I’m excited to welcome Kelly Rice Schmitt to the blog today. Kelly and I connected last fall over a reel she posted of her book’s “undies” (Officially what is under the Case Cover when different from the removable case cover or jacket.) Her amazing book, I SHIP: A Container Ship’s Colossal Journey, illustrated by Jam Dong actually has two fun covers you’ll want to check out.
If you know me, you know I love serendipity and small world connections. To that point, I must share a fun story: when her book released in October, I was heading back to Chicago for an event with friends from where I used to work and to see some lifelong friends. Kelly had just reached out about being on my blog, I had shared her “undies” reel with someone who had worked on ships like in the book, and we became connected on social media. If you’re familiar with Facebook, you know it shows you mutual friends and that’s how I discovered Kelly, who is young enough to be my child, knew my childhood friend since second grade. Not just a “Facebook friend” but someone who I would be seeing a few days later on my trip back home. 💙
I SHIP: A Container Ship’s Colossal Journey is a wonderful book that straddles the border of nonfiction and informational fiction, but since it’s told from the ship’s point of view, I consider it informational fiction. I love the anthropomorphic voice she used in her writing so much that I’ve got another post in March that includes I SHIP: A Container Ship’s Colossal Journey, as part of my March on With Mentor Texts #MOWMT post. If you’re a writer, you should sign up for this free month-long deep dive of blogposts into a variety of subjects being shared by different multi-published authors on topics from researching nonfiction to using dialogue to different POVs, lyrical language, plus there are a plethora of prizes!
Kelly has generously offered a copy of I SHIP: A Container Ship’s Colossal Journey to one lucky winner (US only) so please comment on this post to enter and share on your social media to help spread the word!
What were you like at the of your target audience?
I loved learning and read everything— from comic books to encyclopedias! My parents both traveled around the world before they met, and I felt transported to new places by the stories of their journeys. I loved to learn new languages, study maps, and pretend to be an adventurer. I also played sports, sang, and did theater.
What inspires you?
Children—my own, those I meet, those of the future, and myself as a child.
What do you hope reads will take away from your book?
I hope readers of all ages discover details about the amazing shipping process that enables 80 to 90% of global trade. Container ships, their ports, and the incredible teams that run them are the backbone of the global economy, and we can see the ripple effects in the supply chain when elements of their journey are interrupted. Urgent medication and vaccines may be delayed, toys may not arrive for a holiday, certain produce may not be available due to weather conditions on the journey at sea, in publishing—books due for a release date are delayed. Surprisingly, many of us know little about an industry that fundamentally impacts our daily lives.
I know you have a busy lineup of books coming out, but you can’t talk about all of them. What can you share now about what’s coming next for you?
The second book in the Lerner series releases this fall I FUEL: HOW ENERGY POWERS OUR BUSY WORLD and I’m so excited to get kids talking about our energy now and the energy of the future! Stay tuned for dinos, vehicles, oil formation and renewable energy! More books in the series are planned and I also have an unannounced book coming from Knopf as well.
Readers can learn more about Kelly and her books by subscribing to her newsletter and connecting with her on social media:
Website: http://www.krschmittwrites.com and readers can subscribe to her newsletter there.
Social Media: @krschmittwrites Instagram, X, Threads, Bluesky and Facebook (Author Kelly Rice Schmitt). But mostly on insta.
Laura Roettiger Books 
This is a great story! Congratulations, Kelly!
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Thanks for reading, Kim. It is such a cool book and the way Kelly wrote it truly makes it sing. Of course the illustrations are magnificent too. Good luck in the giveaway!
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Thanks for reading, Kim. I feel like a delayed container ship with my 2 month later reply. I hope you have success with your story I read!
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Kelly, you are so funny! Given that you had a baby and your debut picture book come into the world at the same time, you deserve to be given as much grace as you need. 🤗
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The subject of this book is fascinating! I have to admit that I never really thought about container ships until the news stories about them being delayed due to various reasons. Thank you for the chance to win a copy of this exciting book!
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Thanks, Danielle. It’s funny how we don’t think about things until they become a problem. Kelly’s book is wonderful. Good luck in the giveaway.
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Hi Danielle! I feel like a delayed container ship with my 2 month later reply. I hope you have had a chance to read I SHIP and learn more about them!
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Danielle, if you haven’t purchased I SHIP, it’s likely your library has it! My library has it and I’ve seen it at other libraries too!
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What a great idea! Although I heard many shipping stories from my merchant marine dad, I’ll bet this book has an entirely new perspective. Congratulations, Kelly!
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Sara, that’s really cool. I’m sure your dad’s stories and this book would be a lovely pairing. Thank you for sharing that. Good luck in the giveaway.
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Thank you Sara! I hope you and your Dad have had a chance to read I SHIP together. I feel like a delayed container ship with my 2 month late reply… but better late than never? I’d love to hear what his perspective is and how he found the book!
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Sara, I would LOVE to hear what your dad says about I SHIP and if he hasn’t seen it yet, maybe it’s the perfect Father’s Day present!
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Kelly — Your story and its journey sound amazing. Congrats!
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Jany , thank you for sharing your kind words for Kelly. The book is really great! Good luck in the giveaway.
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Hi Jany! I’m so happy you won a copy of this book. You should have received it by now. I feel like a delayed container ship with my 2 month late reply here, but I hope you enjoy the book and thanks for stopping by Laura’s blog!
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Sounds like a fascinating book! Congratulations! Thanks for this interesting interview and the giveaway too!
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Thanks for reading, Jill. It’s a really interesting book and I love the way Kelly wrote it in first person. Good luck in the giveaway.
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Ahoy there, Jill! I feel like this container ship in this story — except with a 2 month delay in replying here. I’m sorry! I hope you have had a chance to read I SHIP and enjoy learning more about container shipping. Thanks for reading Laura’s blog!
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This is the trio of authors from my Rate Your Story Mentor text post so I’m pretty sure Jill has read I SHIP. Kelly, if you haven’t read the BUTTERNUT series 2 books so far and one more on the way, you should check them out! They’re delicious! Pun intended.
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I have a 6yo and 4yo who would love this. The illustrations look gorgeous, too!
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Thanks for stopping by the blog, Ryan! It’s a great book and I’m sure they will love it. Good luck in the giveaway.
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Ahoy there, Ryan! I feel like Ship in the story with my 2 month delayed reply… ooops. But I hope you have had a chance to check out I SHIP and that your kids love it as much as mine do. Check out the free actitivy guide on my website with coloring pages, experiments, and more! Thanks for reading Laura’s blog!
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