Wildlife
“National Parks Coloring Book” preorder promo on B&N
A few months ago, I wrote the fact-filled text for a beautifully illustrated volume called The National Parks Coloring Book, which is exactly what it sounds like: a coloring book featuring all 63 national parks located in the United States, from Acadia in Maine to Zion in Utah.
The book was illustrated by Amy Grimes and Lucy Rose, and it will be published by Get Creative 6 on January 5th, 2027.
I’m quite proud of my work on this book. It involved a lot of hard work and a ton of research. Also, as I mentioned above: the illustrations are gorgeous.
And as it happens, Barnes and Noble is currently having a special deal on preorders, for all upcoming releases, including The National Parks Coloring Book. People who preorder the book can get 25% off with the following code: PREORDER25! The sale runs until Friday June 26th. More info HERE.
Also, Premium Members always get an additional 10% off their print book pre-orders. (However, some exclusions apply, like signed books and textbooks.)
Here’s the official publisher’s description for The National Parks Coloring Book:
Explore and color America the Beautiful in this gorgeous coloring book featuring original illustrations of ALL the US National Parks—perfect for fans of nature and coloring alike!
Bring the beauty of America’s National Parks home and color a stunning range of majestic landscapes.
- Artist created, not AI or stock: All 63 coloring images were drawn by illustrators Amy Grimes and Lucy Rose specifically for this book.
- A high-quality coloring experience with designs printed on premium heavyweight paper perfect for pencils, pens, or markers alike—no bleed through! Special sewn binding lets the book open flat.
- Frame-worthy illustrationsare printed on one side of the poster-sized page so they can be easily removed to color and display.
- The perfect gift for National Park enthusiastswith eye-catching spot varnish on the cover, sample colored-in pages from illustrator Amy Grimes, and park descriptions written by Arie Kaplan.
National Parks visitors and nature enthusiasts will love this premium coloring book with original artwork of all 63 National Parks, from Acadia in Maine to Zion in Utah. Each park’s coloring page is accompanied by information about the featured landmarks and wildlife, with other notable facts and recommendations for visitors.
On this coloring journey through America’s National Parks, you’ll find:
- Stunning rock formations like Santa Elena Canyon at Big Bend in Texas
- Awe-inspiring mountainous horizons as seen in the Great Smoky Mountains
- Famous natural wonders like Old Faithful geyser at Yellowstone
- Unique flora, like Great Basin’s bristlecone pine trees
- Animals in their natural habitats, like brown bears catching salmon at Katmai’s Brooks Falls in Alaska
- The best views America has to offer—from the Grand Canyon to Glacier Bay
Relax, color in nature, and get to know the many National Parks of the United States before or after your travels and hikes. With attractive spot varnish on the cover, thick paper inside, and sample coloring and photos for easy reference, this beautiful coloring book makes an excellent gift for the nature-lover or colorist in your life, or adventurous escape for yourself.
BTW, aside from the Barnes & Noble website, you can also preorder the book HERE and HERE, but there aren’t any preorder promotional deals associated with either of those sites (not at the moment, anyway).
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” Is Featured in “Cracking the Cover,” “Kids Bookshelf,” & “Kiddos Magazine”!
My children’s book Pumpkin Spice has been getting a good amount of media attention lately. Also, it’s almost Halloween and this book features a talking jack-o’-lantern as one of the main characters (as well as a scene that takes place during Halloween), so it seemed like the right time to put up a Pumpkin Spice-related post. Anyway…
Pumpkin Spice is one of the 8 books featured in this Cracking the Cover article by Jessica Harrison called “Celebrate Autumn and Halloween With Books for Babies and Toddlers.” You can read the article HERE.
Here’s what Jessica had to say about Pumpkin Spice:
This sweet board book explores autumn through the senses. Excitement builds around the changing colors and tasty smells and spices. It’s a simple narrative with lush illustrations sure to grab attention.
Pumpkin Spice was also reviewed by Christina Lewis over at Kids Bookshelf. You can read the review HERE.
Here’s what Christina had to say about the book:
Pumpkin Spice is getting ready to paint all the leaves red, orange, and yellow, but when she meets an actual pumpkin she learns that Fall leaves become those colors all on their own. Jack the pumpkin tells her that autumn colors can be found everywhere – where squirrels gather nuts, on a fruit tree, on Halloween, and on yummy foods served at Thanksgiving. A fun board book that focuses on our senses during the fall season.
And last but definitely not least, Pumpkin Spice was featured in an article in Kiddos Magazine called “Book Suggestions to Read this Month.” You can read the article HERE.
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
“…a fun-filled sensory exploration of the sights, sounds, and especially smells that make fall great.” —LitPop
“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
And to see all of the other books I’ve written for Penguin Random House (even the ones which don’t involve talking gourds), click HERE.