Announces Debut Title Pedro’s Delivery by Mark A. Staples for Summer 2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—TORONTO, ON, Thursday, February 5, 2026 — Ingenium Books, the Canadian hybrid publisher of award-winning titles, is proud to announce the launch of its newest imprint: Granum Kids. Building on a legacy of transformative nonfiction, memoir, and fiction, Granum Kids will focus on narratives designed to cultivate empathy, connection, and global understanding in children.

The new imprint’s name, Granum—Latin for seed—represents the potential within every child to grow into a compassionate global citizen. Granum Kids will curate a catalogue rooted in informational inspiration, bridging the gap between complex global systems and the human hearts that power them.

Building Empathy and Understanding in Kids

The launch of Granum Kids marks a strategic deepening of the Ingenium mission. Publisher and co-founder Boni Wagner-Stafford views this expansion as a vital response to an increasingly polarized world.

“At Ingenium Books, we believe that belonging is not a passive state; it is a collective act and a mutual responsibility,” says Wagner-Stafford. “My life in journalism, communications, and publishing has taught me that stories are the most powerful tools we have to construct that sense of belonging. With Granum Kids, we are intentionally making room for complexity, sharing stories across boundaries that once felt fixed, and helping the next generation navigate the beautiful complexity of being human—just like we are with our main imprint, Ingenium Books.”

Summer 2026 Launch: Pedro’s Delivery

Granum Kids is honoured to announce its inaugural title, Pedro’s Delivery, written by Mark A. Staples and illustrated by Dennis Packard, scheduled for release in Summer 2026.

Readers travel with Pedro from the shores of his homeland in the Philippines to West Africa, where bags of harvested cocoa beans are loaded onto his cargo ship. They read about the challenges of his voyage to the east coast of the United States, where chocolatiers will process Pedro’s delivery into candy children enjoy. Through Pedro’s eyes, early readers will explore:

• • The global food ecosystem: The vast, interconnected efforts required to bring a simple chocolate bar to a shelf.

• • The seafaring life: An authentic look at the grit and wonder of maritime travel.

• • Radical empathy: A humanizing perspective on the international cooperation that sustains our modern world.

Pedro’s Delivery tells a seafarer’s story based on the author’s ten-year experience visiting cargo ship crews in the Port of Philadelphia, along with an earlier photojournalistic trip to the Philippines. 

“Mark A. Staples’s story is exactly the kind of seed we wish to plant,” Wagner-Stafford adds. “It teaches early readers a lesson about belonging and how we define community, showing children that our world is not made of categories, but of people. It also illuminates the global nature of both food production and trade.”

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About Mark A. Staples

Mark A. Staples has been an author, writer, and publicist for more than fifty years. His main vocation was as features editor for The Lutheran, a one-time denominational magazine with a circulation of more than 300,000. He’s earned recognition for his short video documentary A Parish Nurse’s Story, and for a 2,800-square-foot museum-quality exhibit he scripted on Amish and Mennonite lifestyles in Lancaster, PA. An advocate for racial justice, in retirement he has scripted a display focusing on the lives of thirty-five Black and Lutheran leaders and authored three books. His first book, Neighbors Revisited, describes life lessons learned as a photojournalist during visits to Africa and Asia. Bronson’s Flood, his first children’s picture book, describes a beaver’s rescue of his neighbourhood from a flash flood, based in part on the author’s experience as a long-term disaster recovery volunteer. Lucy’s Loot describes a treasure hunt. Mark lives in Pennsylvania with his wife Lynn. 

About Ingenium Books & Granum Kids

Founded in 2016, Ingenium Books is a Canadian hybrid publisher for mature professionals authoring memoir, fiction, and nonfiction that fosters empathy, explores identity, and builds common ground. Granum Kids is its newest imprint, focused on cultivating connection and growth through children’s literature.

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