SCARE SCHOOL DIARIES: THE UN-HAUNTABLE HOUSE pub day!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 1 Comment

Today, Scare School Diaries: The Un-Hauntable House is officially out! This is the third and long-awaited (judging by the Scare School Diaries fans I meet on the road, at least, who’ve been asking me about THIS book’s release date since before the SECOND even came out) installment of my series of highly illustrated chapter books. This, of course, is worth celebrating in and of itself. But there’s a reason to celebrate EXTRA hard today, and that’s because The Un-Hauntable House is my 30th published book! Cue the party hat-wearing, noisemaker-blowing emojis.

But back to The Un-Hauntable House specifically — I really think fans of Welcome to Scare School and Forest Frights (the first two books in the series) are going to love it. As with all my ongoing series, I never want to give fans only more of the same. I strive to develop each and every one of my characters from one book to the next, and while I DO want to give fans plenty of what they loved about the stories in the previous books in a series, I also always want to push things forward and give them something NEW too. As such, there are a lot of FIRSTS in The Un-Hauntable House. For instance, the book marks the first time we see HUMAN characters, and the first time we hear about and see Bash and his pals try to scare them. The book also marks the first time we see Mr. Crane show something resembling DELIGHT. (For those of you who are already familiar with the books, you’ll know that’s a VERY BIG DEAL.)

I hope my readers DO find a lot to love about this next story out of the Scare School Diaries universe, and I hope it leaves them hungry for even more. Because I’ve got more coming. Basement Baddies, the fourth book in the series, will be out on March 2nd, 2027. And in case you missed the recent announcement on social media, Scare School Diaries has been extended to include a fifth and sixth (highly illustrated) chapter book AND a trio of early readers as part of a new series called Tales from Scare School.

More on all of THIS fun stuff soon. For now, though — and to finish off my talking about The Un-Hauntable House — here’s my publisher’s writeup about the book:

Bash must haunt a hardy household right out of their home to pass his exam in this third book in the sweet and spooky chapter book series by acclaimed author Jarrett Lerner.

It’s time for the annual Excursion Exam at Scare School, and for Bash, his assignment is a doozy: he must spook every member of the Jones family badly enough that they flee their home! That’s nine humans, a dog, and a cat—a tall order for a young ghost. Even worse, when Bash arrives at the house for the big event, nothing he tries frightens the Joneses! Can he muster up a good enough scare to pass his test?

If you want signed, doodled-in, and personalized copies of The Un-Hauntable House (and/or any of my other books), you can, as always, order them from my incredible local independent bookstore, The Silver Unicorn. Click HERE to do so. Thanks! And also: BOO!

~ Jarrett

COVER REVEALS: Scare School Diaries: Basement Baddies; Nat the Cat and the Weepy Kitty; and Like & Subscribe: Chocolate Pudding Pool Party

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 2 Comments

2026 has continued to be a super-busy year for me–evidenced by the fact that I am once again here to reveal the covers of not one, not two, but three new, upcoming books.

Up first, Basement Baddies, the fourth installment of my highly-illustrated Scare School Diaries series of chapter books:

There are a ton of things I love about this cover–and I can say that without being accused of immodesty, since the majority of those things I love so much were suggested to me by my brilliant art director for these books, Laura DiSiena. Anyway, here’s a quick list of the top three things I love:

1. This is the first cover of a Scare School Diaries book that features more than just Bash (the ghost whose diaries these books are, in case you’re unfamiliar). He’s joined here, importantly, by a trio of imps.

2. This is also the first cover in which Bash isn’t holding some sort of drawing, writing, coloring, or painting implement. Instead, the imps have gotten hold of Bash’s purple colored pencils. The resulting loss of control Bash has over his own book cover is, again, important.

3. The imp hanging upside down from the curl after the word “Diaries,” as well as the one only half-glimpsed darting off the bottom left edge of the cover (but who you’ll see the rest of once you get your hands on the finished book and take a look at its back and spine).

Okay, okay–I know I kind of squeezed more than three things into that “top three” list. But these details and devices that Laura encouraged me to put in are just genius–and once you actually read the book and see how so much of the content is foreshadowed in this one drawing, I’m confident you’ll fully agree.

