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