Category: News

A WORK IN PROGRESS

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 3 Comments

Here it is! The book I alluded to yesterday morning on social media and here on my blog.

A Work in Progress is an illustrated novel in verse based on my own experiences with body image, body dysmorphia, disordered eating, and self-worth, and will be published Fall of 2022 by Simon & Schuster/Aladdin.

I’ll be sharing much more about the book and the decade-long process behind its creation in the coming months. For now, I just want to thank everyone who sent messages of care, support, and encouragement yesterday after I shared all I shared and announced the book. It all truly means the world to me. I feel like I’ve spent the past 20 years walking around with a rock in my shoe, and like I’ve just finally gotten it out.

~ Jarrett

GIVE THIS BOOK A COVER pub day!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 4 Comments

Today’s the day!

My second activity book, Give This Book a Cover, is officially here!

Thanks to everyone who has used and shared my activities — it’s in large part thanks to YOU that these activity books (which I’ve been wanting to make for years and years!) are a reality. Now, I hope they help turn tons of kids into more confident, capable creative forces!

And just a reminder: if you want signed copies of Give This Book a Cover, or ANY of my books, you can always order from my local independent bookstore, Porter Square Books. Click HERE to check out all my books at their site!

~ Jarrett

GEEGER THE ROBOT GOES TO SCHOOL on the SSYRA Jr. List!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 2 Comments

Yesterday, Geeger the Robot had a very good day.

At 10 o’clock yesterday morning, I learned that Geeger the Robot Goes to School had been included on this year’s Sunshine State Young Readers Award Jr. list. What does that mean? It means that kindergarteners, first-graders, and second-graders all across the state of Florida will be reading Geeger the Robot Goes to School this coming year, along with the 14 other book that were named to the SSYRA Jr. list. Then, in April, all those kids — tens of thousands! — will vote to decide which book is their favorite. The book with the most votes gets the award.

Two years ago, another one of my books — EngiNerds — was on the SSYRA list (not the Jr. list, but the one for third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders). I was honored, of course, and excited — but I had no idea what to expect. I had no idea just how creative, energetic, and enthusiastic Florida librarians, educators, and KIDS are — and especially when it comes to BOOKS. Because of EngiNerds‘s inclusion on the list, I met hundreds of educators and librarians and connected with thousands of kids that I probably wouldn’t have otherwise met and connected with. Getting a book on an SSYRA list is kind of like getting invited to a year-long party — and everyone at the party is a big ol’l BOOK NERD.

Here are the other books keeping Geeger company on the the SSYRA Jr. list.

I’ve read — and loved! — about half of these other books, and being on the list along with them makes the honor all the more awesome. I plan to read the rest over the course of the year (or, you know, maybe just over the course of this weekend…). But anyway, I can’t recommend them enough. And I can’t recommend enough that you check out the SSYRA lists for Grades 3-5 and Grades 6-8. The committees put together some truly exceptional lists. (You can find those lists, plus past ones, and learn more about SSYRA in general by clicking HERE. More info about SSYRA Jr. can be found HERE.)

Thank you to the SSYRA Jr. committee for including Geeger the Robot Goes to School on this year’s list, and thank you to the Florida Association for Media in Education (FAME) for all the work they do to create such a robust and joyful culture of reading in their state and its schools. Let the party begin!

~ Jarrett

The ROGUE ROBOT COLLECTION!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ Leave a comment

Earlier this week, on Tuesday, February 23rd, this came into the world:

The Rogue Robot Collection is a boxed set containing hardcover copies of all three books in the EngiNerds trilogy: EngiNerds, Revenge of the EngiNerds, and The EngiNerds Strike Back. Now, with a single purchase, you can satisfy all of your farting robot needs! But seriously: I hope you’ll consider the boxed set as a gift for any kids in your life who enjoy silly stories with a dash of heart a whole lot of adventure.

Thanks!

~ Jarrett

GEEGER THE ROBOT TO THE RESCUE Cover Reveal!

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I’m excited to share both the title and cover for the next book in my Geeger the Robot series:

As you might’ve been able to guess from the book’s cover, Geeger the Robot to the Rescue involves Geeger trying to cheer up his best friend, Tillie, who arrives at school one day in a very blah mood. The bot pulls out all the stops in order to try and turn Tillie’s frown upside down.

Geeger the Robot to the Rescue, the third book in the Geeger the Robot series, hits shelves on September 21st, but is available now for preorder wherever books are sold!

~ Jarrett

THE ENGINERDS STRIKE BACK!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 8 Comments

Good morning!

Today’s the EngiNerds Strike Back Day!

