Today’s the day: my fifth Nat the Cat early reader–Nat the Cat Finds a Map–is officially out!
I’ve said it here and elsewhere, but THIS Nat book is my favorite so far. I also think it’s my best so far, in that it most fully, sweetly, and funnily captures the personalities and growth of both Nat the Cat and Pat the Rat.
Here’s what my publisher has to say about the book:
Nat the Cat goes on a treasure hunt in this fifth book in the hilarious, fourth wall–breaking Pre-Level 1 Ready-to-Read series about a grumpy cat, a curious rat, and an exasperated narrator from powerhouse creator Jarrett Lerner!
Nat the Cat finds a treasure map. Nat the Cat loves treasure! Pat the Rat loves treasure too. Nat the Cat does not want Pat the Rat to get his treasure, but there is something funny about this map…and the treasure too!
Starting today, you can find Nat the Cat Finds a Map anywhere and everywhere books are sold. However, if you want yours signed, doodled-in, and personalized, make sure to order from my local indie, the Silver Unicorn. You can do so–and also order and/or preorder signed, doodled-in, and personalized copies of any of my other books!–by clicking HERE.
I can’t wait to hear what my readers make of Nat the Cat Finds a Map. So if you and/or the young readers in your life check out the book, let me know what you all think!
I’ve had an exceptionally busy fall — one filled with school visits all over the country, a handful of conference appearances, a family trip to Disney World, and a whole bunch of book-making. Because of all this busyness, I haven’t been keeping up with sharing new book covers and new news here on the blog. Add all that to the fact that 2026 is going to be the biggest publisher year of my career so far, and I’ve fallen way behind.
What makes next year such a big one for me? Well, I’ve got nine — yes, NINE! — books coming out. Two of these are bind-ups of previously released series of books. But still. It’s a lot! So, below, here’s a catch-up/roundup of what I’ve got in store for 2026.
First up, in January (on the 13th, one day after my birthday!), is my fifth Nat the Cat early reader, Nat the Cat Finds a Map. I did already reveal this book’s cover (you can find the post HERE). But that was more than four months ago, and at that point, while the cover was done, the interior had yet to be finalized. Now that’s finally, officially done though (and possibly even being printed as you read this), I can say that this installment of the Nat the Cat series is without a doubt my favorite yet. I think it most fully captures Nat the Cat’s and Pat the Rat’s personalities and their (continually developing) relationship. I also think the book most perfectly hits the combo/balance of humor and heart that I strive to achieve in all my books. And I’m not just tooting my own horn here, either — a big part of Nat the Cat Finds a Map was actually thought up by my oldest daughter, Isla. It’s why the book is dedicated to her. For helping me find the most elegant solution to a problem I couldn’t work out myself, she definitely deserves it!
Next up, in March, I have a very special Middle Grade novel coming out — Roohi and Nate Are Not on the Same Page. Looking at this cover, you might notice something unusual about it: it’s not just my name down on there on the bottom! That’s because I co-wrote and co-illustrated this book with Supriya Kelkar! Supriya and I debuted together way back in 2017, and have been good friends ever since. And when, one day, my agent offhandedly asked whether I’d ever be into co-authoring a book with another creator, Supriya was the person who immediately popped to mind. We’d never worked together like this before, but it came naturally, and went wonderfully, resulting in a book that we couldn’t be more excited to share with our readers, both young and old. It’s a book about friendship, about the power of stories, about being true to yourself, and about the importance of school libraries and their librarians. Early next year, Supriya and I will make some announcements about virtual visit opportunities with the two of us. If that’s something that sounds interesting to you, watch this space (as well as my social media feeds), to make sure to see that info when we share it.
A couple months after Roohi and Nate releases, at the beginning of May, I’ve got a whole slew of fun stuff coming your way. On the first Tuesday of the month (May 5th), I’ve got three books you can get your hands on: my sixth Nat the Cat early reader, Nat the Cat Sets a Trap; a bind-up collection of the first five Nat the Cat early readers, Nat the Cat Five Books in One!; and the first installment of a new series of early graphic novels, The Super Roomies: Lake of Slime.
The latter is part of a brand-new line of books coming out from Simon & Schuster’s Simon Spotlight imprint. These books, called “Star Chapter Books,” are all, in fact, early graphic novels — 112 pages, split up into six to eight chapters, with one to four comic panels on each page. Simon Spotlight is the home of the super successful Ready-to-Read lines of books, and these Star Chapter Books are intended to serve as a sort of next step for young readers who have worked their way through books in that program. But the most important thing I can tell you about ALL of the Star Chapter Books (there will be several others releasing right along with my first one) is that they are FUN. Spotlight’s editors and art directors gave us creators the green light to be as silly and wild as we wanted, and we went for it.
