Justice Gorsuch to co-author children’s book about the Declaration of Independence
By John Fritze, CNN
(CNN) — Justice Neil Gorsuch said Thursday he will co-author a children’s book next year focused on the Declaration of Independence, a departure from the headier book the conservative jurist authored last year that targeted burdensome government regulations.
The book will be titled “Heroes of 1776: The Story of The Declaration of Independence” and is set to publish in May, which Gorsuch indicated is timed to correspond to the 250th anniversary of the document’s signing.
“Over the next year we’ll celebrate a lot of dates and events with fireworks and I wanted to share with children some stories about the courage and sacrifice of the heroes behind 1776 who gave us our Constitution and our liberties,” Gorsuch told Fox News in an interview Thursday.
The book will be published by HarperCollins.
Gorsuch, who was President Donald Trump’s first nominee to the Supreme Court, published a decidedly adult book just last year that lamented out-of-control government bureaucracies and told the stories of Americans he said had been hampered by overzealous regulations and red tape.
In that book, Gorsuch told the story a commercial fisherman in Florida who was threatened with a 20-year prison sentence for tossing undersized grouper overboard – a case that was decided by the Supreme Court in 2015. He also wrote about Marty Hahne, a Missouri magician who became a cause célèbre for anti-regulation advocates a decade ago when the US Department of Agriculture required him to draft an emergency disaster plan for Casey, a rabbit he pulled out of a hat at his shows.
In June, Gorsuch reported receiving a little over $250,000 in book royalties – a roughly equal amount to what he reported a year before. Supreme Court justices, who earn more than $300,000 a year, are barred from receiving more than about $30,000 in outside income annually. But book revenue is exempt from that policy, creating an incentive for the nine to put pen to paper beyond their opinions.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, has authored several children’s books, including one this year. Sotomayor reported nearly $134,000 in book-related income in her most recent financial disclosure.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and Amy Coney Barrett both zigzagged across the country this fall promoting new books.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh is working on book now. So is Justice Samuel Alito.
Gorsuch is writing the book with Janie Nitze, who also co-authored Gorsuch’s book last year. It will be illustrated by Chris Ellison.
In a promotional statement, HarperCollins said the new book would “dive into the stories of ordinary people willing to do extraordinary things” around the time of nation’s founding.
“We need to know our shared history, and I think if we do that we’ll come to realize that all the things that separate us pale in comparison to the things that unite us,” Gorsuch told Fox. “I wanted to be part of America’s celebration and bringing us together again.”
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