I am SO EXCITED to hear what readers make of the conclusion of this EngiNerdy story arc! Things I planted in Book 1 (EngiNerds) , that sprouted in Book 2 (Revenge of the EngiNerds), fully bloom here in the EngiNerds Strike Back. Things having to do with leadership, responsibility, and the importance of taking care of each other and our planet. There’s also plenty about farting robots, puppy-obsessed extraterrestrials, intergalactic advertising campaigns, and beans.

Thanks to everyone who has supported these books, whether you were reading them (and rooting me on!) from the get-go, way back in 2017, or you’ve only recently discovered them. And don’t forget: later this month, on February 23rd, the EngiNerds boxed set — the Rogue Robots Collection — comes out!

Isn’t it snazzy?!

Thanks again!

~ Jarrett

COVER REVEAL: Give This Book a Cover!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 2 Comments

First I asked you to Give This Book a Title, and now I’m asking you to… Give This Book a Cover!

That’s right — this is the cover of my second activity book, Give This Book a Cover, which comes out on May 4th (just about three months away!). This book contains the same sorts of activities as you can find in Give This Book a Title, as well as on the Activities page of this website. However, with this batch of brand-new activities, I tried to give kids who wanted it an opportunity to push themselves a little further. In Give This Book a Cover, young creators will find the same silliness and fun — and, of course, instruction and inspiration! — but many of the activities will prompt them, if they choose, to engage in some deeper self-reflection and -exploration. All of this is intended to help kids learn how to mine their own selves and experiences for the sort of raw material needed to create stories of their own, whether they choose to write them, draw them, or both!

I get an incredible amount of joy — and inspiration! — from seeing what kids do with the activities from Give This Book a Title, as well as those I share for free on the Activities page of this site. I am thrilled to see what they do with this new collection of activities in Give This Book a Cover.

Here’s a look at the full cover — back, spine, and front:

As I mentioned above, Give This Book a Cover comes out on May 4th. However, it’s now available for preorder wherever books are sold!

~ Jarrett

HUNGER HEROES: MISSED MEAL MAYHEM Cover Reveal!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 4 Comments

Yesterday, I finally got the go-ahead to share the cover of the first graphic novel in my Hunger Heroes series! In case you missed it on social media, here you go:

If you’ve been following me for a while, then you’ve been hearing about this book for YEARS. It all started as a doodle dashed-off on some hotel stationary between sessions at a conference, and has gone through an enormous amount of development since then. I’m incredibly pleased with and proud of how it all turned out, and am excited to share more about the Heroes and their first adventure with you all in the lead-up to the book’s release this September!

~ Jarrett

GIVE THIS BOOK A TITLE pub day!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ Leave a comment

It’s here! Today is the day! Give This Book a Title has arrived!

If you preordered the book, and you haven’t heard anything already, you should be receiving it in the mail or getting an alert from you local bookstore that it is ready for pickup very soon!

If you missed my live event last night — in which I gave an in-depth tour of the book, discussed the creative process and theory behind it, and answered questions — you can check it out on my Instagram page (both on my feed and in the IG TV section).

And one more enormous THANK YOU from me to everyone who has supported me and my work this weird, wild year. If not for the love and appreciation educators, librarians, and parents showed for my activities in the spring, this book (not to mention the second one, out in May!) wouldn’t exist, and I will never, ever forget that or stop being grateful for it.

I hope this book helps turn kids into more confident, capable creators, that it helps make creativity a central part of their lives, and that they will, in turn, share the products of their creativity with all of us and with the world at large — making it a brighter, better, more beautiful place to live.

~ Jarrett

GEEGER is here!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 7 Comments

Today’s the day!

Geeger the Robot Goes to School is officially here!

I have worked tremendously hard on this early chapter book series, striving to find the perfect balance of silly and (slightly) serious, comforting and challenging, entertaining and enlightening. I hope these books help get kids hooked on reading, and leave them feeling more confident in their abilities to get through and delve deeper into longer-form narratives.

You can find Geeger the Robot Goes to School wherever books are sold or loaned (and if you can’t, for some reason, just ask your bookseller and/or librarian to get a copy for you!), and you can already preorder the second book in the series, Geeger the Robot: Lost and Found, which hits shelves on January 5th, 2021.

And don’t forget that you can join me next Wednesday, September 30th, for the Geeger the Robot Goes to School virtual launch party! It’s being hosted by the Silver Unicorn Bookstore, and more information and the link to join can be found at the Silver Unicorn site or my APPEARANCES page.

Lastly: THANK YOU once again to everyone who preordered Geeger the Robot Goes to School, and THANK YOU to everyone who goes out and gets their hands on a copy today and beyond!

~ Jarrett