Tag: MISSED MEAL MAYHEM

The Hunger Heroes and the Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 3 Comments

A few days ago, I learned that my graphic novel chapter book, The Hunger Heroes: Missed Meal Mayhem, had been given a Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award Honor. Like similar awards across the country, the committee behind this one is made up of a group of thoughtful, talented, and passionate librarians — which makes this honor all the more remarkable and exciting for me. These are professionals who know what kinds of books kids — the kids of our world, TODAY — both want and need.

Missed Meal Mayhem was singled out for its excellence as a “transitional” book, meaning it’s uniquely equipped to help grow young readers, boosting their confidence and increasing their abilities as they eagerly turn the pages. These readers are precisely who I had in mind when I created this series of books. The Hunger Heroes series’ unique format — which carefully includes occasional blocks of text within a larger, more traditional graphic novel — was designed to reach these readers and do exactly what these Maryland librarians have said the book has done and is doing with their readers. As a book-maker, there’s not much better than getting this sort of affirmation. The only thing better, in fact, is hearing directly from kids about how much they enjoy your work, and learning that what you hoped your work would do for them has done that and then some.

Click HERE to learn more about the Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award and the books on their lists, both past and present.

Click HERE to learn more about The Hunger Heroes series and the creation of The Hunger Heroes: Missed Meal Mayhem in particular.

And once more: THANK YOU to the Maryland librarians for considering my book and giving it this awesome honor!

~ Jarrett

THE HUNGER HEROES: SNACK CABINET SABOTAGE Cover Reveal!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 1 Comment

It’s been a busy week for a certain group of superheroic ingredients…

I’m talking about the Hunger Heroes, of course!

Not only did their first book, Missed Meal Mayhem, come out, but I also revealed the cover of their second adventure, Snack Cabinet Sabotage. In case you missed it, here it is!

Snack Cabinet Sabotage will soar onto shelves next summer — on August 23rd, 2022, to be specific — but is available for preorder now wherever books are sold.

Thanks to everyone who has celebrated the (long-awaited, I know…) launch of this new series of mine. It’s been amazing to see reviews coming in, and to start receiving fan art of Mr. Toots, Chip Ninja, Tammy, and Leonard from kids. I’m so glad these characters and stories that have been cooped up in my imagination for so long are now out there in the world, filling the imaginations of my readers.

~ Jarrett

THE HUNGER HEROES: MISSED MEAL MAYHEM is here!!!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ Leave a comment

Today’s the day!

At long last, The Hunger Heroes: Missed Meal Mayhem, the first book in my new graphic novel chapter book series, is OUT! If you preordered the book and have yet to get your copies, they should be arriving soon. And you can now found the book everywhere and anywhere books are sold! (And as always, if you don’t see it on the shelf at your local independent bookstore or library, ask a bookseller or librarian to get a copy for you!)

I can’t wait for kids to FINALLY get to meet Mr. Toots, Chip Ninja, Tammy, and Leonard. I hope they enjoy the crew’s first adventure, and that they’re left wanting more! And if that’s the case, they won’t have to wait too long. I just wrapped up work on the second book in the The Hunger Heroes series. That book, The Hunger Heroes: Snack Cabinet Sabotage, will be released on August 23rd, 2022 — but I’ll actually be revealing the cover for it soon!

And just in case you haven’t checked it out yet, make sure to head over to the page here at my website that is dedicated to all things The Hunger Heroes. (Click HERE to get there now, or find it in the Menu bar up top!) There you can find lots more information about the Hunger Heroes, their books, and a bunch of behind-the-scenes stuff about the creation of their world and Missed Meal Mayhem, their first adventure. I hope the insights and information shared there are interesting and encouraging for all the kids out there who love making characters and comics of their own.

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has already supported this book/series of mine. I’m grateful — and glad that it’s finally out in the world!

~ Jarrett

What IS a “Graphic Novel Chapter Book”?

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 1 Comment

My publisher calls the books in my Hunger Heroes series “graphic novel chapter books.” As I start to share more about the first book in the series, Missed Meal Mayhem (out 10/26), I thought it’d be useful to explain this terminology.

The stories told in the Hunger Heroes books are the size/scope of many early chapter books – comparable, for instance, to the books in my Geeger the Robot series. Missed Meal Mayhem contains 8 chapters (well, actually 8 and one half…).

While the stories are told almost entirely in comic format, you will find occasional blocks of text in the books. These are never longer than one whole page, and often contain both narration and dialogue (this is done on purpose!).

Our hope, of course, is that these books are enjoyed by all readers. But the book was also designed and formatted to hopefully serve as a “bridge” for a variety of readers…

For those kids who aren’t as comfortable reading blocks of text, we hope the careful integration of them into this graphic novel helps build their confidence and stamina, maybe opening them up to stories that rely more heavily on text.

For those kids who are just learning the language of comics, or who find the abundance of verbal AND visual information/stimulation in graphic novels overwhelming, we hope the bits of text offer moments to pause and catch their breath.

We also hope that these occasional juxtapositions of text and comic shine a light on the unique abilities and benefits of both verbal and visual storytelling, and also make plain how their different vocabularies appear on the page.

I hope, too, that the combination reminds all young creators that they don’t have to pick one or the other form – that they can express the stories they have inside them using words, pictures, comics, or a combination of that and more.

Once again: the first book in the Hunger Heroes series, Missed Meal Mayhem, is out October 26th, but is available for preorder NOW wherever books are sold! And thanks to all who preorder – it really is a great help to creators!

~ 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