Jarrett Lerner – författare

A young boy struggles with body image in this poignant and “perceptive” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) middle grade journey to self-acceptance told through prose, verse, and illustration.Will is the only round kid in a school full of thin ones. So he hides…in baggy jeans and oversized hoodies, in the back row during class, and anywhere but the cafeteria during lunch. But shame isn’t the only feeling that dominates Will’s life. He’s also got a crush on a girl named Jules who he knows he doesn’t have a chance with, because of his size—but he can’t help wondering what if? Will’s best shot at attracting Jules’s attention is by slaying the Will Monster inside him by changing his eating habits and getting more exercise. But the results are either frustratingly slow or infuriatingly unsuccessful, and Will’s shame begins to morph into self-loathing. As he resorts to increasingly drastic measures to transform his appearance, Will meets skateboarder Markus, who helps him see his body and all it contains as an ever-evolving work in progress.

From award-winning author-illustrators Supriya Kelkar and Jarrett Lerner comes an illustrated middle-grade novel about a pair of unlikely friends determined to save the library that brought them together.Roohi and Nate are not friends. Their paths have crossed a handful of times over the years—and the outcome has never been good. Nate thinks Roohi is a snobby know-it-all, and Roohi thinks Nate is nothing but a slacker.But that begins to change when they both somewhat reluctantly join a reading club that meets during lunch at their school library. The Lunch Bunch allows Roohi to open up about feeling disconnected from her friends on the track team after a broken toe sidelined her for the season.Nate, who has always struggled in school, shares how tired he is of constantly being compared to his genius older brother. Despite their differences, and maybe because of them, Roohi and Nate form a friendship unlike any other they’ve ever had, with each other and with the other kids in the club.As the Lunch Bunch gets stronger, though, things seem to be falling apart at the library. When the kids learn that their beloved librarian, Mrs. Sharp’s, job may be in danger due to budget cuts, they band together to find a solution . . . which proves to be easier said than done.Can Roohi and Nate’s new friendship survive outside of the Lunch Bunch in order to save the place that brought them together?

The battle between boys and bots is on in this funny, fast-paced novel.Ken is an EngiNerd: one of a super-smart group of friends—all nerds—who have been close since kindergarten. They may be brainiacs, but they’re just like everyone else: they fight with one another, watch too much TV, eat Chinese food, and hate walking their dogs. Well, maybe not just like everyone because Ken’s best friend Dan has been building robots. He then secretly sent one to each of the EngiNerds, never letting them know he’s the mastermind. At first Ken is awed and delighted: what kid hasn’t dreamed of having a robot all their own? Someone who can be their friend, clean their room, walk the dog, answer homework questions…how amazing is that? But be careful what you wish for: Dan’s robot, Greeeg, may look innocent, but his ravenous consumption of food—comestibles—turns him into a butt-blasting bot. And once the other robots ‘come alive’ it’s up to the motley crew of EngiNerds to not only save the day, but save the planet!

Ken and his EngiNerds crew return in a nutty and nerdy adventure that’s the perfect follow-up to EngiNerds.When last we met, the EngiNerds were battling a horde of ravenous robots; however in this latest caper, they’re on the hunt for just one rogue robot. But who knows what kind of mayhem one mechanical creature can cause? And why is Ken the only EngiNerd who’s worried about the runaway robot? The rest of the crew seems to be missing in action and Ken fears it’s because of Mikaela Harrington. She’s the new girl in town who’s UFO and alien-obsessed and wants to join the EngiNerds. But as far as Ken is concerned, the EngiNerds are Y-chromosome only, no X’s allowed! Will Ken allow a rogue robot and a know-it-all, genius girl to wreak havoc on the entire universe? He just might not have a choice!

Amelia Bedelia meets James Patterson’s House of Robots series in the adventures of Geeger, a robot who goes to school for the very first time, in the first story in a new, fun-to-read Aladdin QUIX chapter book series that’s perfect for emerging readers!Geeger the Robot is going to school. But not robot school…a school with kids, the human kind! Geeger isn’t used to human ways, and his zany misunderstandings and overly literal responses to instructions lead to quite a few mishaps. He’s starting to wonder if he can even make it until snack time! Will a bot made of wires, nuts, and bolts fit in with a classroom of kids?

Dan Gutman’s My Weird School meets James Patterson’s House of Robots in the adventures of Geeger, a robot who loses his class pet, in the second story in a fun-to-read Aladdin QUIX chapter book series that’s perfect for emerging readers!Geeger the Robot gets along great with the class pet, Fudge the Hamster—they both spend a lot of their time eating and share a love for mushy bananas. But when Fudge goes missing, some of the kids in Ms. Bork’s class think Geeger might be to blame! Could Geeger have eaten Fudge?! He certainly wouldn’t have done so on purpose. But Geeger has been known to eat things by accident before. With the help of his best friend Tillie, Geeger puts his strengths to use to find Fudge and clear his name!

Ken and his EngiNerds crew return in another nutty and nerdy adventure as they face down an alien to save the planet!Alien invasion? At the end of Revenge of the EngiNerds an alien appeared, and it turns out he’s the real deal. He explains he was sent to Earth as an envoy to scope things out for a planned massive, futuristic billboard—which will mean demolishing the planet! Here? On Earth? In their town? Not if the EngiNerds have anything to say about it. Time to save the day and the planet!

