Sen. Raphael G. Warnock will make his children’s literature debut this year with an inspirational picture book, the Associated Press reports.
Philomel Books will publish the Georgia Democrat’s Put On Your Shoes and Get Ready! this fall. The press describes the book, illustrated by TeMika Grooms, as “an inspiring picture book about finding your dreams and making your mark in the world.”
“Before Raphael Warnock became a pastor and the first Black senator from Georgia, he was a little boy whose father told him to get up, get dressed, put on his shoes, and get ready!” Philomel says. “So that’s what he did, along every step of his journey. From his work boots to his marching band shoes to his shiny lace-ups, Senator Reverend Warnock found the right shoes to fit his feet and to carry him toward his dreams.”
Warnock, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, was elected to the U.S. Senate in January of 2021, winning a runoff election against incumbent Kelly Loeffler. He’s up for re-election in November against the Republican nominee Herschel Walker, the former NFL running back.
Warnock’s memoir, A Way Out of No Way, will be published next week, while Put On Your Shoes and Get Ready! is scheduled for publication on Nov. 15, one week after Election Day.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
