fiction
Happy New Year from Li’l Nosferatu!
Happy New Year, everyone! Welcome to 2026! And welcome to my “year-end wrap-up” blog post for 2025. Look, before you say anything: yes, I’m writing a “year-end” post the day after the year ended. Which is probably against the rules, but as I’ve learned over the years, I don’t like rules. Rules are stupid. Also, I was busy yesterday.
So. Here are some of the best things that happened to me in 2025:
I wrote many, many books. Most of them were for kids. Some of them were for adults. Here are the titles of some (but not all) of those books:
The Encyclopedia of Curious Rituals and Superstitions.
The Fantastic Four Little Golden Book.
Stitch: Out-of-This-World Numbers.
Also, in January of 2025, I began working as a writer and narrative designer for an upcoming video game called Shadows of Dawn, which is being developed by Next Player Games. Currently, I’m still working on the game with the good folks at NPG.
And as you may recall, back in 2023, I wrote two episodes of the animated preschool series Hey! Fuzzy Yellow. In 2024, one of the episodes began airing and streaming. But starting in 2025, both episodes (“Boomerang Jelly Car” and “Sculpture Jam Abstract”) began airing and streaming. I wrote the scripts and the song lyrics for both episodes. As of this writing, Hey! Fuzzy Yellow still hasn’t begun airing or streaming in the US, but it’s available in various countries in Europe, Central America, and South America.
I also wrote the script for a Passover-themed children’s audio drama, titled “Mort the Misinformed Morsel of Matzah,” which was released in the spring of 2025 as part of Yoto’s 5-Minute Spring Holiday Stories collection. The title character, Mort, was even voiced by a friend of mine, Eli Schiff!
And there are several other projects I worked on throughout 2025, some of which will come out this year. I announced one of them, 96 Facts About Chappell Roan, in my previous blog post. (That book comes out on January 13th.) But I’ll announce some of my other upcoming projects ASAP. Please keep checking this site for more info!
BTW, I wouldn’t have worked on any of the aforementioned projects without the book editors, video game producers, and TV showrunners who gave me these writing gigs in the first place. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who hired me in 2025 (or really, anyone who hired me at any time, ever). And I mean that.
You may also be wondering about the “Baby New Year” photo which adorns this blog post. See, to usher in the new year, I’ve put a “2026” sash around a puppet I built. I call him “Li’l Nosferatu.” If you’re obsessed with me (and why wouldn’t you be?), you’ll notice that I’ve occasionally posted pics of Li’l Nosferatu on social media during the past couple of years. For today’s purposes, Li’l Nosferatu is playing the part of Baby New Year.
Someday, I’ll explain the backstory behind this puppet, because there is indeed quite a bit of backstory there. Basically, I built the puppet for a project which never came to fruition. But more on that some other time.
And to anyone who’s reading this, I just wanted to wish you the best for a wonderful new year!
“Pumpkin Spice” Featured in “LitPOP” Article!
My children’s book Pumpkin Spice is one of the 10 books featured in a LitPOP article by Cara Broel called “10 New Children’s Books That Perfectly Capture the Fall Spirit.” You can read the article HERE.
Here’s what Cara had to say about Pumpkin Spice:
Little Pumpkin Spice, in her pumpkin costume, is fully prepared to start painting the leaves—that’s how they change into fall colors, right? Thankfully, a talking pumpkin named Jack is there to set her straight, and the two embark on a fun-filled sensory exploration of the sights, sounds, and especially smells that make fall great. Bonus: This one includes a pumpkin spice blend recipe kids can make at home!
You may already know this next part, but just in case you don’t: Pumpkin Spice was written by yours truly and illustrated by the wonderful Monique Dong. The book is out now from Penguin Random House. It’s available at bookstores everywhere, as well as HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.
Here’s what critics are saying about Pumpkin Spice:
“Dong’s warm, cheerful illustrations enhance the cozy fall vibe…A lightly enjoyable seasonal pick that will find a place in fall displays.”—School Library Journal
“Rich with sensory detail, Pumpkin Spice makes a great introduction to fall for little bookworms.”—Bookstr
“Teachers who teach in early education classrooms will want to add this delightful board book to their collection of fall picture books.”—HubPages
“This board book will be much-loved by everyone who enjoys pumpkin spiced…well, everything…each autumn.” —Kids R Us
Basically, if there was a Pulitzer Prize for “Most Cozy Book,” Pumpkin Spice would win it. (I think.)
And to see all of the other books I’ve written for Penguin Random House (even the ones which don’t involve pumpkins, spice, or any combination thereof), click HERE.
Reminder: Astoria Bookshop Storytime Event on Sunday Sept 21st!
Just a quick reminder: This coming Sunday, September 21st at 11:30am, I’ll be doing a special Sunday Storytime event at Astoria Bookshop. Specifically, I’ll be reading from my new children’s book Pumpkin Spice, which is out now from Penguin Random House.
Here’s the official description of the event from the Astoria Bookshop site:
Special Sunday Story Time: PUMPKIN SPICE with author Arie Kaplan
Sunday Sep 21st, 2025
11:30 AM-12:15 PM
Family Events
Join us every other Sunday for family storytime! On September 21st we welcome a special guest reader, author Arie Kaplan, with his board book Pumpkin Spice.
A delicious celebration of fall that hits all the senses, complete with a recipe for a homemade pumpkin spice blend! Little ones will love cozying up with this board book and learning all about the delights of autumn.
Stroller parking is available at the front of the store and near the register. Our restroom has a changing table. If you have any accessibility requests, please contact us at least 3 days in advance at events@astoriabookshop.com. Click the RSVP button to get an email reminder.
For more info, click HERE.
And Astoria Bookshop’s address is:
36-19 30th Street (just off 36th Avenue)
Astoria, NY
USA 11106
Pumpkin Spice was written by yours truly and illustrated by the wonderful Monique Dong. The book is out now from Penguin Random House. It’s available at bookstores everywhere, as well as HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.
Here’s what critics are saying about Pumpkin Spice:
“Dong’s warm, cheerful illustrations enhance the cozy fall vibe…A lightly enjoyable seasonal pick that will find a place in fall displays.”—School Library Journal
“Rich with sensory detail, Pumpkin Spice makes a great introduction to fall for little bookworms.”—Bookstr
“Teachers who teach in early education classrooms will want to add this delightful board book to their collection of fall picture books.”—HubPages
And to see all of the other books I’ve written for Penguin Random House (which don’t involve pumpkins, or gourds of ANY kind, for that matter), click HERE.
Also, here’s a photo of me, which was taken by Carl Kelsch. I’ve included it here so that you can see what I look like. If you’re at Astoria Bookshop on September 21st and the person reading from Pumpkin Spice looks nothing like this, it’s probably not me. Or it’s my understudy. (I mean, in a perfect world, authors WOULD have understudies, right?)
