Lerner Publishing
All Lerner Content Included LightSail Premium
One of the nation's largest independently owned children's publishers with more than 5,000 books in print, including popular books from Sesame Street and more.
The Lerner Difference
Our focus on diversity and inclusiveness flows from the topics we publish all the way to the illustration and photography choices we make for each of our titles. We believe all children deserve to see themselves in a book.
More Digital Formats
Our ebooks and digital products provide innovative, engaging reading experiences that build confidence and proficiency—making reading and learning fun, not frustrating. We publish standard ebooks and audiobooks as well as Audisee ebooks with Audio® and Lerner Interactive™ Books for deeper engagement. We also have many books with augmented reality features for a truly immersive experience.
Recognized by Librarians
As a publisher focused on the needs of schools and libraries, we know how to publish books that kids check out again and again. From “Do You Know...” books to graphic novels, we have something for every reader on our shelves.
More Stars & Awards
Lerner titles have been recognized with more stars and awards than any other school library publisher, with honors including the Coretta Scott King Award, Robert F. Sibert Medals, National Book Award honors, and many more. Our books are highly reviewed and rated by literacy experts in publishing trade journals.
Explore all Lerner collections
Get inspiration for your homeschool with curated collections of books from Lerner Publishing.
Augmented Reality
Some of Lerner’s books include augmented reality content, accessible through the free Lerner AR app on Google Play or the App Store. Companion books Creepy Crawlers in Action, Folding Tech, Space in Action, and The Gross Human Body in Action let readers explore space, bugs, and the human body through interactive augmented reality experiences! Watch a black hole eat a star, see the moon's orbit, look around on Mars as if you're actually there. Learn how boogers work, see inside an artery, and find out how what you eat affects your poop. Watch creepy crawlers lay eggs, hunt prey, and perform a mating dance. Each book contains multiple AR experiences to bring learning to life. It's like a pop-up book for your digital device! See it in action here: https://lernerbooks.com/pages/augmentedreality/
Large Library of Audiobooks
Audiobooks provide a unique and valuable reading experience for all types of learners. They can improve vocabulary, as professional narration guides them through tricky pronunciations. They bypass anxiety around decoding written words and go straight to building background knowledge, connections between concepts, and overall comprehension. Many of our titles are available as audiobooks or Audisee® eBooks with Audio for a great listening experience.
Sports Books
Lerner Sports books bring excitement from the field into readers’ hands. From player biographies to books about the biggest championship games and the greatest teams of all time, Lerner Sports books have something for all fans. The Lerner Sports Database keeps aficionados up to speed with profiles of their favorite players updated regularly.
Crayola
Unlock a world of color with Crayola books from Lerner. Vibrant photography and engaging text explore seasons, science, culture, holidays, and more through the lens of color. Hands-on activities and inviting text encourage readers to find inspiration in the colorful world around them.
Enhanced Books
Audisee® eBooks with Audio combine professional narration and text highlighting to engage reluctant readers and auditory learners. Students in grades K-12 are drawn to the wide variety of titles—from curriculum-oriented nonfiction to page-turning chapter books to award-winning young-adult fiction. Lerner Interactive Books are designed to improve literacy skills for emergent and struggling readers, auditory learners, and ELL/ESL and special needs students. The audio tracks are recorded by professional voice actors, not computerized. The read-aloud operation features three reading speeds—below grade level, at grade level, and fluent—to support individual learners. A comprehension quiz, teaching guide, and fun extras round out these robust multi-media experiences.
Picture Books
Carolrhoda Books picture books and middle-grade titles spark children’s imaginations and stand out not only for their quality, but also for the breadth of genres encompassed, from coming-of-age stories to exceptional nonfiction to mysteries. Carolrhoda authors and illustrators have been honored with awards such as the Coretta Scott King Book Award, the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal, and the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award. Millbrook Press publishes informational picture books and photo-driven titles for grades K–5. Our authors and illustrators approach curricular topics with fresh perspectives, unusual points of view, and a good dose of humor. Our fact-filled books draw readers in with engaging writing, high-quality photographs, and a wide variety of illustration styles. We believe nonfiction should be distinctive and memorable, both inside and out.