The Super Roomies are superheroes who also happen to be roommates — and not very good ones. In each book, the crew are called upon by their city’s mayor to stop one or another bad guy from committing some sort of reprehensible act, but their roommate-related troubles are always threatening to get in the way of them actually accomplishing their mission. For instance, in Lake of Slime, the deranged Dr. Slimepeople has plans to drain Big City Lake of all its water and replace every last drop with slime, thus making it impossible for the city’s citizens to go swimming. (Like I said: reprehensible.) It’s up to the Super Roomies to figure out just how Dr. Slimepeople is going to do all this draining/replacing and stop him before he can. Which they have plenty of time to do — if, that is, they can stop squabbling about who finished their apartment’s milk and then put the empty carton back in the fridge and stay focused… Below is a sneak peek at some spreads of the book’s interior.
One week after all of that — on May 12th — my fourth book of the month hits shelves: another bind-up, this one of my first-ever series of books, EngiNerds. When I learned that my publisher wanted to rerelease these books in this form, I was beyond delighted. The EngiNerds series is comprised of three Middle Grade novels, all of them just under 200 pages and featuring fun, funny, fast-paced storytelling. For all kinds of reasons, books at this length and with such so-called “high-interest” content are needed now more than ever, and I am so excited that this bind-up will introduce a new generation of readers to the EngiNerds and their epic showdowns with a fleet of bottomlessly hungry, aggressively flatulent robots.
After the EngiNerds 3-in-1, I’ve got a bit of a break, though things ramp back up at the end of the summer and for the end of the year. None of the covers of the remaining books I’ve got coming out have been revealed yet. So, since I can’t show you much, I’ll just tell you about them.
— In August, you’ll be able to get your hands on the second installment of the Super Roomies series, which is called Paint the Town Pink.
— In October, the third book in my Scare School Diaries series, The Un-Hauntable House, comes out.
— In November, I’ve got a second series of Star Chapter Books early graphic novels launching, this one featuring Nat the Cat and Pat the Rat. The first book in this series is called Nat the Cat and the Mysterious Thing.
— And finally, in December, it’s not another book, but a box of them — a boxed set, to be specific, of all my Nat the Cat early readers.
Whew! That’s it for 2026. Looking ahead at it all like this, I’m feeling incredibly grateful that I get to do this work, and also incredibly excited to share all these books with my readers. If YOU are one of those readers: THANK YOU. It’s because of your support that all of this has been and continues to be possible. As always, if you want signed/personalized copies of any of the books mentioned above (or ANY of my already-released books), you can order/preorder them from my wonderful local independent bookstore, the Silver Unicorn. Click HERE to do so.
In case you missed it, last weekend I revealed the cover of my next (and fifth) Nat the Cat early reader, Nat the Cat Finds a Map. So, without further ado, here it is:
Of all the Nat books, this new one is my personal favorite. I think it does the best job of capturing Nat and Pat’s personalities while also simultaneously taking their relationship to a bit of a new place.
And speaking of venturing to new places, Nat and Pat are bound for a super exciting one: graphic novel chapter books! In 2027, shortly after the sixth Nat the Cat early reader releases, the first two books in this brand-new series will publish. And if you’re disappointed you’ll have to wait that long to see Nat and Pat in comic book panels, next year, I’ve got another graphic novel chapter book series launching. This one is about a new cast of character, the Super Roomies, and I’ll be sharing a bunch more about them soon. In the meantime, though, you can check out the announcement about their graphic novel chapter book series, as well as Nat and Pat’s, below.
All of these graphic novel chapter books are 112 pages, with each page broken up into at least one but no more than four panels. They perfectly fill a hole currently out there in the marketplace, and are thoughtfully designed and carefully crafted to, first of all, be a total blast, and second of all, to help young readers continue to grow. In terms of Nat and Pat, you’ll also get to see THEM grow. Especially Nat, who in each of these books is pushed to emotional places readers have yet to see him in.
In OTHER book news, I recently announced something else: that my Scare School Diaries series of highly illustrated chapter books has been extended, too! Book 3, The Un-Hauntable House, will be out next fall, with the fourth book in the series coming early on in 2027. Here’s the announcement for THAT:
But back to Nat and Pat! Nat the Cat Finds a Map will be out first thing next year, on January 13th (the day after my birthday!), but you can preorder it right now wherever books are sold. As always, if you preorder it from my astoundingly awesome local independent bookstore, the Silver Unicorn, I will sign, doodle-in, and (if you want) personalize your copies. You can do that by clicking HERE.
