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Mort the Misinformed Morsel of Matzah!
Happy Passover to all those who celebrate! Hope you like matzah, and stuff made from matzah meal, ‘cause that’s what you’re getting for the next several days! When this holiday is over, your G.I. tract will be VERY angry with you. That said, matzah meal pancakes are actually pretty good, when done right.
Hey, speaking of matzah, guess what? I wrote a Passover story for Yoto’s 5-Minute Spring Holiday Stories collection, which is out NOW!
The story I wrote is called “Mort the Misinformed Morsel of Matzah”! In it, Mort – who is a morsel of matzah, as you may have guessed, given the story’s title – wishes that he was bread. He’s even built a high-tech device which will transform him into bread. Will he use the device? Will he have a change of heart? Download the story or purchase the story card to find out!
All of the stories in this collection are short audio dramas for kids. Writing the script for “Mort” was like writing a radio play, and I even wrote the sound effects into the script, which was lots of fun.
And guess what? You can see Mort poking out of the basket the skunk is holding on the poster art for this collection!
Oh, one more thing: “Mort, the Misinformed Morsel of Matzah” was performed by a friend of mine, Eli Schiff!
Here’s Yoto’s official description of the 5-Minute Spring Holiday Stories collection:
Spring into the season with five heartwarming tales of joy, renewal, and celebration, told by your friends at Yoto.
Experience Lunar New Year through Kaylin’s eyes, learn what it’s like to be a morsel of matzah who dreams of being bread, deliver Easter eggs with the Easter Skunk, try to fast for the first time during Ramadan with Saleem, and help the elephants and the bees prepare for Holi in these 5 stories celebrating the coming of Spring!
Tracks include:
- Kaylin and the Noisy Lion Dance
- First Time Fast Time
- Holi, Naturally
- The Easter Skunk
- Mort the Misinformed Morsel of Matzah
Read by Triya Leong, Donya Alizadeh; Nikhil Saboo; Billy Bob Thompson; and Eli Schiff
For more info on The 5-Minute Spring Holiday Stories collection, CLICK HERE.
BTW, I also wrote a Hanukkah story called “The Dreidel Thief” for Yoto’s 5-Minute Holiday Stories collection, which came out back in November of 2023. Now, that was a collection of winter holiday stories, even though that’s not really reflected in the collection’s title. This new story, “Mort the Misinformed Morsel of Matzah,” was written for the 5-Minute Spring Holiday Stories collection. The operative word there is “Spring.” I’m just trying to point out that the two collections have similar but slightly different titles, just so that nobody gets them mixed up.
And you can find out more about “The Dreidel Thief” (and how to listen to it) via THIS BLOG POST.
Last but definitely not least, I just wanted to thank Joe Vitale for hiring me to write the “Dreidel Thief” and “Mort” stories! (Joe was the head writer for both the winter and spring 5-Minute Holiday Stories collections.)
“96 Facts About the G.O.A.T. Athletes” Comes Out On Tuesday!
As you may know from some of my previous blog posts, for a little over two years now, I’ve been writing a series of middle-grade celebrity biographies called the “96 Facts” series for Penguin Random House. The first eight “96 Facts” books are all already available. And the ninth “96 Facts” book will come out on Tuesday April 8th, 2025. That book is called 96 Facts About the G.O.A.T. Athletes. And just to prevent any potential misunderstanding, “G.O.A.T.” means “Greatest of All Time.” This book is about the greatest athletes who’ve ever existed. (Well, SOME of them, anyway.) For instance, there are sections in the book about LeBron James, Shohei Ohtani, Travis Kelce, Megan Rapinoe, Serena Williams, and many, many more.
But this book is NOT about athletes who happen to be goats. As in, the farm animal. I’m sure that somewhere out there, there’s a book about sporty, athletic goats with cute little horns and a goatherd who serves as their coach. And I’m sure that book is adorable. But my book is not that book. My book is about legendary (human) athletes who’ve achieved excellence in their chosen sport. And in my book, there isn’t a goatherd in sight. (At least, I don’t think so.)
Also, like all of the previous “96 Facts” books, this one is illustrated by the super-talented Risa Rodil.
Here’s the official publisher description of 96 Facts About the G.O.A.T. Athletes:
The ultimate fact book and journal for sports fans, featuring the greatest of all time (GOAT) athletes from basketball, baseball, football, soccer, and tennis!
Packed with fun facts and quick quizzes about some of the greatest athletes of all time, as well as bonus pages for journaling, this is a must-have for any sports fan.
The book is available for preorder HERE, HERE, and HERE.
Also, to see all of the other books I’ve written for Penguin Random House, click HERE.
And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go flesh out this really great idea I just came up with for a children’s book about a bunch of athletically-gifted goats and their tough but kindhearted coach/goatherd.
The Very Latest In Wearable Tech…
Recently, I wrote a Lilo & Stitch activity book called The Galactic Federation Nighttime Handbook. It’s out NOW from Scholastic! And the reason this is a “Nighttime Handbook” is that many of the activities and writing prompts in the book are sleep-themed. That is, they revolve around concepts such as sleep, dreams, the stars in the night sky, pajamas, your bedtime routine, and that sort of thing. So if you’re looking for a book that will help your kid get into the right frame of mind to power down and get ready for bed each night, this book should do the trick.
Here’s the official publisher description of The Galactic Federation Nighttime Handbook:
Greetings, Citizen of Earth! Welcome to the Galactic Federation! Experiment 626, also referred to as “Stitch,” is away on an interplanetary mission. In his place, he’s recommended you to help the Federation complete some very important tasks! To be a successful Galactic Federation operative, you’ll need to think and act like one. The activities and writing prompts in The Galactic Federation Nighttime Handbook will help you do so. In addition, you’ll be the first to use the Galactic Federation’s newest piece of wearable tech: the Supreme Lateral Energized Exoskeletal Polygonal Multifaceted Auxiliary Sensory Kudzuscope, or S.L.E.E.P. M.A.S.K.
That’s right, the book comes with a free Stitch-themed sleep mask, which is blue, furry, and super-adorable. However, I decided to make the sleep mask part of the book’s narrative. So, as the book’s official description explains, this is no mere sleep mask. It’s actually a piece of wearable tech, called the “S.L.E.E.P. M.A.S.K.” And in order to complete some of the activities in the book, you’ve got to wear the S.L.E.E.P. M.A.S.K. while you complete said activities!
(But that only applies to a handful of the activities in this book. For most of them, you don’t need to wear the S.L.E.E.P. M.A.S.K.)
And I should also mention that this book is only available for distribution through the school market. In other words, it’s exclusively available through Scholastic Reading Events, so you won’t be able to find it on Amazon or on Barnes & Noble’s website.
However, you CAN get it via this website.
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, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.