Tie-in projects
“Minecraft: Trouble Brewing” is Out NOW!
As I mentioned in my last blog post, I recently wrote a Minecraft children’s book called Trouble Brewing. Well, I’m happy to report that Trouble Brewing was published today by Penguin Random House. It was illustrated by the amazing Alan Batson.
Here’s the official publisher description of Trouble Brewing:
Minecraft is one of the best-selling video games of all time! And now learning to read has never been more fun for players of the game. Readers will get a great introduction to Minecraft’s mysteries and wonders when two players, Emmy and Birch—and their tame wolf Byte— find themselves trapped underground and must brew rare ingredients into powerful potions to survive the dark!
In other mining and crafting news, another Minecraft book I wrote, titled Mobs in the Mansion, was reprinted in a multi-story anthology called Minecraft: The Ultimate Collection, which also came out today.
Minecraft: The Ultimate Collection reprints five Minecraft adventures, all in one big book. The first four of those adventures were written by Nick Eliopulos, and the fifth one – Mobs in the Mansion – was penned by yours truly. All five tales were illustrated by Alan Batson.
Here’s the publisher description of Minecraft: The Ultimate Collection:
Players new and old can join Emmy, Birch, and their tame wolf Byte, as they explore mysterious biomes and encounter scary mobs in this collection of five exciting Step Into Reading Step 3 leveled readers. Features the stories:
• Survival Mode! (Minecraft)
• Mobs in the Overworld! (Minecraft)
• Escape from the Nether (Minecraft)
• The Sky’s the Limit (Minecraft)
• Mobs in the Mansion! (Minecraft)
And to see all of the books I’ve written for Penguin Random House (including these Minecraft books), click HERE.
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.
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.