Anyway, here’s what my publisher would like you to know about the book:

Bash and his classmates must figure out who is causing all kinds of mischief in this fourth book in the sweet and spooky Scare School Diaries chapter book series by acclaimed author Jarrett Lerner.

Bash is back for his next session at Scare School and can’t wait to learn teleportation, which means he will be able to move from one place to another instantly. However, first he must prove that he has his basic creature skills perfected. But as soon as his lessons start, strange things start happening around school—portraits are suddenly turned upside-down, silly stickers appear on random objects, and Bash’s favorite Spooky Loops cereal gets switched with Boo-Berry Bites. Even his oh-so-serious teacher, Mr. Crane, seems distracted by it all!

It seems there are mysterious troublemakers roaming the halls of Scare School! Can Bash figure out who is causing the chaos?

When, you might be wondering, can you get hands on Basement Baddies? The answer is March 2nd, 2027, just under five months after the third book in the series–The Unfortunate Familiar–comes out, on October 6th, 2026.

Next up, Nat the Cat and the Weepy Kitty, the second book in my soon-to-be-launched series of Nat the Cat early readers (the first book in the series, Nat the Cat and The Mysterious Thing, hits shelves this November):

In The Weepy Kitty, the “mysterious thing” from the first book in this series–revealed (spoiler alert), to have been the kitten you can now clearly seen on the second book’s cover–is, well, weepy. Weep, in fact, is all that Dusty (that’s the name Nat the Cat and Pat the Rat have given to the kitten) seems able to do. As he continues to cry, “Weep! Weep! Weep!” Nat and Pat endeavor to cheer the kitten up, pulling out all the tricks in the book and then some.

Rather than drop any other spoilers, I won’t tell you any more specifics about what happens in Nat the Cat and the Weepy Kitty. But my hope is that both kids and adults will find lots to relate to and laugh about as they watch Nat and Pat try and try and try (and fail and fail and fail) to turn Dusty’s wobbly frown upside down.

Nat the Cat and the Weepy Kitty publishes on February 2nd, 2027, just a couple months after Nat the Cat and the Mysterious Thing‘s arrival on November 24th, 2026.

These Nat the Cat “early graphic novels” are part of a recently launched line of books from Simon & Schuster’s Simon Spotlight imprint. These books are called Star Chapter Books–easily identifiable thanks to the pair of stars in the upper lefthand corner of each one. My Super Roomies series of early graphic novels are also Star Chapter Books, and just in case you’re not familiar with this new line of titles, here’s a bit more information about them:

Star Chapter Books are the perfect bridge for kids moving beyond beginning readers but not yet ready for longer chapter books. With short chapters, bold two-color illustrations, and fast-paced, funny stories, these confidence-building books make reading fun and rewarding.

Each Star Chapter Book is 112 pages long, divided into six to eight short chapters with illustrated panels on every page to keep kids engaged from start to finish. This highly visual early chapter book format supports the transition from leveled readers to chapter books, making Star Chapter Books a perfect fit for independent reading, classroom libraries, or shared story time.

Last–but DEFINITELY not least–I’m excited to share here the cover of the first book in new, highly-illustrated series of Middle Grade novels. The series is called Like & Subscribe. The book is called Chocolate Pudding Pool Party. And here, without further ado, is the cover:

To say that I’m excited about the release of this book would be one of the biggest understatements in the history of the written or spoken word. I am beyond excited. Like, BEYOND beyond.

Like & Subscribe is narrated by Kellan, a thirteen-year-old kid who, along with his three best friends, runs a super successful YouTube channel. Each book in the series depicts a week in the lives of these kids, as the first come up with an idea for a new video, then set to work figuring out the logistics involved in making it work, and then filming, editing, and posting the thing. And while I’ll share more about the specifics of Chocolate Pudding Pool Party in a second, I want to first tell you about the inspiration for this series.

More than any other book project I’ve so far worked on, Like & Subscribe stemmed directly from experiences I’ve had over the past decade or so visiting schools across the country. For all these years, in almost every single school I go to, two things happen. First, the kids at the school ask me–during the Q&A portion of my presentation, at lunch meetings, during book signings, or even just in the hallway–about YouTube. They want to know if I’m on it, how many subscribers I have, what sort of content I create, and who I like to watch on the platform. The second thing that happens is that the teachers, librarians, administrators, and even parents and guardians in the community, will talk to me about their kids who are not reading, who have yet to find the book for them, the one that will get them looking at books and reading differently and convince them that they are (and hopefully always will be!) a Reader. Very often, in the same conversation, these concerned adults will also bring up the fact that these so-called “reluctant” readers only ever want to watch YouTube. Sometimes, the supposed connection between watching YouTube and not reading is made explicit. Other times, the statements as simply laid out as two bits of information.