Okay, I better get back to work. I’ve got a lot of books to finish…
Today, No More Mr. Mice Guy — the second book in my My Mad Scientist Mom series of illustrated chapter books — hits shelves!
Like the first volume of the series, Saved by the Smell, this book features another take on a classic mad science contraption: the shrink ray! And as you can see by the cover, the use of said shrink ray (called, in the book, a “magnimizer”) doesn’t exactly go as planned…
I don’t want to give TOO much about the book away, though. So for now, I’ll just share my publisher’s official description of the book. Beneath that, you can also check out some spreads from the book’s interior to get a peek at the very carefully chosen font, spacing, and illustration placement–all decided on with an eye toward helping kids enjoy the story and grow as readers.
Ari helps a neighbor who accidentally gets shrunk by Ari’s mom’s latest invention in this second book in the My Mad Scientist Mom chapter book series from acclaimed author-illustrator Jarrett Lerner.
Ari’s life is filled with school, video games, and his pet turtle, Fred: pretty run-of-the mill stuff. But not anywhere near run-of-the-mill is Ari’s mom, who’s a mad scientist. That’s right, a MAD scientist. Sure, she strives to make people’s lives better with her inventions, especially at home. But all of Mom’s inventions seem to go just the slightest bit off kilter.
His mom puts a new invention to the test to help clean up the clutter in their house: a magnimizer, which can shrink or enlarge anything! Pretty amazing, right? Well, not if you happen to be Mr. Jakes, their neighbor who comes face to face with this gizmo and becomes the size of a cockroach—and a potential tasty morsel for the resident basement mouse! Can Ari save the day and teeny-weeny Mr. Jakes?
No More Mr. Mice Guy is available everywhere books are sold. However — and as always — if you want your copy (or copies!) of the book signed, doodled-in, and personalized, order from my local independent bookstore, the Silver Unicorn. You can do that by clicking HERE.
Today, my 21st book hits shelves! The book: Saved by the Smell, the first installment of my brand-new My Mad Scientist Mom series of illustrated chapter books.
I have posted here about the book before–extensively, actually, about both the real-life models that the boy and mom characters are based on as well as the creation of the book’s cover (click HERE to check out that blog post)–so for now, I will simply remind what the book is all about. Below is my publisher’s blurb about the book:
A boy gets buried in dirty laundry and pulled into time travel shenanigans after his mom’s latest experiment in this first book in the My Mad Scientist Mom chapter book series from acclaimed author-illustrator Jarrett Lerner.
Ari’s life is filled with school, video games, and his pet turtle, Fred: pretty run-of-the mill stuff. But not anywhere near run-of-the-mill is Ari’s mom, who’s a mad scientist. That’s right, a MAD scientist. Sure, she strives to make people’s lives better with her inventions, especially at home. But all of Mom’s inventions seem to go just the slightest bit off kilter. And when she devises a time portal to help deal with the massive mounds of dirty laundry that have taken over their house, she creates a MUCH bigger problem than just stinky clothes, and it’s up to Ari to get them out of a prehistoric mess.
Starting today, you can find Saved by the Smell anywhere books are sold. As always, if you order from my local independent bookstore, the Silver Unicorn, I will sign, doodle-in, and personalize (if you wish) every and as many copies as you want. (That’s true for ALL of my books, at any time!) Click HERE to order Saved by the Smell (and, if you want, PREorder No More Mr. Mice Guy, the second installment of the My Mad Scientist Mom series) from the Silver Unicorn.
I am wildly excited to see what my readers make of this book and its cast of characters. I’m also hoping it inspires readers to come up with plenty of their own mad science-y stories of their own. If YOU or a young person in your life end up checking out Saved by the Smell, I’d love to hear what you think of it! Leave a comment below, send me a message at my public email account (you can find the address on the CONTACT page of this website), or go find me on social media and message me there. As always, THANK YOU for the support. And happy reading!
One month from today, my next book–and my next series–launches. The book? Saved by the Smell. The series? My Mad Scientist Mom.
Considering all this, I thought today was a fitting time to officially reveal the cover of the second book in the My Mad Scientist Mom series.
So, without further ado, here it is–the cover of No More Mr. Mice Guy:
As you can see, this second installment of the series of illustrated chapter books features a boy, his mad scientist mom, and yet another ferocious creature. And if you don’t think a mouse is as ferocious as a T-Rex, try facing one after you’ve been shrunken down to the size of a small insect! That’s the predicament that Ari (the above-mentioned boy) finds himself in during No More Mr. Mice Guy–part of it, at least.
