Tag: Scare School Diaries

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

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

COVER REVEAL: Nat the Cat Finds a Map — Plus: New Book News!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ Leave a comment

In case you missed it, last weekend I revealed the cover of my next (and fifth) Nat the Cat early reader, Nat the Cat Finds a Map. So, without further ado, here it is:

Of all the Nat books, this new one is my personal favorite. I think it does the best job of capturing Nat and Pat’s personalities while also simultaneously taking their relationship to a bit of a new place.

And speaking of venturing to new places, Nat and Pat are bound for a super exciting one: graphic novel chapter books! In 2027, shortly after the sixth Nat the Cat early reader releases, the first two books in this brand-new series will publish. And if you’re disappointed you’ll have to wait that long to see Nat and Pat in comic book panels, next year, I’ve got another graphic novel chapter book series launching. This one is about a new cast of character, the Super Roomies, and I’ll be sharing a bunch more about them soon. In the meantime, though, you can check out the announcement about their graphic novel chapter book series, as well as Nat and Pat’s, below.

All of these graphic novel chapter books are 112 pages, with each page broken up into at least one but no more than four panels. They perfectly fill a hole currently out there in the marketplace, and are thoughtfully designed and carefully crafted to, first of all, be a total blast, and second of all, to help young readers continue to grow. In terms of Nat and Pat, you’ll also get to see THEM grow. Especially Nat, who in each of these books is pushed to emotional places readers have yet to see him in.

In OTHER book news, I recently announced something else: that my Scare School Diaries series of highly illustrated chapter books has been extended, too! Book 3, The Un-Hauntable House, will be out next fall, with the fourth book in the series coming early on in 2027. Here’s the announcement for THAT:

But back to Nat and Pat! Nat the Cat Finds a Map will be out first thing next year, on January 13th (the day after my birthday!), but you can preorder it right now wherever books are sold. As always, if you preorder it from my astoundingly awesome local independent bookstore, the Silver Unicorn, I will sign, doodle-in, and (if you want) personalize your copies. You can do that by clicking HERE.

Okay, I better get back to work. I’ve got a lot of books to finish…

~ Jarrett

FOREST FRIGHTS pub day!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 3 Comments

Today, Forest Frights–the second book in my Scare School Diaries series–finally hits shelves!

Like Welcome to Scare School–the first book in the Scare School Diaries series–Forest Frights is the diary of young ghost Bash, now in his second session at Scare School. And in this session, Bash has to contend with something truly terrifying: a group project! Bash survives the ordeal (spoiler alert!), and in the end has several opportunities to be brave, discovering that everyone is scared of something, and that the most important thing is making sure your fears don’t keep you from doing the things that you want and need to do.

Here’s my publisher’s official description of the book:

Bash the ghost learns to work with trouble-loving vampires in this second book in the sweet and spooky chapter book series by acclaimed author Jarrett Lerner.

At the start of his second session at Scare School, the world’s premiere institution for elementary scare instruction, Bash is feeling a bit more confident and excited about his classes starting up again. But when Vlad and Vicky, the mischievous vampires, join his group project, Bash starts worrying if this mean-spirited duo are going to take a bite out of his good grade!

Just a few weeks ago, Forest Frights got written up by Kirkus Reviews. They called the book “A warmly reassuring tale for those who prefer their scares on the lighter side,” which is basically exactly what I was going for. (If you want, you can read the full review HERE.)

Kirkus’s positive review followed a string of good news for Welcome to Scare School. The book was a featured fall title for Literati book club, appearing at the company’s book fairs across the country. Up north, in Canada, the book was named one of the Best Books of 2024 by Indigo (Canada’s largest bookseller). The book also received love and praise from bookstores and readers as far away as Australia! In addition to all this, I got some news about the book that I am actually not allowed to share yet–but I can tell you that, because of it, Welcome to Scare School will end up in the hands of even more young readers than it would have otherwise. (Keep an eye on my social media feeds to hear the secret news, which I’ll be sharing there as soon as I’m allowed to.)

I think kids who loved Welcome to Scare School will love this second installment of the series just as much, and I’m glad that those who have yet to discover the first book will be able to dive right into Forest Frights should they want even more of Bash and his friends. If you know some of these kids, make sure you let them know about the SCARE SCHOOL DIARIES page of this website, where you can find all sorts of FREE Scare School-related activities. And as always, if you want signed, doodled-in, and personalized copies of Welcome to Scare School and/or Forest Frights, order from my local independent bookstore, the Silver Unicorn. (Click HERE to do that!)

