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?)