Category: Blog

Thank a Truck Driver!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 1 Comment

The other day, my pal Amy Janjgava shared with me something that she’d heard on the radio: “If you got it, a truck brought it.” I’d already been working on an activity sheet to thank truck drivers for the work they do, and I thought this statement was the perfect thing to center the sheet around.

truck driver

It’s a great quote. It reminds us just how much we rely on truck drivers ALL the time — and now more than ever.

You can download the sheet above by clicking HERE, or by heading over to my ACTIVITIES page. You can print it, complete it, and share it with a truck driver you know, or simply complete it as an exercise in acknowledging these unseen, often unsung individuals who keep our lives running as they do.

~ Jarrett

Thank Your Mail Carrier!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ Leave a comment

The past several weeks have been unlike any we’ve ever experienced. The world has been turned upside down, as have all our lives. We’re social distancing. Staying home to flatten the curve. Venturing out only when it’s absolutely necessary. And if you’re anything like the rest of the world, you’re probably ordering as much stuff as you can online. We’re relying on our mail carriers and package deliverers unlike we ever have before, and those mail carriers and package deliverers are putting themselves at risk like they never have before.

The other day, my sister-in-law, Cesha Ventre, suggested that I make an activity sheet to help people thank their mail carriers and package deliverers. Here what I came up with:

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Click HERE to download a printable version of this sheet. And, of course, if you’re uncomfortable physically handing something to your mail carrier or package deliverer, you can complete the sheet and tape it to your mailbox or front door — wherever they might see it. And rather than take it with them, they can always snap a picture of it to remember that you see them and acknowledge and appreciate the ways in which they are helping us in these unprecedented times.

~ Jarrett

Draw the Author Contest: the WINNERS!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 2 Comments

Draw the Author Contest Announcement

Six weeks ago, I launched my Draw the Author Contest to find a new author portrait for my upcoming series of Geeger the Robot early chapter books. The contest was only open for three weeks, but in that time, I received hundreds of submissions from kids all over the country (and a couple dozen from kids abroad, too!). Looking through the submissions was both delightful — there was so much talent on display! — and stressful — how was I going to choose just one of these amazing drawings?! I mean, I knew the decision was going to be tough. But I didn’t quite realize it was going to be this tough.

In the end, after poring over the submissions for several days, I decided that I, in fact, couldn’t pick just one drawing. But I figured I could pick, say, four drawings. And there just so happens to be FOUR books in the Geeger the Robot series. And so, my publisher and I decided to include a different portrait in each of the four books.

Now, without further ado, I present to you the winners of the Draw the Author Contest…

Appearing in Book 1 of the Geeger the Robot series will be this portrait by kindergartener Noah:

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Appearing in Book 2 of the Geeger the Robot series will be this portrait by 3rd grader Annabelle:

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Appearing in Book 3 of the Geeger the Robot series will be this portrait by 6th grader Dominic:

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And appearing in Book 4 of the Geeger the Robot series will be this portrait by 5th grader Ariah:

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THANK YOU to every kid who entered my contest, and THANK YOU to every adult who shared the contest with their students and/or kids. I am BEYOND excited to be able to feature these incredible kid creations in my books.

~ Jarrett

Design a Medical Mask for a Healthcare Worker!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ Leave a comment

Last night, my friend and educator extraordinaire Rachel Harder suggested that I make an activity sheet prompting kids to design a medical mask for a healthcare worker. This morning, I whipped up the activity sheet below.

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Click HERE to download a printable version of the sheet. And as is true for ALL of my activities, I love seeing completed sheets, so please feel free to tag me if you post your or someone else’s work.

Also, for those without printers, the drawing above can be easily reproduced on any sheet of paper. The mask is just a rectangle flanked by a pair of semicircles, and you can leave room on the paper for a note if you wish to include one.

Thanks again for the great suggestion, Rachel!

