University College. She is a member of The Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) and The Independent Book Publishers Association. She is originally from Baltimore, Maryland, but currently resides in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area.
For more information on Nelson Publishing books visit www.nelson-publishing.com .