Here’s my publisher’s official description of the book:
Ari’s life is filled with school, video games, and his pet turtle, Fred: pretty run-of-the mill stuff. But not anywhere near run-of-the-mill is Ari’s mom, who’s a mad scientist. That’s right, a MAD scientist. Sure, she strives to make people’s lives better with her inventions, especially at home. But all of Mom’s inventions seem to go just the slightest bit off kilter.
His mom puts a new invention to the test to help clean up the clutter in their house: a magnimizer, which can shrink or enlarge anything! Pretty amazing, right? Well, not if you happen to be Mr. Jakes, their neighbor who comes face to face with this gizmo and becomes the size of a cockroach—and a potential tasty morsel for the resident basement mouse! Can Ari save the day and teeny-weeny Mr. Jakes?
No More Mr. Mice Guy hits shelves on July 1st, just a few months after the first book in the My Mad Scientist Mom series comes out, but is already available for preorder–like, right now–everywhere books are sold. As always, if you preorder/order my books–any of them–from my local independent bookstore, the Silver Unicorn, I can sign, doodle-in, and (if you want) personalize your copies. To do that, click HERE.
Today, my newest book, Nat the Cat Has a Hat, officially hits shelves!
Nat the Cat Has a Hat is the fourth installment of my Nat the Cat early reader series, joining Nat the Cat Takes a Nap, Nat the Cat Takes a Bath, and Nat the Cat Has a Snack.
I try to make every one of my Nat the Cat books fun and funny–that is definitely the most important thing. But in each book, I also attempt to explore some emotional terrain that my young readers might also find themselves facing. In Nat the Cat Takes a Nap, Nat struggles with exhaustion and the annoyance and anger that often stem from it. In Nat the Cat Takes a Bath, Nat confronts fear and shame. In Nat the Cat Has a Snack, Nat deals with selfishness and, at least at first, has a tough time with sharing. And in this newest book, Nat the Cat Has a Hat, Nat has to grapple with jealousy and pride.
The release of Nat the Cat Has a Hat is special for another reason, too–it’s my 20th published book! This fact somehow feels both obvious and also impossible for me to wrap my head around. I’ve worked long and hard, and so a part of me thinks, Yeah, that was about 20 books‘ worth of work. But another part of me thinks back to before I’d sold my first book, to the days (and there were LOTS of them) where I’d think, If I could just publish one book–ONE book–in my whole entire lifetime, I’d be happy. For a long time, it was all I wanted. And I try to remind myself of that as much as I can. It helps me take a step back, take a deep breath, and feel a bit of pride about what I’ve done (something I am notoriously quite bad at…). At the same time, it also reminds me that there is absolutely no way I could’ve gotten here without my family, my friends, and also everyone–likely including YOU–who has ever supported me and my work in any way. So, if that’s you: THANK YOU. Books are nothing without readers, and whether you are one of my readers or someone keeping tabs on my career in order to connect my books to the right readers (or both!), you have been instrumental in making these 20 books a reality, and also in bringing about the next 20. You have quite literally helped make my dreams come true. I appreciate it enormously, and will never stop.
Today, Forest Frights–the second book in my Scare School Diaries series–finally hits shelves!
Like Welcome to Scare School–the first book in the Scare School Diaries series–Forest Frights is the diary of young ghost Bash, now in his second session at Scare School. And in this session, Bash has to contend with something truly terrifying: a group project! Bash survives the ordeal (spoiler alert!), and in the end has several opportunities to be brave, discovering that everyone is scared of something, and that the most important thing is making sure your fears don’t keep you from doing the things that you want and need to do.
Here’s my publisher’s official description of the book:
Bash the ghost learns to work with trouble-loving vampires in this second book in the sweet and spooky chapter book series by acclaimed author Jarrett Lerner.
At the start of his second session at Scare School, the world’s premiere institution for elementary scare instruction, Bash is feeling a bit more confident and excited about his classes starting up again. But when Vlad and Vicky, the mischievous vampires, join his group project, Bash starts worrying if this mean-spirited duo are going to take a bite out of his good grade!
Just a few weeks ago, Forest Frights got written up by Kirkus Reviews. They called the book “A warmly reassuring tale for those who prefer their scares on the lighter side,” which is basically exactly what I was going for. (If you want, you can read the full review HERE.)
