Meet Frank De Wienerdog, your outrageously funny guide through the sizzling story of the hot dog’s journey from the streets of New York to ballparks nationwide. 

Get ready for a laugh-out-loud adventure packed with puns and bite-sized facts that will delight curious readers of all ages–did you know Americans devour a staggering 20 billion hot dogs every year? That’s enough to stretch all the way to the moon and back!

But the fun doesn’t stop there! HOT DOG! is overflowing with flavorful nonfiction content designed to feed young minds and inspire future foodies. Discover a recipe for intriguing “snake dogs,” wrap your head around some wacky hot dog math, and explore a sizzling timeline of the hot dog’s most memorable milestones.

Author Christine Van Zandt masterfully blends humor, heart, and history, while Steven Salerno’s bold and playful illustrations bring the zany spirit of this tale to life on every page. Each spread is a visual and educational feast that readers will want to savor again and again.

HOT DOG! is the perfect recipe for educational fun. It’s an irresistible way to introduce social studies and food culture in classrooms and is guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser during read-alouds. So, pile on your favorite toppings and get ready for a deliciously silly adventure full of laughs, surprises, and all the tasty trivia you can sink your teeth into! This history’s on a roll! 

PUBLISHER AND ACCOLADES

Odd Dot (Hachette), May 2026

• Junior Library Guild Gold Star Selection

“Topped by a timeline and a recipe for ‘curly snake dogs’ (hot dogs wrapped in pizza dough), this pun-derful tribute to the tube steak is sure to make salivary glands sit up and beg. A ‘wiener’ for young foodies.”
-Kirkus Reviews

Discover the importance of the cog and its crucial role in history from ancient civilizations to the modern day; perfect for fans of The Highlights Book of How and The New Way Things Work by David Macaulay.

Think a cog is just a circle with spikes? Think again! Cogs have been used to map the stars, travel along the Great Wall, and even race in the Tour de France.

This Mighty Models title highlights ten important key moments in which the cog leveled up in history—from being a wheel to a telescope in space. Readers can build their own working pendulum clock, using the build-it-yourself model included in the book, to see the power of the cog in action!

Christine Van Zandt’s nonfiction STEM series for readers 4 to 8 and up perfectly captures the marvels of early machinery and how it plays into today’s technology. 

PUBLISHER AND ACCOLADES

Union Square Kids, April 2026

Discover the importance of the lever and its crucial role in history from ancient civilizations to the modern day.

Think a lever is just a plank of wood? Think again! Levers have been used to hunt mammoths, raise the Great Wall, and even defend the Crown Jewels. 

This Mighty Models title highlights ten important key moments in which the lever leveled up in history—from being a spear-thrower to a robotic arm. Plus, readers build their own working catapult using the included build-it-yourself model to see the power of the lever in action!

Christine Van Zandt’s nonfiction STEM book, ideal for readers 5 to 8 and up, captures the marvels of early machinery in an engaging, interactive, and innovative format for budding engineers, historians, and scientists.

PUBLISHER AND ACCOLADES

Union Square Kids, December 2025

Bold, gold, the chrysalis gleams. And deep down inside . . . the butterfly dreams.

Every year, monarch butterflies migrate to warmer climates for overwintering months. However, changing environments make it continually more difficult to find food and places to lay eggs. In this nonfiction picture book, the monarch’s life cycle is detailed in lyrical verse as stunning art accompanies each stage in the butterfly’s life.

The most recognizable butterfly, monarchs are classified as a vulnerable species by the IUCN, and face drastic challenges when it comes to locating food sources–milkweed. Milkweed for Monarchs is the perfect resource for young readers to learn more about these beautiful insects and how they can foster monarch-friendly environments in their own backyard. Backmatter includes actionable ways for readers to help this vulnerable species.

PUBLISHER AND ACCOLADES

Beaming Books, February 2024

• 2025 SoCal Children’s Lit Council Winner: Excellence in Non-Fiction Picture Book
• Children’s Literature Association of Utah (CLAU) 2026 Beehive Award Nominee
• Green Earth Book Awards Short List

“An engaging introduction…informative in both pictures and words”
-Kirkus Reviews

“The story of the  life cycle of a Monarch butterfly and how the species is affected by global warming all wrapped into a beautiful package with gorgeous illustrations and clear and insightful text.”
-John Frank, Venice Branch Library LAPL

From bloomers to boxers, everyone wears underwear! One part humor, one part history, A Brief History of Underpants explores the evolution of fashion’s most unmentionable garment.

Gain a whole new understanding of underthings as you:

• Learn which ruler was buried with over 100 pairs of underwear.
• Discover how people kept their underclothes from falling off before elastic was invented.
• Find out why some underwear was made from feathers.
• And much, much more!

Zany illustrations add to the humor, and step-by-step instructions teach real dyeing and washing techniques used hundreds of years ago. Interact with the topic directly by turning the reveal wheel on the front cover to see underwear evolve through the ages.

PUBLISHER AND ACCOLADES

becker&mayer! kids, June 2021

• Honorable Mention award at the Los Angeles Book Festival

“While just the idea of underwear will produce giggles in some story time crowds, this book is playing for laughs while conveying historical facts.”
—School Library Journal

“Van Zandt chronicles tushie-wear from the ‘beginning of buns’ onward, pulling up garments such as the Maori maro and the sumo wrestlers’ mawashi for closer examination as she sniffs at medieval and modern European undergarments and sanitary practices up to the modern (1935) Y-front undy.”
—Booklist

“It’s part history and part humor, giving a new way to learn about innovations around the globe. This book also includes fun activities like how to make a fundoshi, underwear worn by Japanese sumo wrestlers, which brings an interactive take to underpants history.”
—LA Parent Magazine

“Not only will this be a looked-forward-to nonfiction read for kids, but teachers and librarians can welcome the heightened interest this most delightful delve into a fashion staple provides.”
—Good Reads with Ronna

“I laughed my butt off! Not only is this book funny, but Christine Van Zandt delivers a veritable wedgie-whirlwind of utterly fascinating underwear info!”
—Bestselling author Aaron Reynolds

SUBSIDIARY RIGHTS

Foreign

• Korean: Spoonbook, Inc.