Graphic Novels
Graphic novels are a great storytelling form for creators and readers alike. Combining text, dialogue, and imagery to tell stories can capture the interest of beginning or reluctant readers, and are great enjoyment for fluent readers as well. Graphic Universe™ publishes fiction and nonfiction graphic novels for beginning readers, middle-grade readers, and young adults. Our authors and artists include industry veterans and up-and-coming talents from the United States and abroad.
Makerspace Activity Books
Let’s get making! From how-to-draw books from Crayola® to craft and project books using common household items, we get kids busy in the garden, at the kitchen table, or on the keyboard – they’ll have so much fun they won’t even know they’re learning!
Biographies
From historical heroes to modern-day pop-culture icons, kids love to read about famous and not-so-famous figures. Lerner publishes picture book bios all the way up to in-depth life stories for teens. STEM trailblazers, athletes, politicians, everyday heroes and more are available.
Beginning Readers
Charming illustrations and engaging storytelling deliver fiction and nonfiction content in these fun narratives. Comprehension questions encourage readers to actively engage with the content.
Social-Emotional Learning
Books can help children develop the non-academic skills and competencies they need to have in order to facilitate learning and succeed in society. We all develop these social-emotional learning (SEL) skills throughout our lives; they help us manage our emotions, relate to each other, and make decisions that not only affect our lives but everyone around us. Lerner has assembled both fiction and nonfiction books that help readers reflect on SEL characteristics, discuss values and decisions, examine characters’ responses to situations, and deepen their understanding of SEL skills.
STEM Titles
Discover some of our favorite STEM-centric new releases that spark curiosity in readers of every age. Find books for animal enthusiasts, beginning coders, engineering enthusiasts, and more with biographies, all-about surveys, and books filled with activities and experiments covering science, technology, engineering, and math.
Diverse Titles
Books have the power to affirm our identities, to build understanding with people unlike ourselves, to challenge our misconceptions, and to broaden our awareness of the world. Lerner’s commitment to publishing diverse titles spans which stories we tell, whose artwork we commission, and what kind of people are represented in the photography in our nonfiction titles. From books sharing previously untold stories to books celebrating differences of all kinds, we strive to provide windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors into all experiences of life.
YA Fiction
Carolrhoda Lab® is dedicated to publishing unflinching, voice-driven narratives that enthrall and challenge teen readers. Our books examine teenage life from many different perspectives, allowing YA readers to explore new and surprising ways of thinking about themselves and the world around them. Our list includes many titles recognized with starred reviews and awards, including Printz Honor Awards and a National Book Award Finalist.
YA Nonfiction
Twenty-First Century Books™ is a trusted source for engaging upper-grades nonfiction, focusing on topical, high-interest subjects across a diverse spectrum of disciplines, cultures, and points of view. These titles are excellent launch pads for stimulating in-depth research and foster an awareness of and commitment to the pleasures and rewards of nonfiction reading. Zest Books™ is a leader in young adult nonfiction, publishing books on entertainment, history, science, health, fashion, and lifestyle advice. The award-winning books are attractively designed, well researched, smart, and easy to read. Whether you’re looking for better ways to cope with stress, new options for life after high school, or a bit more pop culture blended into your information, we’ve got a book for you!
Series Nonfiction
Kid-friendly, dynamic designs, eye-catching photography, and engaging text explore topics such as STEM, animals, sports, history, holidays, biographies, hands-on activities, and more. Innovative features, diagrams, and digital extensions support comprehension and encourage reader engagement.
Paired Fiction and Nonfiction
Pull Ahead Readers help young readers build literacy skills with paired nonfiction and fiction series. Simple text patterns support emergent readers as they build their recognition of high-frequency sight words while strong photo-text matches help them predict unfamiliar words. Teaching guides and other tools accompany each title.