~ Jarrett

 

Introduction to Hand-Lettering (Parts 1 & 2)

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 8 Comments

Since I began sharing more and more of my activity sheets a couple weeks ago, I’ve gotten hundreds of notes from kids and parents all over the world — from every continent, actually, except Antarctica (I guess penguins aren’t into making comics…). Most of these notes are to share finished activities and completed comics, all of which have been consistently blowing me away and making me very, very excited about all the books and graphic novels these kids are going to create someday, and that I’ll get to read!

Some of the notes also contained special requests — such as the one from the girl who said she desperately needed more cat comics to finish (I made another batch of them as quickly as I could!). Many of the notes included questions, too. Several of these questions were about the hand-lettering I do throughout the activity sheets. Kids wanted to know how I did it, and how they can learn to do it, too.

To satisfy these curious minds — and to hopefully get a whole bunch of kids hand-lettering like crazy! — I drew up a couple sheets of tips and techniques.

To download printable, sharable versions of these sheets, click HERE and HERE. I hope they are useful!

~ Jarrett

New Activities and KNIGHTS

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 6 Comments

In the past couple weeks, the world has been turned upside down. The coronavirus pandemic has ground pretty much all our lives to a halt. As of this morning, a third of the population of the United States was told to stay in their homes and only leave in the case of an emergency, and the same is true for countries and communities all over the world. The schooling of hundreds of millions of children was put on hold, and is now being conducted virtually or being done by parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, siblings, or neighbors.

Thinking about those kids — especially those who may not have access to the sorts of resources that their schools, teachers, and librarians would usually provide them with — I ramped up production of my free activity sheets. I’ve been posting a brand new batch of them every morning for the past week or so, and plan to continue doing so for as long as I can. You can find all those sheets be clicking the ACTIVITIES tab up in the menu bar, or by clicking here.

And now, starting Monday, I will be doing something else — something to help out any kids who want or need access to more reading materials. I will be releasing one of my unpublished novels, Knights of the Kids’ Table. I plan to post a few chapters every Monday and Thursday morning, and then archive the posts on a new page at this site (you’ll be able to find a link to that page up in the menu bar as soon as it’s ready). It’ll probably take a couple months to get the end of the book.

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I am far from the only children’s book maker who is sharing resources at this time. Here are just a few of the lists going around sharing more of the wonderful stuff being shared by members of the kid lit community: Today.com’s “How to homeschool during the coronavirus crisis with free resources”; Fast Company’s “Stuck at home? Take free drawing classes from famous illustrators”; and We Are Teachers’ “The Big List of Children’s Authors Doing Online Read Alouds & Activities”.

Draw the Author Contest!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 4 Comments

JL author photo.JPGIf you’ve read EngiNerds or Revenge of the EngiNerds, you might recognize the drawing to the left. It’s my “author photo” — a self-portrait I did several years ago. I’d been planning to do a new drawing of myself for the author photo of my new Geeger the Robot series, but before I even got around to sit down and do it, I got an idea… Why not have a kid do the drawing? Why not hold a little contest and give one young artist the chance to have their work and name published in a “real” book?

Geeger the Robot_LERNER copyKids are always giving and sending me their drawings and comics, and I love being able to give them feedback, praise, support, and encouragement — it’s one of the coolest parts of being a creator of books for kids. As a kid, I would’ve LOVED to be able to share my drawings and comics with my favorite creators. And to have had an opportunity to maybe even get my work in one of their books?! The mere possibility would’ve blown my mind. I’m hoping that this contest, in addition to giving one kid an exciting prize, will fire up all the other kids who enter, and, further, help show them that their creative lives are valued by the creators who are making books for them.

And so, I am hereby CALLING ALL YOUNG ARTISTS BETWEEN THE AGES OF 5 AND 12! If you would like to enter this Draw the Author contest for a chance to have your artwork appear in Jarrett Lerner’s upcoming book, Geeger the Robot Goes To School, first talk to your parent or legal guardian to make sure you have their approval, then take a look at the reference pictures of me, make your portrait, and follow the submission directions below!