For fans of the Bots books comes the adventures of Geeger, a robot whose best friend needs his help in the third story in a fun-to-read Aladdin QUIX chapter book series that’s perfect for emerging readers!Geeger’s best friend, Tillie, is having a bad day and he wants to cheer her up. But sharing snacks and jokes aren’t working. How will Geeger make Tillie smile again?

For fans of the Bots series by Russ Bolts and James Patterson’s House of Robots comes the adventures of Geeger, a robot going to his first party, in the fourth story in a fun-to-read Aladdin QUIX chapter book series that’s perfect for emerging readers!Geeger the Robot is going to his best friend Tillie’s birthday party. But Geeger’s never been to a party before and doesn’t quite know what presents are. Would Tillie like a stick? Or a pile of dirt? Geeger wants to help Tillie celebrate, but maybe he shouldn’t have come! How does a robot say, “Happy Birthday?”

A young boy struggles with body image in this poignant and “perceptive” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) middle grade journey to self-acceptance told through prose, verse, and illustration.Will is the only round kid in a school full of thin ones. So he hides…in baggy jeans and oversized hoodies, in the back row during class, and anywhere but the cafeteria during lunch. But shame isn’t the only feeling that dominates Will’s life. He’s also got a crush on a girl named Jules who he knows he doesn’t have a chance with, because of his size—but he can’t help wondering what if? Will’s best shot at attracting Jules’s attention is by slaying the Will Monster inside him by changing his eating habits and getting more exercise. But the results are either frustratingly slow or infuriatingly unsuccessful, and Will’s shame begins to morph into self-loathing. As he resorts to increasingly drastic measures to transform his appearance, Will meets skateboarder Markus, who helps him see his body and all it contains as an ever-evolving work in progress.

Amelia Bedelia meets James Patterson’s House of Robots series in the adventures of Geeger in the fifth story in a new, fun-to-read Aladdin QUIX chapter book series that’s perfect for emerging readers!It’s Field Day at Amblerville Elementary. Geeger the Robot is determined to win the foot race and bring home the gold medal. But will racing toward the finish line be the beginning of trouble between Geeger and his best friend, Tillie?

Amelia Bedelia meets James Patterson’s House of Robots series in the adventures of Geeger in the sixth and final story in a fun-to-read Aladdin QUIX chapter book series that’s perfect for emerging readers!Geeger the Robot and his class go on a field trip to the Amblerville History Museum, and he’s surprised to see all the other incredible inventions that came before robots. But not every museumgoer thinks robots are amazing. Can Geeger change their minds?

A young ghost tries his best to fit in with the rest of the ghouls in this sweet and spooky chapter book by acclaimed author Jarrett Lerner.Bash, a young ghost who’s never been good at “ghost stuff” is heading off to Scare School, the world’s leading institution for elementary scare instruction, and he’s not happy about it. In fact, he’s kind of scared! His older sister Bella, precocious in every way, was a star student there and he knows the classes are hard and the teachers are tough. Even before his first day of school, Bash is worried about how he’s going to make it through the rigorous curriculum when he hasn’t been able to get the hang of basics like making himself invisible or passing through walls (without bonking his head!). Will the young ghost get booooted out of Scare School?

Bash the ghost learns to work with trouble-loving vampires in this second book in the sweet and spooky chapter book series by acclaimed author Jarrett Lerner.At the start of his second session at Scare School, the world’s premiere institution for elementary scare instruction, Bash is feeling a bit more confident and excited about his classes starting up again. But when Vlad and Vicky, the mischievous vampires, join his group project, Bash starts worrying if this mean-spirited duo are going to take a bite out of his good grade!

A boy gets buried in dirty laundry and pulled into time travel shenanigans after his mom’s latest experiment in this first book in the My Mad Scientist Mom chapter book series from acclaimed author-illustrator Jarrett Lerner.Ari’s life is filled with school, video games, and his pet turtle, Fred: pretty run-of-the mill stuff. But not anywhere near run-of-the-mill is Ari’s mom, who’s a mad scientist. That’s right, a MAD scientist. Sure, she strives to make people’s lives better with her inventions, especially at home. But all of Mom’s inventions seem to go just the slightest bit off kilter. And when she devises a time portal to help deal with the massive mounds of dirty laundry that have taken over their house, she creates a MUCH bigger problem than just stinky clothes, and it’s up to Ari to get them out of a prehistoric mess.

Ari helps a neighbor who accidentally gets shrunk by Ari’s mom’s latest invention in this second book in the My Mad Scientist Mom chapter book series from acclaimed author-illustrator Jarrett Lerner.Ari’s life is filled with school, video games, and his pet turtle, Fred: pretty run-of-the mill stuff. But not anywhere near run-of-the-mill is Ari’s mom, who’s a mad scientist. That’s right, a MAD scientist. Sure, she strives to make people’s lives better with her inventions, especially at home. But all of Mom’s inventions seem to go just the slightest bit off kilter. His mom puts a new invention to the test to help clean up the clutter in their house: a magnimizer, which can shrink or enlarge anything! Pretty amazing, right? Well, not if you happen to be Mr. Jakes, their neighbor who comes face to face with this gizmo and becomes the size of a cockroach—and a potential tasty morsel for the resident basement mouse! Can Ari save the day and teeny-weeny Mr. Jakes?