Classics
From Alice and the Wizard of Oz to Hamlet and Don Quixote, your favorite characters from literature are now accessible from any digital device. First Avenue Classics transform unabridged versions of literary staples into compelling digital layouts, making the books appealing and easier to read. Students and educators will be able to easily navigate the fixed-format pagination and hyperlinked table of contents. When available, original illustrations are also featured.
Kar-Ben Publishing
Founded in 1974 and with over 400 titles in print, Kar-Ben is the largest publisher of exclusively Jewish-themed children’s books in the world, publishing 18-20 new, high quality children’s titles each year. Subjects include fiction and nonfiction for preschool through middle school, including Jewish holiday books, life-cycle stories, Bible tales, folktales, stories about Israel, and Jewish history, reflecting the rich cultural diversity of today’s Jewish family.
Lerner’s books have been recognized with the American Library Association’s Coretta Scott King Awards and Honors, Robert F. Sibert Awards and Honors, Batchelder Honors, Printz Honors, Sydney Taylor Honors and many other national and state award citations.
INCLUDED IN ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
Learn about World Class
Sports Stars with LightSail included in your subscription
Lerner Sports is perfect for children in grades 2-5 who are developing research skills or looking for exciting sports content.
Getting started is easy
We will guide you through everything LightSail has to offer for every member of your family.
Sign up nowStay Connected
Our 90 day money back guarantee
30 Minutes a Day + 5 Days a Week + 3 Months = GUARANTEE your child’s independent reading level will improve.*
We're here to help!
Find answers to frequently asked questions or contact us for more support.
You can email us at
How do I know what books are right for my child?
LightSail takes the guesswork out of choosing books for your child by tailoring each child’s library to their precise reading level.
By honing in on a child’s precise LexileⓇ reading score, LightSail can match them with books that are at that “just-right” level to promote optimal reading progress.
And because LightSail contains such a wide-ranging array of content, there is always a vast selection of books for any topic or interest.
What ages/grades is LightSail for?
LightSail’s Premium and Standard subscriptions are designed for children in grades 3 through 12 (ages 8-18).
We also have a World Book Kids subscription for grades 1 through 2 (ages 5-7) and a World Book Early Learners subscription for PreK through K (ages 2-5).
Is LightSail different from an Amazon Kindle or other e-readers?
Unlike static e-readers, LightSail doesn’t just offer children books.
Every book and article in LightSail contains 6 layers of added features that let your child experience books.
By adapting to a child’s precise reading ability, offering them content that is at that “just-right” reading level to promote literacy growth, and providing a fully customizable, rewarding reading experience, LightSail unlocks the magic of reading in ways no physical book or static e-reader can.
What types of parental control do I have over my child’s activity and content?
In short, complete control.
LightSail contains an entire suite of parental control features that govern every aspect of the platform from video viewing, to chats, to what content can be seen and accessed.
Additionally, LightSail’s revolutionary ChildSafe Content Controls lets parents screen and block content according to dozens of nuanced subcategories based on maturity factors, family values, and religious topics.
How can I make reading fun for my child?
LightSail incorporates gamification features into every aspect of the platform, especially reading!
By integrating badges, goals and milestones, social sharing options, motivational messages, and the ability for parents to add customizable gift rewards, LightSail incentivizes reading, writing, and learning just like kids’ favorite games.
Parental Controls
Parental Controls allows you to relax while your child is in LightSail. You have complete oversight of all of your child's activities. The ChildSafe matrix lets you control the content your child is allowed to read. You will be guided through the Parental Controls set up, so you never have to worry about whether a book is not appropriate for your child.
About Us
We are LightSail for Reading at Home-a literacy and language arts platform adapted from LightSail Education. LightSail Education has been working to advance literacy skills in K-12 schools since 2012.
Gamification
LightSail has built gamification into every step of your child’s journey. They can set goals, earn badges, use social sharing, and gift rewards. These practices make learning in LightSail fun and rewarding. Your child will be encouraged and excited to read.
