Children’s Books

143/14/24

To Me, My X-Men!

Hey, guess what? I wrote a children’s book titled The X-Men Little Golden Book! It was illustrated by Shane Clester, and it will be published by Penguin Random House on May 7, 2024.

This book is an adaptation of X-Men: The Animated Series, the beloved TV show from the 1990s. Here’s the official publisher description of the book:

Inspired by the 1990’s animated series , Marvel’s mightiest mutants—the X-Men—arrive to save the day in their first ever Little Golden Book! Perfect for kids 2 to 5 as well as collectors and fans of all ages.

Born with amazing mutant abilities and trained by Dr. Charles Xavier, the X-men stand ready to defend the world even though that world doesn’t always trust them. These action-packed full-color pages will introduce Wolverine, Rogue, Storm, Cyclops and the other mutants on their team as well as their friends and foes. Kids 2 to 5—along with Marvel fan and collectors—will love this Little Golden Book based on X-Men: The Animated Series.

Find out how to pre-order the book HERE and HERE.

Oh, also, The X-Men LGB marks the third time I’ve worked with the incredible Shane Clester. The first project we collaborated on was an Avengers Little Golden Book titled The Threat of Thanos, which came out in 2018 from Penguin Random House.

And our second collaboration was a Spidey and His Amazing Friends board book titled The Great Food Truck Caper, which came out in 2023.

As always, it was wonderful working with Shane on The X-Men LGB, and I can’t wait for all of you to see how that book turned out!

And please feel free to check out all of the other projects I’ve worked on for Penguin Random House on the “Arie Kaplan” page on the PRH site.

 

43/4/24

“Words, Images, & Worlds” Podcast Interview!

Earlier this year, I was a guest on an episode of the “Words, Images, & Worlds” podcast, where host Jason DeHart interviewed me. During the interview, we chatted about some of my recent projects, my writing process, and my many theories on what makes Batman tick. Or, as Jason put it in his official description of the episode:

“Author Arie Kaplan talks about writing comics, television, and more, including stories of his creative journey and unexpected turns.”

Anyway, the episode is out NOW!

Check out the YouTube version of the episode HERE.

And listen to the Apple Podcasts version of the episode HERE.

BTW, if you do listen to the interview, you’ll notice that towards the end of it, I briefly mention that the next couple of “96 Facts” books will be coming out soon. They’re actually coming out VERY soon. As in, tomorrow. Yup, 96 Facts About Selena Gomez and 96 Facts About Lizzo will both be published tomorrow, Tuesday, March 5th, 2024, by Penguin Random House. Both books are written by me and illustrated by the amazing Risa Rodil.

And just in case you don’t know:

The “96 Facts” series is a line of middle-grade nonfiction celebrity biographies. The first two “96 Facts” books, 96 Facts About Taylor Swift and 96 Facts About Timothée Chalamet, came out in September of 2023. All of the “96 Facts” books are written by yours truly and illustrated by Risa Rodil.

191/19/24

Enjoy the Spring Semester with Spidey and Stitch!

Recently, I wrote a Spidey and His Amazing Friends board book titled Search for the Missing Teddy Bear. And I wrote a Lilo & Stitch activity book called Scratch and Sketch with Stitch! Both books are out NOW from Scholastic, just in time for the spring 2024 semester!

(Of school. The spring 2024 semester…of school. Because these are books for very young children. Who are in school. Just wanted to clarify that, in case you thought that these books were for college students or something, as colleges have semesters too. But the fact that one of these books is a board book probably tells you that it’s not for college-age people, right? Hmm. I think I’m doing that thing I sometimes do, where I overexplain stuff way too much. Like, WAYYYY too much. Moving on…)

Here’s Scholastic’s official description of Search for the Missing Teddy Bear:

Missing teddy? Never fear! Team Spidey is here to save the day! In this fun board book, Spidey’s head is a tactile, slow-rise squishy built into the back cover and pops through die cuts on every page! Swing through various locations with Spidey to find the missing teddy!

I just want to emphasize something the above ad copy mentioned: In this book, Spidey’s head is a tactile, slow-rise squishy! Isn’t that adorable? (Yes. Yes, it is.)

And here’s the official publisher description of Scratch and Sketch with Stitch:

Scratch to reveal cosmic colors and supercool patterns as you go on adventures with Stitch, the little blue alien with a big heart!

BTW, many of the aforementioned “adventures” in this Stitch book are games, puzzles, and activities. And one of the activities involves candy hearts, the kind you give and receive on Valentine’s Day. Which of course is quite fitting, since Valentine’s Day is just a few short weeks away!

And just in case you’re interested, the back cover copy for Scratch and Sketch with Stitch tells you a little more about what you can expect from that book:

This Stitch-tastic activity book is brimming with intergalactic illustrations! Scratch away to reveal what outfit Stitch wears on an outer space trip, complete a maze to help him get through a space nebula, draw a new musical instrument for him, and a whole lot more!

The book includes a wooden stylus (for the whole “scratch away” part), 20 scratch-off pages, and 20 notebook pages. Pretty cool, eh?

I should also mention that both of these books are only available for distribution through the school market. In other words, they’re exclusively available through Scholastic Reading Events, so you won’t be able to find them on Amazon.

Last but definitely not least, if you’d like to see some of the other books I’ve written for Scholastic over the years, you can click HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

 

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