Kelley Paul releases new children’s book celebrating America’s early and colonial history

Kelley Paul is no stranger to the American political scene. As the wife of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and the longtime daughter-in-law of former Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas), she has had her fair share of trouble on the campaign trail, emerging as a strong surrogate during her husband’s 2016 presidential race.

He is also an accomplished author, speaker and public relations professional. As America entered its 250th anniversary, Paul saw the perfect opportunity to dive into the world of children’s literature. He recently sat down with Fox News Digital at Freedom Fest in Las Vegas to discuss his new book, “Good Night, Young American.”

Paul says that his family inspired him for the new project:

“I have to give a lot of credit to my daughter-in-law, Kate. She and our son came over for dinner last summer with our grandson, who was only six months old at the time. And Kate, you know, thought we needed more patriotic books for babies. She wasn’t very happy with most of the book selections she saw. And we toyed with some ideas at dinner that night. So I came up with ‘Good Night, Young American.’ And here it is, a year later.”

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Recommended for children ages 4 to 8, “Good Night, Young American” takes children on a visually and thematically engaging journey through early and colonial history.

“Our revolutionary history is such a big adventure, isn’t it? When I came up with the concept of my little boy going on the road with his family on July 4th, he asked what it was about. I knew we were going to celebrate the 250th anniversary. Kids ask, what are we actually celebrating?”

And his father tells him about the Declaration of Independence at the signing. So I tried to think about what would attract the attention of children in this great adventure of our revolution. So when he falls asleep that night, he finds himself in the crow’s nest of the Mayflower. He’s a pilgrim, he’s a colonist, and then he befriends all the great revolutionary heroes we know. Thus, he becomes friends with Sam Adams, joins the Sons of Liberty, and meets at the Green Dragon. Isn’t this very exciting for kids?

These are visual things. He befriends Ben Franklin and flies kites. A dramatic midnight ride with Paul Revere. Him and his dog, his little dog is with him on all the adventures. And of course he crosses the Delaware with George Washington. I wanted to make the signing and writing of the Declaration of Independence visually dynamic and exciting. That’s why when the declaration is signed, I will have it hung on the Liberty Bell.”

Paul worked closely with illustrator Marika Monesi to bring the events of America’s founding to life in an engaging and visually appealing way for children.

The Liberty Bell, originally rescued from the British by Lynnport farmer Frederick Leaser, is located in his temple in Philadelphia. (iStock)

“He really captured the excitement in the little boy’s face and his personality, but I worked very closely with him,” Paul said. “I wanted there to be a lot of movement, a lot of dynamic images. For example, the Liberty Bell for the kids, a bunch of guys standing around writing a document… I wanted to bring it to life. So I said, let’s run to the top of the bell tower at Liberty Hall in Philadelphia and have him swing on the Liberty Bell. And he was a really great artist. In the George Washington scenes, he crosses the Delaware because it’s still very visual. I wanted to go home, I wanted to go to the kids, the incredible bravery and bravery of our founders, how cold and miserable and hard that war was.” is.

“I also loved her illustration of the King of England reading the Declaration of Independence. I have to give some credit to my husband Rand on that one. In the first few drafts he did, Rand said: ‘He needs to be fatter. King George was famously fat!’ That’s why it was so much fun. He was very collaborative.”

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Part of Paul’s motivation for the book had to do with the teaching of contemporary American history and the debates therein:

“I think we’ve moved away from really celebrating our founders and our heroes. If you think about it, what they did in 1776 was incredibly radical. At that time, everyone accepted the divine right of kings. Everyone accepted hereditary rule. And our founders took the Enlightenment ideas from John Locke and the philosophers and turned it into a framework for government. The idea of ​​self-government and the idea that our rights come from our Creator, that we have inalienable rights, were given to us not by a king, but by God. These were radical ideas of the time.”

Historians say the first draft of the Declaration of Independence offers a new perspective on how Thomas Jefferson refined the country’s founding document. (Ready Assembly/Ready Assembly/Getty Images)

I would like to say that our founders were the first civil rights heroes, the first civil libertarians. I think our education system is moving away from that. They don’t see them when they exist, and suddenly everything becomes the oppressor-oppressed narrative. And they’re more often labeled as colonizers or enslavers, and that’s the only way they’re viewed; “Writing the Declaration of Independence was an incredible, daring, courageous act, not just as men who sacrificed their lives to create this country, but it was also an act of moral courage and philosophical courage.”

Ultimately, Paul hopes his books will spark the natural curiosity of America’s youth to learn more about their rich history:

Participants carry the City of Cumberland’s “America 250” parade banner down Baltimore Street during the America 250 parade in downtown Cumberland, Maryland, on June 27, 2026. Spectators line both sides of the street as American and Maryland flags lead the parade. (Fox News Digital/David Marcus)

“I hope that my books, especially with America’s 250 books, spark a lot of questions and give parents a framework for talking to their children about the founding of this country. And I hope that from a very, very young age, children are born with the idea that they are a part of the story of America and that as Americans they can be proud of the heroism of our revolutionary founders. As Americans, that is our story. So that’s my goal with the books.”

One of Paul’s biggest challenges was taking big ideas that might be difficult for a four- or five-year-old to grasp, like the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution, and turning them into a format accessible to children:

“Well, I try to use language that kids can understand, and I use simple terms. But if you think about it, it’s very simple. Our rights come from God. And when he became friends with Thomas Jefferson, he says, Thomas Jefferson wrote this wonderful document that says that we can all be free to live our lives as we choose, and that no government can take away from us our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

He also talks about James Madison and the Bill of Rights and says the most important right is freedom of speech. So no government can tell you what to say or what not to say.”

Rand Paul, famous for putting constitutional principles front and center in the public square, also played a key role in the thematic development of the book.

Kelley Paul and her husband, Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul. (Courtesy of Kelley Paul)

“Rand was incredibly supportive. I’m so grateful and blessed to have had a wonderful 36-year marriage to Rand Paul. And he was in on it, too. He would read the drafts and, like I said, give me a lot of good advice about things he thought I should include in the history.”

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I’m also so grateful to be Ron Paul’s daughter-in-law. “So I wanted these books to be there for our little grandson, who I call ‘my favorite little American,’ and to help him learn from an early age about the heritage the Paul family has in this country.”