REFERENCE PHOTOS:

SUBMISSION DIRECTIONS:

First, please read the Official Information and Rules below. Then, once you have completed your portrait, follow these steps:

(1) copy and paste the Submission Form (below, in bold) into a blank email

(2) fill out ALL of the requested information

(3) attach your portrait of Jarrett Lerner to the email (if possible, please save the image as a .jpg or .pdf file)

and

(4) send the email to DrawTheAuthorContest@gmail.com

 

SUBMISSION FORM

Name of Artist:

Age of Artist:

School Grade of Artist:

Location of Artist (State, or Town/City and State):

Name of Artist’s Parent or Legal Guardian:

Email address of Artist’s Parent or Legal Guardian:

Additional Comments (optional):

By submitting this information and artwork, we, the above-named Artist and the above-named Artist’s parent or legal guardian, acknowledge that we have read and understand this Contest’s Official Rules.

 

(IMPORTANT: Please make sure to include the acknowledgement statement above in your submission!)

Draw the Author Contest Announcement.jpg

OFFICIAL RULES AND INFORMATION:

CONTEST

Jarrett Lerner (the “Author”) needs a new author portrait for his upcoming book, Geeger the Robot Goes to School (publishing August 25, 2020, from Simon & Schuster/Aladdin Quix). Rather than create the portrait himself, Jarrett would like to give one young artist the opportunity to have their artwork (and name) published in the book. Please read all of the information below to find out more about the contest.

THE PRIZE

One (1) winner will have their portrait of the author published in Geeger the Robot Goes to School.

HOW THE WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN (CRITERIA)

All entries will be judged by Jarrett Lerner (the “Author”) according to the following criteria:

40% — likeness to author
35% — originality
25% — artistic merit

HOW TO ENTER THE CONTEST

To enter the Contest, follow these steps: (1) copy and paste the Submission Form that is shared above the Official Information and Rules into a blank email, (2) fill out ALL of the requested information, (3) attach your portrait of Jarrett Lerner to the email, and (4) send the email to DrawTheAuthorContest@gmail.com. Art can be done with any materials the artist wishes/prefers to use (pencil, pen, marker, crayon, paint, collage, digital methods, etc.). Art can be any size, but please note that the Contest Winner’s portrait will need to be scaled down to fit into the book.

IMPORTANT: Please read these rules (the “Official Rules”) before entering this contest (the “Contest”). Participation in the Contest constitutes entrant’s full and unconditional agreement and acceptance of these Official Rules and the decisions of the contest sponsor (the “Author”), which are final and binding. Winning the prize is contingent upon being compliant with these Official Rules and fulfilling all other requirements set forth herein. NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS CONTEST.

OFFICIAL RULES

The Contest is open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia who are between the ages of five (5) and twelve (12) at the time of entry and who have approval of their parent or legal guardian. The Contest is subject to federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Participation in the Contest constitutes entrant’s full and unconditional agreement and acceptance of these Official Rules and the decisions of the Author, which are final and binding. Winning the prize is contingent upon being compliant with these Official Rules and fulfilling all other requirements set forth herein.

The Contest begins on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at 7:00 am Eastern Standard Time and ends on Tuesday, March 17 at 7:00 am Eastern Standard Time (the “Contest Period”). Submissions that are made before or after the Contest Period will be disqualified. Only those submissions made by the proper method and completed in full will be eligible for consideration for the duration of the Contest Period. Author will not be responsible for and will not consider incomplete or incorrect submissions. Author is not responsible for submissions that are sent to but not received by Author for any reason.

The Contest Winner and their Parent or Legal Guardian will be notified by email using the email address provided to Author when they initially entered the contest. If the Contest Winner and their Parent or Legal Guardian do not respond to the notification within five (5) business days, another winner will be chosen. Failure to respond within the time frame listed above shall mean that the provisional winner forfeits the prize.

Only one submission per artist will be considered for contest entry.

By making a submission to Author, you represent and warrant that the submission is the sole and exclusive work of the named Artist. By making a submission to Author, you also represent and warrant that the submission does not infringe on any copyright, trademark, property rights, rights of privacy or publicity of any person, or any other right of any third party and that you have the full and unrestricted right to transfer the artwork to Author free and clear of any claims or encumbrances. You also acknowledge and agree that Author shall have no obligation to post, display, or otherwise make publicly available any artwork that you submit.