~ Jarrett

WELCOME TO SCARE SCHOOL pub day!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 3 Comments

Today’s the day! My newest book — and newest series — is officially here. Meaning I can, at long last, say to all my readers… WELCOME TO SCARE SCHOOL!

That, of course, is the title of this first book in my new Scare School Diaries series.

I started playing around with the Scare School concept over four years ago. It took me a long time to figure out just how to present the story. If you’ve taken a look at the interior of the book (either via my social media accounts, or on any online book retailer site that offers a preview of the first handful of pages of the book), you’ll know that it’s a “hybrid” — a blend of text, illustrations, and comics. There aren’t many books out there in such a format, but for me, it is the most natural way of creating and sharing stories. If a part of the story is most powerfully, excitingly, and/or humorously told using words, I use words, and if a part of the story is most powerfully, excitingly, and/or humorously told using pictures (illustrations or comics), I use pictures. I think this sort or storytelling resonates particularly well with today’s kids, too, who are often (probably most often) consuming media that contains/blends both words and images. It also makes for a super absorbing reading experience, as kids, turning the pages, never know what they’re going to see on the next spread. I’m grateful to my editor and publisher for consistently letting me (and even encouraging me to!) create outside of the traditional kids’ books boxes.

Anyway, all of this is to say that this day has been a long time coming. It’s a bit surreal for me that it’s finally here. And now that it is, the thing that I am of course most excited about is finding out what you (and especially your young readers!) think of the book. If you want to learn more about Welcome to Scare School, check out the booktalk I recorded for the book below (you can also find this video at the Scare School Diaries page of this website and on my YouTube page). And if those readers of yours enjoy the book, don’t miss all the FREE Scare School Diaries activities I made (you can download those at the same Scare School Diaries page of this website). Also, a reminder that the NEXT Scare School Diaries book, Forest Frights, will be out on November 5th of THIS YEAR, and is already available for preorder everywhere books are sold. As with all my books, if you order the book from my local independent bookstore, the Silver Unicorn, yours will be signed, doodled-in, and personalized (if you want). You can do that HERE.

Lastly, for my local friends and fans: I’ll be launching Welcome to Scare School THIS weekend at the Silver Unicorn, along with my pal (and absolutely marvelous Middle Grade author) Betsy Uhrig. She’s got a spooky book out today, too. The fun starts at 3:00 pm on Saturday afternoon. And I mean fun — the Silver Unicorn will be turning their store into a HAUNTED HOUSE! Costumes are encouraged for this “Halloween in July” celebration. If you’re around and available, I hope to see you there!

~ Jarrett

A COVER REVEAL and a ONE-MONTH COUNTDOWN!

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 1 Comment

Happy April 7th?

What am I celebrating?

In just one month, on May 7th, TWO big books of mine are coming out: (1) my next Nat the Cat early reader, Nat the Cat Has a Snack, and (2) the paperback edition of A Work in Progress.

Nat the Cat Has a Snack — the third book starring Nat and his rat pal, Pat — is about SHARING. Both the beauty of it . . . and the difficulty of it. My hope is that kids get a kick out of watching Nat discover that things are almost always better when we share with friends, and also learn that we can share both good things with friends (like snacks!) and also bad things (like hard-to-solve problems!).

If you read this blog and/or follow me, I surely don’t need to tell you what A Work in Progress is about. But I definitely do need to tell you that the paperback edition of the book — which, again, you can get your hands on in just ONE MONTH — is not only more lightweight and portable than the hardcover, it’s also cheaper. (Hooray!) I hope the lower price leads to the book reaching the hands of many, many more kids. And hey — if you plan to get a copy of the book, you can do it now and enter the book’s paperback preorder giveaway, which’ll give you a chance to win a whole class set of the books! Find more info about that in the image caption below.

To enter the A Work in Progress paperback preorder giveaway: Preorder the paperback edition of the book and send proof of preorder to AWIPpreorder@gmail.com. You will be entered to win an additional 20 extra copies! Multiple preorders and/or preorders from independent bookstores are counted as multiple entries.

And now, last but certainly not least, as promised . . . a COVER REVEAL!

Yes, the first volume of my newest series, Scare School Diaries, is not even out yet (it will be on July 16th), but we are already promoting the second volume, because — excitingly! — it comes out just three and a half months after the first. It’s not unusual for kids to have to wait a whole year, and sometimes even longer, for a subsequent installment of a book series to publish. But, along with my amazing team at Aladdin/Simon & Schuster, I am always aiming to grow readers and keep kids happy, so we’ve worked hard to keep the books coming.