But at the end of the day, it’s not important to me to try and figure out the link between loving YouTube, watching a ton of it and wanting to watch a ton of it, and not reading many (or any) books. The important thing to take away from these experiences of mine are that: (1) YouTube is a meaningful part of many, many kids’ lives, and (2) the adults in many, many kids’ lives have found that those kids are less inclined to pick up a book and read than previous cohorts of kids were. Eventually–and honestly, I don’t know why it took me so long–I realized that it wasn’t useful to see YouTube as “the enemy,” and that the productive thing to do was meet these kids where they were and make books about this thing that was so powerfully and richly meaningful to them.

Literally the day I had this insight, I began developing this series of books. I also started doing some research, and was shocked to discover that no one had made a book like this before. I’m sure there are others in the works, and it’s possible other others had been pitched and just not picked up by publishers. But as far as I can figure out, Like & Subscribe will be the first book of its kind, with the particular perspective and content it contains. All of my books–since 2017’s EngiNerds on–have been made with those so-called “reluctant” readers in mind. It’s inspired countless creative decisions over the years, and is now an ingrained part of my process. I’m always hoping my books will reinforce the idea or newly convince kids that reading has a role to play in their lives, and that every time they do it, they’ll be able to take something positive from the experience and bring it directly back into their lives. My hope is that, in checking out the description on the back of Chocolate Pudding Pool Party (or even just hearing about the book from someone else), lots of readers who otherwise wouldn’t give reading a chance will pick it up, open to the first page, and give it a shot.

And now, as promised–here’s a bit more about what readers will find inside Like & Subscribe: Chocolate Pudding Pool Party:

From beloved creator Jarrett Lerner comes a new illustrated middle-grade series about a group of kid YouTubers preparing for their next video: filling their pool with chocolate pudding

When Kellan and his friends Izzy, Dee, and Nessa started their YouTube channel, they never dreamed of becoming as successful as they are now. But after one of their posts went viral a few years ago, their popularity exploded―allowing them to build a headquarters (complete with a swimming pool!) where they plan and film their videos. Their dedicated fanbase can’t wait to see what wild stunt they’ll pull off every week, and Kellan can’t imagine anything better than getting to do this with his best friends.

They only have one week to execute their latest idea―filling their pool with chocolate pudding! As they work through logistical challenges―how much pudding do you need to fill a full-size pool? How dense does the pudding need to be to safely accommodate a proper belly flop?―they face off with Victor Russo, a jealous YouTuber spreading lies online that they’ve stolen his video ideas. When Victor is believed, suddenly Kellan and his friends aren’t just trying to throw an epic chocolate pudding pool party by the end of the week . . . can they also find a way to clear their names?

In the coming weeks and months, I’ll be sharing a lot more about this book, including some sneak peeks at the pages, almost every single one of which features some kind of illustration (if not multiple illustrations). Like & Subscribe: Chocolate Pudding Pool Party comes out on March 2nd, 2027–the same day, actually, as Scare School Diaries: Basement Baddies, and exactly one month after Nat the Cat and the Tricky Trick. All of these books, however, can be preordered today, and if you know you’re going to be purchasing any (or all!) of these titles, I’d very much appreciate those preorders. As always, you can preorder/order any of my books from my local independent bookstore, the Silver Unicorn, and get your copies signed, doodled-in, and personalized (if you want) by yours truly. To do that, click HERE.

If you’ve made it this far, and are still reading: THANKS! And keep an eye on my social media feeds for more information and sneak peeks inside all of the books mentioned above.

~ Jarrett

THE SUPER ROOMIES: PAINT THE TOWN PINK pub day!

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Yesterday, the second installment of my Super Roomies series of early graphic novels–Paint the Town Pink–hit shelves! Here’s a bit more about the book specifically (and a sneak peek at the interior!), plus some more general info about Star Chapter Books, a new line of Simon & Schuster titles that the Super Roomies books are a part of.