Kirkus’s positive review followed a string of good news for Welcome to Scare School. The book was a featured fall title for Literati book club, appearing at the company’s book fairs across the country. Up north, in Canada, the book was named one of the Best Books of 2024 by Indigo (Canada’s largest bookseller). The book also received love and praise from bookstores and readers as far away as Australia! In addition to all this, I got some news about the book that I am actually not allowed to share yet–but I can tell you that, because of it, Welcome to Scare School will end up in the hands of even more young readers than it would have otherwise. (Keep an eye on my social media feeds to hear the secret news, which I’ll be sharing there as soon as I’m allowed to.)
I think kids who loved Welcome to Scare School will love this second installment of the series just as much, and I’m glad that those who have yet to discover the first book will be able to dive right into Forest Frights should they want even more of Bash and his friends. If you know some of these kids, make sure you let them know about the SCARE SCHOOL DIARIES page of this website, where you can find all sorts of FREE Scare School-related activities. And as always, if you want signed, doodled-in, and personalized copies of Welcome to Scare School and/or Forest Frights, order from my local independent bookstore, the Silver Unicorn. (Click HERE to do that!)
I’m delighted to reveal here the cover of my next Nat the Cat early reader, Nat the Cat Has a Hat:
The book is out January 7, 2025, and will be my fourth Nat the Cat book. And while I think all the Nat books are quite fun, this one is especially so. I mean, it’s got hats. A whole BUNCH of them!
You can check out my publisher’s description of the book below. And you can, starting now, also preorder the book. As always, if you preorder from my local independent bookstore, the Silver Unicorn, I’ll sign, doodle-in, and personalize (if you want) your copies of the book. You can click HERE to do that.
Nat the Cat gets a little jealous in this fourth book in the hilarious, fourth wall–breaking Pre-Level 1 Ready-to-Read series about a grumpy cat, a curious rat, and an exasperated narrator from powerhouse creator Jarrett Lerner!
Nat the Cat has a hat. Pat the Rat has a nicer hat. Nat the Cat wants a hat like that. Will the two friends have a spat?
Today’s the day! My newest book — and newest series — is officially here. Meaning I can, at long last, say to all my readers… WELCOME TO SCARE SCHOOL!
That, of course, is the title of this first book in my new Scare School Diaries series.
I started playing around with the Scare School concept over four years ago. It took me a long time to figure out just how to present the story. If you’ve taken a look at the interior of the book (either via my social media accounts, or on any online book retailer site that offers a preview of the first handful of pages of the book), you’ll know that it’s a “hybrid” — a blend of text, illustrations, and comics. There aren’t many books out there in such a format, but for me, it is the most natural way of creating and sharing stories. If a part of the story is most powerfully, excitingly, and/or humorously told using words, I use words, and if a part of the story is most powerfully, excitingly, and/or humorously told using pictures (illustrations or comics), I use pictures. I think this sort or storytelling resonates particularly well with today’s kids, too, who are often (probably most often) consuming media that contains/blends both words and images. It also makes for a super absorbing reading experience, as kids, turning the pages, never know what they’re going to see on the next spread. I’m grateful to my editor and publisher for consistently letting me (and even encouraging me to!) create outside of the traditional kids’ books boxes.
Anyway, all of this is to say that this day has been a long time coming. It’s a bit surreal for me that it’s finally here. And now that it is, the thing that I am of course most excited about is finding out what you (and especially your young readers!) think of the book. If you want to learn more about Welcome to Scare School, check out the booktalk I recorded for the book below (you can also find this video at the Scare School Diaries page of this website and on my YouTube page). And if those readers of yours enjoy the book, don’t miss all the FREE Scare School Diaries activities I made (you can download those at the same Scare School Diaries page of this website). Also, a reminder that the NEXT Scare School Diaries book, Forest Frights, will be out on November 5th of THIS YEAR, and is already available for preorder everywhere books are sold. As with all my books, if you order the book from my local independent bookstore, the Silver Unicorn, yours will be signed, doodled-in, and personalized (if you want). You can do that HERE.
Lastly, for my local friends and fans: I’ll be launching Welcome to Scare School THIS weekend at the Silver Unicorn, along with my pal (and absolutely marvelous Middle Grade author) Betsy Uhrig. She’s got a spooky book out today, too. The fun starts at 3:00 pm on Saturday afternoon. And I mean fun — the Silver Unicorn will be turning their store into a HAUNTED HOUSE! Costumes are encouraged for this “Halloween in July” celebration. If you’re around and available, I hope to see you there!
Jarrett Lerner 