BLUE DOT KIDS PRESS TURNS FIVE
San Francisco, CA, and Wellington, New Zealand, March 19, 2025 — This April, Blue Dot Kids Press, the independent children’s book publisher based in both the Bay Area and New Zealand, celebrates five years of publishing award-winning children’s books that engage a young reader’s innate sense of wonder and empathy, connecting them to the global community and the planet we share.
Launched on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and demonstrating resilience
Inspired by Carl Sagan’s famous ode to planet Earth, reflecting on the world as “a pale blue dot” when viewed from space, Blue Dot Kids Press Founder and Publisher Heidi Hill launched the company on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day “to empower the next generation of global citizens with empathy, resilience, creativity and the shared value of nature and its stewardship,” says Hill. Since 2020, Blue Dot Kids Press has published 26 fiction and nonfiction board, picture and chapter books that have collectively received 14 starred reviews and 22 awards, including best book list commendations from Bank Street, the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, Outstanding International Trade Books, Subaru Science Prize, Jane Addams Peace Award, and Language Arts Best Book, among others.
“What I am most proud of is that we have stayed true to our mission and that we have demonstrated resilience — even while launching during a pandemic and even as our daily lives continue to be riddled with upheaval. I am proud that we are walking the talk for our readers and demonstrating that everyone, even if small, can make a big impact, especially when we do it together in community,” says Hill.
Notable titles include:
Sunday, a starred-review picture book celebrating imagination and play by Brazilian author/artist Marcelo Tolentino, also named a School Library Journal Best Book.
Little Bird’s Day by Aboriginal Australian author Sally Morgan, winner of a USBBY Outstanding International Trade Book.
Our World Out of Balance: Understanding Climate Change and What We Can Do, an ALA Top 10 Sustainability Themed Children’s Book for readers ages 8 to 12.
Words of the World board book series from Motomitsu Maehara, which pairs gorgeous collages of animals or plants with their names in six of the most popular languages worldwide.
Kaleidoscope Club, the three-volume (and counting) chapter book series for 7- to 10-year-olds interested in friendship, citizen activism and learning about nature.
Business as a force for good in content and practice
Blue Dot Kids Press believes that business can be a force for good not only via its content but also with how it creates:
A proud member of 1% for the Planet, Blue Dot Kids Press donates 1% of annual sales to environmental causes.
The company reduces its environmental printing impact by using sustainably sourced paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and vegetable-based inks.
It partners with One Tree Planet, giving readers the opportunity to plant trees; they’ve planted over 2,500 trees to date.
Hill has dual citizenship in the United States and New Zealand and brings a global perspective to the Blue Dot Kids Press list. She also acted out the company’s mission in a new way in 2024 when she and her family completed a yearlong voyage on their solar-powered sailboat from California to New Zealand, gathering data on plastics and biodiversity and sharing citizen science ideas that the press’s readers could participate in right from their homes.
Sparking important conversations
“Stories are powerful vehicles of empathy, and our books widen the lens of what it means to live on planet earth, sparking important conversations at home and in the classroom,” says Hill. When composing each season’s publishing list, Hill keeps these questions top of mind: How can we, as book publishers, prepare young children for an unknown future? How can we foster skills like critical thinking and resilience, which will only grow more important? And how can we inspire the next generation of nature stewards and compassionate global citizens?
The future
Blue Dot Kids Press’s author and illustrator roster is a worldwide community from Iran, Germany, Spain, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Korea, Portugal and more, and the company will continue to publish global voices. This fall also brings the press’s first publication by U.S. creators: Sky Luck, written by Erica Lee Schlaikjer and illustrated by Dagmar Smith. Erica has lived in 12 cities on three continents and drew from these experiences to imagine a magical picture book about taking delight in nature’s abundance. Blue Dot Kids Press will publish at least two books each year from emerging U.S. talent whose voices and styles fit the company’s editorial themes of SEL (social emotional learning), STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) and nature.
“I feel lucky to have a dedicated and passionate team, most of whom have been with the press for the full five years,” says Hill. While Hill focuses largely on new acquisitions, strategy and operations, the team is also composed of editor at large Summer Dawn Laurie and marketing and PR lead Deborah Sloan as well as a seasoned team of key professionals. As Blue Dot Kids Press looks to the future, the company will stay true to its mission and continue to bring thoughtful, inspiring and beautifully crafted stories to the world’s youngest readers.
Contact: Deborah Sloan, Marketing Consultant, Blue Dot Kids Press
sloan.deborah@icloud.com / 978-884-4758
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