In this laugh-out-loud superhero spoof, four roommates with very different powers must stop a villain from painting the city an awful shade of pink that will make everyone in town sick!

“Abby Astro, Blix Blaster, Captain Kooky Pants, and Wanda Weather are superheroes, but they are also human. Three of them stayed up late watching their favorite TV show. When they wake up the next day, the city is in danger! Their former roommate, Nina Neon, is turning everything a nauseating shade of Projectile Pink! Can the super roomies rally—and stay awake long enough—to stop her?

Each Star Chapter Book is 112 pages long, divided into six to eight short chapters with illustrated panels on every page to keep kids engaged from start to finish. This highly visual early chapter book format supports the transition from leveled readers to chapter books, making Star Chapter Books a perfect fit for independent reading, classroom libraries, or shared story time.

Look for more Star Chapter Books adventures to help kids grow confident and discover the joy of reading, including the Super Roomies’ first adventure, Lake of Slime!”

Both Paint the Town Pink and the Super Roomies first adventure, Lake of Slime, are available everywhere books are sold. BUT, if you want your copies of the books signed, doodled-in, and personalized, order from my wonderful local independent bookstore, the Silver Unicorn. Click HERE to do so.

And if you and/or your young readers get through Paint the Town Pink and still want MORE Super Roomies silliness, don’t worry–a third installment of the series is already in the works (I actually just finished inking all the interior pages), and will be out next year.

~ Jarrett

T-shirts!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ Leave a comment

This spring and summer, I’ve gotten a lot of requests to put some of my old T-shirt designs back up for sale. I’ve also gotten some requests to create a new T-shirt design. Well, it took me a little while, but I’ve finally done BOTH.

For a limited time, you can get three of my past T-shirt designs — “READ MORE. BAN LESS.”, “School Library Blueprint,” and “Ask Me What I’m Reading” — plus a brand-new one, which I’ve been calling “Me & A Book.”

Each shirt comes in a handful of color and/or style options, all of which can be seen and ordered by clicking HERE. As always with my T-shirt sales, proceeds will be put toward organizations and efforts to help get books into kids’ hands.

Thanks!

~ Jarrett

COVER REVEALS: The Super Roomies: Paint the Town Pink; Scare School Diaries: The Un-Hauntable House; and Nat the Cat and the Mysterious Thing

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 1 Comment

What a month it’s been — and we’re only halfway done with it! In the past couple weeks, I’ve had FOUR books come out. First, on May 5th, it was Nat the Cat Sets a Trap, Nat the Cat Five Books in One!, and The Super Roomies: Lake of Slime, the start of a brand-new series of early graphic novels on a brand-new and very exciting line of books (Star Chapter Books) from Simon & Schuster’s Simon Spotlight imprint. Then, on May 12th, EngiNerds 3-in-1 — a single-volume bind-up of my first-ever series of books, the EngiNerds series of Middle Grade novels — hit shelves. (You can read more about both of these epic release days HERE and HERE.) And now I’m back to reveal the covers of three MORE books I’ve got coming out this year (I know, I know — due to a variety of converging factors, 2026 is a bit of a bonanza year for me, in terms of new books out).

First up, the second installment of my freshly launched Super Roomies series of early graphic novels, Paint the Town Pink:

In Paint the Town Pink, the Super Roomies have to put a stop to one of the crew’s former roommates, Nina Neon, who is intent on painting their city “projectile pink,” a shade of pink so overwhelmingly intense it causes people to projectile vomit on sight. In other words, it’s four against one — a task which should be a breeze for Abby Astro, Blix Blaster, Captain Kooky Pants, and Wanda Weather. Unfortunately, three of the four Super Roomies stayed up all night binge-watching their favorite TV show and, now, they can barely keep their eyes open, meaning they’ve made the task of saving the day significantly harder for themselves. Can they pull it off? You’ll be able to find out when Paint the Town Pink hits shelves on August 25th!

Next up — and appropriately publishing at the very beginning of Spooky Season — is the third book in my Scare School Diaries series of highly illustrated chapter books. This one’s called The Un-Hauntable House, and, notably, it’s the first Scare School book that features real live (that is, neither headless nor zombie-fied) human beings.