Contest Winner and their Parent or Legal Guardian may not request substitutions of prize winnings.

Neither Author nor their officers, directors, employees, agents, successors, or assigns shall be liable for any warranty, costs, damage, injury, or any other claims incurred as a result of any submission. Author is not liable for any loss arising out of or in connection with any submission. Entrants assume all liability for and risk of any injury or damage caused, or claimed to be caused, by participation in Contest or use or redemption of prize.

If the specified prize becomes unavailable for any reason, Author in their sole and absolute discretion may substitute a prize.

Contest is null and void in any jurisdiction where it is prohibited by law.

Author reserves the right in their sole and absolute discretion to terminate Contest at any time without prior notice.

Author reserves the right in their sole and absolute discretion to alter Contest rules at any time.

By entering this Contest, you conclusively are deemed to have agreed to be bound by these contest rules and terms and conditions. This is an irrevocable condition of entry.

Contest Winner will be chosen by Author on the merits of their entry, in Author’s sole and absolute discretion (see CRITERIA above for more information).

No purchase or payment of any consideration is necessary to enter the Contest.

Author reserves the right to condition the award of prize upon the execution by the Contest Winner and their Parent or Legal Guardian of a publicity release.

Author reserves the right to require the Contest Winner and their Parent or Legal Guardian to execute an affidavit of eligibility as a sworn document and provide other proof of eligibility as a condition of receipt of the prize or award.

World Read Aloud Day 2020

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 3 Comments

Today is World Read Aloud Day, a day in which we are encouraged to celebrate the benefits and joys of reading aloud to one another. I spent the day reading with kids all over the country (thanks to the magic of Google Hangouts and Skype!). This morning, before things got underway, I created this comic about just SOME of the benefits of reading aloud to kids.

Untitled_Artwork (5).JPG

You can neither be too young nor too old to benefit from (and enjoy!) being read to. It has been shown that infants just days old can benefit from being read to, and surely you know plenty of adults who enjoy (or are maybe even OBSESSED with) audiobooks. And those doing the reading aloud benefit too. For instance, it has been shown that kids can gain reading confidence and improve their skills even by reading to their dogs and cats! (Go on social media and search the hashtags #ReadToYourDogman and #ReadToYourCatkid, launched by the wonderful Dav Pilkey, to learn some more about this and see some heartwarming photos.)

How are you celebrating World Read Aloud Day? I hope it’s by reading and/or being read to!

~ Jarrett

Yes, EVEN MORE T-Shirts!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ Leave a comment

I’ve recently been sharing a whole bunch of new free, downloadable, printable drawings on social media — all of which you can find on the Art page of this site. One of those drawings was this one:

meant to be

A number of people suggestively mentioned that they’d be interested in WEARING such a drawing (like, on a T-shirt…), so I worked with Custom Ink to launch another fundraiser.

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Once again, proceeds from this fundraiser will be put towards kids’ book access efforts.

Thank you, as always, for the amazing support!

~ Jarrett

#KidsNeedBooks of All Kinds — Spanish Edition Fundraiser!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 2 Comments

Last week, a third-grade teacher in a Spanish immersion school asked me if I’d ever consider making a Spanish language version of my Kids Need Books of all Kinds art. I thought it was a fantastic idea, and as soon as she assured me I had the right translation (!), I whipped it up.

Kids Need Books of all Kinds_Spanish

(And, by the way, you can now download a free, print-ready copy of that art here.)

Not long after I put the new art up on social media, people started asking whether they’d be a new, Spanish edition sale of T-shirts, too. I said that if there was sufficient interest, I’d work with Custom Ink to set up a new, Spanish edition fundraiser (Custom Ink requires a certain number of sales before shirts can print, so I needed to make sure). Well, the interest was more than sufficient. And so, here you go!

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The #KidsNeedBooks of all Kinds Spanish Edition T-shirt is now available! You can order it here. Thank you, thank you — a billion times over — to all who have shared and supported these efforts of mine. Together, we have raised over $23,000 to help eradicate book deserts and help get books into the hands of kids who need them most.

~ Jarrett