Forest Frights is about one of the scariest things kids will encounter during their educational careers: the dreaded GROUP PROJECT. Here’s my publisher’s official writeup for the book:

At the start of his second session at Scare School, the world’s premiere institution for elementary scare instruction, Bash is feeling a bit more confident and excited about his classes starting up again. But when Vlad and Vicky, the mischievous vampires, join his group project, Bash starts worrying if this mean-spirited duo are going to take a bite out of his good grade!

You can preorder Forest Frights — along with, of course, the first book in the Scare School Diaries series, Welcome to Scare School — anywhere books are sold. As always, if you order and/or preorder any of my books from my local indie, the Silver Unicorn, I can sign, personalize, and doodle in your copies. Click HERE to do that. And THANKS!

~ Jarrett

TWO Cover Reveals + A Paperback Release Date

~ Jarrett Lerner ~ 1 Comment

I had a very busy October, and that is why I am only coming on here now, in November, to share a whole bunch of very exciting stuff — specifically, a pair of cover reveals (one of which also happens to be a series reveal) and a paperback release date.

First up, the cover reveal for Welcome to Scare School, the first book in my new series, Scare School Diaries:

Welcome to Scare School is a chapter book — but save for its length, it’s very different from most chapter books you’ll open. The book is what my editor, agent, and I have begun to call a “hybrid,” a blend of both written and illustrated elements that are put together in a way that make it difficult to classify according to traditional categories. In other words, it’s not a straightforward chapter book, with mostly text and some occasionally illustrations. And it’s a not a graphic novel, with comic paneling on every page. The book is set up as a diary (that of Bash, a young ghost just beginning his education at Scare School), but while each entry begins with text, it soon gives way to a mix of spot illustrations and comics. In other words, with each page turn, the reader never knows what they’ll see next! I find storytelling in this form the most natural for me (if you’ve ever seen photos of drafts, which I often share on social media, they almost always appear in this way, whether or not the final product is a novel, a graphic novel, or whatever).

I can’t wait to share more about this book (and series!) with you, which comes out on July 16, 2024, but is already available for preorder wherever books are sold. (As always, if you preorder from the Silver Unicorn, I will sign/personalize — and doodle in! — your copies. Click HERE to do that.)

Lastly, here’s my publisher’s description of the book:

Bash, a young ghost who’s never been good at “ghost stuff” is heading off to Scare School, the world’s leading institution for elementary scare instruction, and he’s not happy about it. In fact, he’s kind of scared! His older sister Bella, precocious in every way, was a star student there and he knows the classes are hard and the teachers are tough.

Even before his first day of school, Bash is worried about how he’s going to make it through the rigorous curriculum when he hasn’t been able to get the hang of basics like making himself invisible or passing through walls (without bonking his head!). Will the young ghost get booooted out of Scare School?

Next up, the cover reveal for my next (the third) Nat the Cat early reader: Nat the Cat Has a Snack!

I’m a bit nervous that if I let myself ramble a bit about this book, I’ll end up spoiling everything. So I’m going to limit myself to saying that it comes out on May 7, 2024, but like Welcome to Scare School, it is already available for preorder wherever books are sold. (And also like Welcome to Scare School — as well as all my other books — if you preorder from the Silver Unicorn, I will sign/personalize/doodle in your copies. Click HERE to do that.) Beyond that, I’m going to let my publisher describe the book for you:

Nat that Cat has a snack. Pat the Rat wants a snack. Nat the Cat can share, right? Nat the Cat does not want to share!

And for my last bit of news today, I’m thrilled to share that A Work in Progress now has a paperback release date!

This significantly cheaper and much more portable edition of the book will come out alongside Nat’s newest adventure, on May 7, 2024. I don’t know much about the paperback A Work in Progress beyond the release date, but I know my publishers are currently working on it, and are exploring some pretty cool design ideas. I’ll be sharing more information about it — and the other two books mentioned above — as soon as I can, in addition to more news about all the other stuff I’ve been working on these past handful of months. Oh! How could I forget? The paperback edition of A Work in Progress is, like Welcome to Scare School and Nat the Cat Has a Snack, available for preorder wherever books are sold. And you know the drill, right? Preorder from the Silver Unicorn if you want YOUR copies signed/personalized/doodled in. Click HERE to do that.

And THANKS!

~ Jarrett