In The Un-Hauntable House, Bash and his fellow Scare School students are each tasked with passing an Excursion Exam — a sort of field trip combined with a test. Each kids’ Excursion Exam is specially crafted for them by one of Scare School’s teachers, and the tough, insrutable Mr. Crane gives Bash a real doozy . . . . He must spook every member of the Jones family — that’s nine humans, a dog, and a cat — badly enough that they flee their home (bonus points if they are screaming in terror as they are doing it). Bash plans and prepares for his Excursion Exam as thoroughly as he can, but when the time comes to do the actual scaring, he encounters all kinds of obstacles he couldn’t have foreseen: rambunctious toddlers, phone-obsessed teenagers, and parents so overwhelmed and exhausted they’ve basically been turned into zombies. Meaning if Bash wants to pass his exam, he’s going to have to think on his feet (so to speak) and employ some untraditional methods. You can find out how he does when The Un-Hauntable House comes out on October 6th!

Finally, the last cover I have to reveal is for Nat the Cat and the Mysterious Thing, the first in an upcoming series of early graphic novel starring Nat the Cat, Pat the Rat, and . . . well, a mysterious thing that I’m not about to tell you about before you get a chance to read the book!

Nat the Cat and the Mysterious Thing comes out November 24th, and I am beyond excited to share the stories I have cooked up in this new, longer format for Nat the Cat and Pat the Rat. Over the course of my six Nat the Cat early readers, our lovable curmudgeon of a protagonist grows increasingly sweet and in tune with his emotions. Nat the Cat and the Mysterious Thing picks things up from there, with Nat the Cat being made to venture into far more emotionally tricky terrain. Throughout these early graphic novels (I have finished the first two, and written the third), Nat the Cat continues to develop and grow — mirroring, my publisher and I hope, the development and growth of Nat the Cat’s young readers. I could go on and on about the care and thought my team and I put into Nat’s transition to these early graphic novels and the specific stories that play out in their panels, and I WILL, once we get a little closer to their publication date. For now, though, I’ll just share that Nat the Cat and the Mysterious Thing was recently named a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, continuing a long-running streak of Nat’s books being honored in this way, which is great sign, more than six months before the book’s actual publication.

The Super Roomies: Paint the Town Pink, Scare School Diaries: The Un-Hauntable House, and Nat the Cat and the Mysterious Thing are all now available for preorder wherever books are sold. As always, if you preorder the books from my local independent bookstore, the Silver Unicorn, I can sign, doodle-in, and personalize (if you wish) your copies. Click HERE to do that. I’ll be sharing more about these books in the coming weeks and months, both here and, more regularly and thoroughly, on social media, so go and find me over on Instagram (@jarrett_lerner) and/or Facebook if you want to keep up-to-date, learn more, and see some sneak-peeks and behind-the-scenes fun.

Thanks!

~ Jarrett

ENGINERDS 3-IN-1 pub day!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 1 Comment

Last Tuesday, one of the three books I had come out was Nat the Cat Five Books in One!, a single-volume bind-up of my first five Nat the Cat early readers. Today, I have another single-volume bind-up out, this one of my EngiNerds trilogy of Middle Grade novels.

EngiNerds was my very first published book, and along with its sequels, Revenge of the EngiNerds and The EngiNerds Strike Back, the trilogy was my first complete series. For this reason, these books will always be special to me (I also think they remain some of the best stories I’ve ever written). But there are a whole bunch of OTHER reasons I’m thrilled about this EngiNerds 3-in-1 book coming out today. Here are a few:

1) These books are still finding new readers all the time (at some of my school visits, EngiNerds is the best-selling of all my titles), and the release of this single-volume bind-up will help it find even more.

2) EngiNerds 3-in-1 has a cover price of $10.99, making buying it significantly cheaper than it would to be to purchase all three of the trilogy’s books individually.

3) All three of the EngiNerds books are under 200 pages and made up of short (sometimes super short) chapters, meaning that, all together like this, they are nearly 600 pages long — and that’s about as long as the longest books out there for Middle Grade readers right now. There are lots of young readers who would normally be far too intimidated to pick up a 600-page novel, but knowing EngiNerds 3-in-1 is actually three books (and seeing all those short and super short chapters) will make it more approachable and accessible and, if they read it, boost their confidence, because we know that the actual, physical size of a book can play a large role in kids’ reading choices and confidence. I originally wrote EngiNerds with so-called “reluctant” readers in mind, and the fact that this single-volume bind-up will further help such kids gives me a delightful, full-circle sort of feeling.

You can find EngiNerds 3-in-1 starting today wherever books are sold. As always, order from my local independent bookstore, The Silver Unicorn, if you want yours signed, doodled-in, and personalized. You can click HERE to do so.

Thanks! And as I often scrawl on the title page when signing copies of EngiNerds books… STAY NERDY!

~ Jarrett

NAT THE CAT SETS A TRAP, NAT THE CAT FIVE BOOKS IN ONE, and THE SUPER ROOMIES: LAKE OF SLIME pub day!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ Leave a comment

As you can see from the title of this post, today is BIG day for me. I have not one, not two, but THREE books coming out.

First up, my sixth Nat the Cat early reader, Nat the Cat Sets a Trap. Yes, the trap is for Pat the Rat. But don’t worry, as Nat says in the book–it’s a nice trap.

Nat the Cat Sets a Trap provides readers with another dose of the Nat the Cat format they have come to know–the usual silliness, the emotional roller coaster of it all, and a bit of sweetness to close things out–but also develops the characters and their increasingly caring relationship (which, by the way, is all carefully done to lead the way into Nat and Pat’s new series of early graphic novels, which launch this November with Nat the Cat and Mysterious Thing. More on all that soon…).

This book has also has an extra layer of personal meaning for me, as it’s dedicated to my wife, Danni. Like Pat the Rat, Danni is someone who thoroughly enjoys and celebrates the little, often overlooked things in life. She’s changed how I see and approach the world for the better, in countless ways. Nat the Cat Sets a Trap is, in part, me sharing that with my readers and the world.

Next up, another Nat and Pat-related book: Nat the Cat Five Books in One! This is exactly what it sounds like: five Nat the Cat books all bound-up in a single volume–and, my publisher would probably like me to add in here, all for one very reasonable price, especially when compared to what it’d cost to buy five Nat the Cat books individually. The five books collected in Nat the Cat Five Books in One! are the first five Nat early readers: Nat the Cat Takes a Nap, Nat the Cat Takes a Bath, Nat the Cat Has a Snack, Nat the Cat Has a Hat, and Nat the Cat Finds a Map (in other words, the bind-up is only missing Nat the Cat Sets a Trap).

This past weekend, at the Silver Unicorn’s Kids Graphic Novel Festival, the shop got the go-ahead from my publisher to sell this book a few days early, and it was, I’m pretty sure, my bestselling title of the day. Even kids and families who already owned the first five Nat the Cat books were purchasing a copy of Nat the Cat Five Books in One!, both for the ease of having them all together, and because young readers who can read the Nat the Cat books on their own were delighted and proud to own a book as thick as this bind-up is.

And last of all–but DEFINITELY not least of all–the third book I have coming out today is… drumroll please… The Super Roomies: Lake of Slime.

If you follow me on social media, you’ve been hearing A LOT about this book. Lake of Slime is the start of not only a brand-new series, but a brand-new line of books: Star Chapter Books, from Simon Spotlight/Simon & Schuster. These books are all “early graphic novels,” and every single one of them is 112 pages long, split up into six to eight chapters, with each page containing between one and four panels and, typically, no more than a sentence or two per panel. If that sounds very specific, well, IT IS. But for very good reasons. Simon Spotlight (who also publish all my Nat the Cat books, and all the other Ready-to-Read titles out there) endeavors to make high-interest books that not only delight young readers, but help them learn and grow as readers, building their capability and confidence with each and every turn of the page. All of the Simon Spotlight editors, art directors, designers, and creators are extremely thoughtful about the choices made in these books, wanting to be effective about turning kids into readers by making books that are both FUN and helpful at the same time. These Star Chapter Books fill a hole in the marketplace that has become more and more apparent as we learn more about kids’ reading and observe more about this specific generation of kids’ book-related wants and needs.

I’m so grateful that I was asked to be a part of the Star Chapter Books crew and to help launch this new line, because Simon Spotlight’s core mission perfectly aligns with mine and the goals of my career from the get-go. And, to toot our own horn a bit, I think we absolutely NAILED IT. But you don’t have to listen to me. You can listen to everyone else! Because over the course of the past few months, The Super Roomies: Lake of Slime has been racking up good press and high praise. It received TWO starred reviews (one from School Library Journal and one from Publishers Weekly), and both of those reviews were packed full of wildly kind comments and comparisons. The book was also named a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, and just this past weekend was named an Amazon Editor’s Pick and Best Book of the Month.

Lake of Slime will be quickly followed up, in August, by the second installment of the Super Roomies series, Paint the Town Pink, with a third book to follow in 2027. Below, you can get a sneak peek at the interior of Lake of Slime. If you want to see more, you can get your hands on the book anywhere books are sold. As always, if you order any of my books through my local indie, the Silver Unicorn, I can sign, doodle-in, and (if you want) personalize the books before you pick them up (if you’re nearby) or they ship them out to you. Click HERE to get shopping for my books at the Silver Unicorn!

~ Jarrett

And here’s that sneak peek at the interior of LAKE OF SLIME (please note: these pages are not in order, but just a handful from here and there that my publisher opted to share to show what readers can expect to find inside the book). Enjoy!

ROOHI AND NATE ARE NOT ON THE SAME PAGE pub day!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 1 Comment

Today, Roohi and Nate Are Not on the Same Page finally publishes!

I say “finally” because this book has been a long time coming. I co-authored and co-illustrated it along with my dear friend, Supriya Kelkar, and we’ve been scheming about making a book together for quite a while. But now, at long last, it’s here: our dual perspective, heavily-illustrated Middle Grade novel that is a love letter to a whole host of things literacy related: books, reading, the connections and personal growth that books and reading afford us, and, last but definitely not least, school librarians — the individuals who are so often instrumental in putting the right books in the hands of the right kids at the right time in order to turn them into lifelong readers.

Here’s what our publisher has to say about the book:

From award-winning author-illustrators Supriya Kelkar and Jarrett Lerner comes an illustrated middle-grade novel about a pair of unlikely friends determined to save the library that brought them together.

Roohi and Nate are not friends. Their paths have crossed a handful of times over the years—and the outcome has never been good. Nate thinks Roohi is a snobby know-it-all, and Roohi thinks Nate is nothing but a slacker.

But that begins to change when they both somewhat reluctantly join a reading club that meets during lunch at their school library. The Lunch Bunch allows Roohi to open up about feeling disconnected from her friends on the track team after a broken toe sidelined her for the season.

Nate, who has always struggled in school, shares how tired he is of constantly being compared to his genius older brother. Despite their differences, and maybe because of them, Roohi and Nate form a friendship unlike any other they’ve ever had, with each other and with the other kids in the club.

As the Lunch Bunch gets stronger, though, things seem to be falling apart at the library. When the kids learn that their beloved librarian, Mrs. Sharp’s, job may be in danger due to budget cuts, they band together to find a solution . . . which proves to be easier said than done.

Can Roohi and Nate’s new friendship survive outside of the Lunch Bunch in order to save the place that brought them together?

And here’s some praise the book has so far recieved:

“Grayscale comics and spot illustrations accentuate the lighthearted humor of the characters’ evergreen adolescent conflicts while earnest prose and a supportive cast emphasize themes of pressure to meet expectations and managing friendships.”—Publishers Weekly

“[A] love letter to libraries…Readers will walk away from this one ready to stand up and fight for the people and places that matter most.”—Booklist

“Students will ­appreciate the illustrations peppered throughout”—School Library Journal

“The fun, relatable story brims with clever wordplay and inventively draws parallels between the kids’ experiences and the book they’re reading. The interplay of text and comic-style illustrations has strong appeal…A heartwarming tale of friendship and the power of books to bring people together.”—Kirkus Review

You can purchase Roohi and Nate Are Not on the Same Page everywhere books are sold. But, as always, if you want signed, personalized, doodled-in copies, make sure you order from my local indie, the Silver Unicorn. You can click HERE to do that.

Last of all — and especially for those of you in classrooms and libraries — you can download the Roohi and Nate-inspired poster below for free. Along with the book, Supriya and I hope the poster helps encourage kids to use their voices to celebrate, support, and protect what matters to them.

Click HERE to download the poster!

~ Jarrett

NAT THE CAT FINDS A MAP pub day!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 2 Comments

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!

Thanks!

~ Jarrett

COVER REVEALS — PLURAL! Plus: a roundup of what’s in store for 2026!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ Leave a comment

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.

Again: THANKS!!!

~ Jarrett